Seeing need
This week's study is on Luke 16:19-31:
There are a bunch of things going on in this story. On one level, it's a pretty standard description of the haves and the have-nots. On another, it's a story about salvation. And on another yet, it's a story about how we miss the most obvious things when we're not looking for them.
The rich man is so out of our reach that we don't even know his name. How many rich people can you name, other than those who are celebrities? I walk by estates sometimes where all you see is a big iron gate and a wall that encloses dozens of acres of land. You can't even see the mansion, just a perfectly manicured lawn and trees and a driveway that disappears in the distance. I don't know any of these people's names.
The rich man in the parable had a huge amount of disposable income. He wore fine clothes, and lived in conspicuous luxury. Other than that, we don't know anything about him, other than that he had five brothers who he cared deeply about. It's important to see from that that he wasn't necessarily a bad person. It's too easy to paint this story in black and white terms, where the rich guy is a selfish jerk who only cares about himself and taking advantage of other people for his own gain. We can't imply that here.
Lazarus, on the other hand, lived in torment. His body was covered in sores and he was hungry. Despite living within view of the rich man, nothing was done to help him in his need or ease his torment. We don't really know much about Lazarus either. It's easy to paint him as a poor struggling saint, but maybe he was an obnoxious beggar. You know the type. But we don't know.
It's important that we see the people in parables as real people with all of their flaws and quirks, and not just as fairy tale characters. It's easy to write off a two-dimensional fairy tale character and learn nothing. It's the folks like us who have something to teach us, because all of us are alike on some level. But if we're not looking to learn, we just see the fairy tale and think to ourselves "I'm not rich, so I'm good I guess."
The rich man dies, and in the afterlife he is now the one in torment and Lazarus, who he seems to have met previously, is in a position of advantage. The rich man wants to be saved, but it's too late. So, unselfishly, he wants to help his brothers. But Abraham tells him that they already have all of the information they need to be saved. If they don't see that, they won't see Lazarus any more than the rich man really saw him when he was alive. We don't see what we don't want to see.
How many times have we run into someone in need and pretended not to see them? We look away, maybe walk a little faster. Pretend not to hear them, or not to speak their language. Or maybe we see something on TV or in a magazine about people in need, and it touches our heart, but we push it out of our mind, despite living in comparative luxury. Are we really that different from the rich man?
If you've ever been somewhere where there isn't really a government enforced social safety net, and you stand out as a bit richer than the average person there, you'll know that you get swarmed by beggars. People with obvious, possibly contagious, medical issues. The mentally ill. People who had more kids than they can afford to feed and want you to step in. The unemployed. Addicts. Some of them are obnoxious and aggressive. Others are manipulative and pushy. When you help them, they go and find other people who need help and bring them and the crowd grows. Mixed in are countless scam artists and criminals looking to monetize your compassion. It's easy to become numb after awhile and not want to help anyone. You're drowning in a pool of financial piranhas and you just want out!
In that context, the parable becomes a lot more nuanced. We can understand a bit of why the man acted the way he did. How many times must someone so obviously rich have been approached by beggars? And yet right outside his own gate, in full view as he came and went, was a guy in profound unmet need. Despite seeming to have a good heart, his wall was high enough, at least emotionally, that he never "saw" Lazarus.
The thing that seems to have gotten the rich man thrown into the eternal fire, and which may have sent his brothers to eventually join him, wasn't necessarily that he was selfish, but that he was self-absorbed. It doesn't appear to have occurred to him to help Lazarus, or even to look to help him. He had everything he needed in his own social circle. His money provided so much that he probably didn't even have to look after his own needs, let alone someone else's. He and his brothers probably never spent any time thinking about their lives.
Are we that much different? How much do we actually know about the needs of those around us? How many issues have come to our attention where we could make a difference, but we never followed up? We live in a society that is wholly invaded by forces that conspire to steal our attention from things that matter. Social media, tabloid news, tv and streaming services, all paralyze us in a state of self-absorption. The rich man didn't have access to nearly as much entertainment and luxury as we do as a daily part of our lives now. Who is sitting unnoticed like Lazarus while we thrive in our isolated fantasy world? What if we needed to live differently than we do, but we were too busy enjoying ourselves to stop and listen?
Abraham tells the rich man that his brothers have everything they need to know in the Bible they were raised with. Reading the Bible reminds us of what we should already know and be looking for. It reminds us that we're rich and teaches us about love. But we have to be looking for that. The rich man wasn't looking. His brothers weren't looking. They were passive consumers. Are you awake?
Don't wait until you're dead to figure out what life is about. You have all of the information you need already to do the right thing. And just outside your gates is probably your first opportunity to do it. Life isn't just about eating and drinking, but about doing the work of God while there is still time.
There was a rich man who dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. But at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus whose body was covered with sores, who longed to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. In addition, the dogs came and licked his sores.
