The Gospel for November 15, 2004
Luke 16:19-31
“There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who longed to satisfy his hunger with what fell from the rich man’s table; even the dogs would come and lick his sores. The poor man died and was carried away by the angels to be with Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, where he was being tormented, he looked up and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side. 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; for I am in agony in these flames.’