“Now the poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. And in hell, as he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far off with Lazarus at his side. So he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in anguish in this fire.’ But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things and Lazarus likewise bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in anguish. Besides all this, a great chasm has been fixed between us, so that those who want to cross over from here to you cannot do so, and no one can cross from there to us.’ So the rich man said, ‘Then I beg you, father—send Lazarus to my father’s house (for I have five brothers) to warn them so that they don’t come into this place of torment.’ But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; they must respond to them.’ Then the rich man said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’ He replied to him, ‘If they do not respond to Moses and the prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”
There are a bunch of things going on in this story. On one level, it's a pretty standard description of the haves and the have-nots. On another, it's a story about salvation. And on another yet, it's a story about how we miss the most obvious things when we're not looking for them.
The rich man is so out of our reach that we don't even know his name. How many rich people can you name, other than those who are celebrities? I walk by estates sometimes where all you see is a big iron gate and a wall that encloses dozens of acres of land. You can't even see the mansion, just a perfectly manicured lawn and trees and a driveway that disappears in the distance. I don't know any of these people's names.
The rich man in the parable had a huge amount of disposable income. He wore fine clothes, and lived in conspicuous luxury. Other than that, we don't know anything about him, other than that he had five brothers who he cared deeply about. It's important to see from that that he wasn't necessarily a bad person. It's too easy to paint this story in black and white terms, where the rich guy is a selfish jerk who only cares about himself and taking advantage of other people for his own gain. We can't imply that here.
Lazarus, on the other hand, lived in torment. His body was covered in sores and he was hungry. Despite living within view of the rich man, nothing was done to help him in his need or ease his torment. We don't really know much about Lazarus either. It's easy to paint him as a poor struggling saint, but maybe he was an obnoxious beggar. You know the type. But we don't know.
It's important that we see the people in parables as real people with all of their flaws and quirks, and not just as fairy tale characters. It's easy to write off a two-dimensional fairy tale character and learn nothing. It's the folks like us who have something to teach us, because all of us are alike on some level. But if we're not looking to learn, we just see the fairy tale and think to ourselves "I'm not rich, so I'm good I guess."
The rich man dies, and in the afterlife he is now the one in torment and Lazarus, who he seems to have met previously, is in a position of advantage. The rich man wants to be saved, but it's too late. So, unselfishly, he wants to help his brothers. But Abraham tells him that they already have all of the information they need to be saved. If they don't see that, they won't see Lazarus any more than the rich man really saw him when he was alive. We don't see what we don't want to see.
How many times have we run into someone in need and pretended not to see them? We look away, maybe walk a little faster. Pretend not to hear them, or not to speak their language. Or maybe we see something on TV or in a magazine about people in need, and it touches our heart, but we push it out of our mind, despite living in comparative luxury. Are we really that different from the rich man?
If you've ever been somewhere where there isn't really a government enforced social safety net, and you stand out as a bit richer than the average person there, you'll know that you get swarmed by beggars. People with obvious, possibly contagious, medical issues. The mentally ill. People who had more kids than they can afford to feed and want you to step in. The unemployed. Addicts. Some of them are obnoxious and aggressive. Others are manipulative and pushy. When you help them, they go and find other people who need help and bring them and the crowd grows. Mixed in are countless scam artists and criminals looking to monetize your compassion. It's easy to become numb after awhile and not want to help anyone. You're drowning in a pool of financial piranhas and you just want out!
In that context, the parable becomes a lot more nuanced. We can understand a bit of why the man acted the way he did. How many times must someone so obviously rich have been approached by beggars? And yet right outside his own gate, in full view as he came and went, was a guy in profound unmet need. Despite seeming to have a good heart, his wall was high enough, at least emotionally, that he never "saw" Lazarus.
The thing that seems to have gotten the rich man thrown into the eternal fire, and which may have sent his brothers to eventually join him, wasn't necessarily that he was selfish, but that he was self-absorbed. It doesn't appear to have occurred to him to help Lazarus, or even to look to help him. He had everything he needed in his own social circle. His money provided so much that he probably didn't even have to look after his own needs, let alone someone else's. He and his brothers probably never spent any time thinking about their lives.
Are we that much different? How much do we actually know about the needs of those around us? How many issues have come to our attention where we could make a difference, but we never followed up? We live in a society that is wholly invaded by forces that conspire to steal our attention from things that matter. Social media, tabloid news, tv and streaming services, all paralyze us in a state of self-absorption. The rich man didn't have access to nearly as much entertainment and luxury as we do as a daily part of our lives now. Who is sitting unnoticed like Lazarus while we thrive in our isolated fantasy world? What if we needed to live differently than we do, but we were too busy enjoying ourselves to stop and listen?
Abraham tells the rich man that his brothers have everything they need to know in the Bible they were raised with. Reading the Bible reminds us of what we should already know and be looking for. It reminds us that we're rich and teaches us about love. But we have to be looking for that. The rich man wasn't looking. His brothers weren't looking. They were passive consumers. Are you awake?
Don't wait until you're dead to figure out what life is about. You have all of the information you need already to do the right thing. And just outside your gates is probably your first opportunity to do it. Life isn't just about eating and drinking, but about doing the work of God while there is still time.
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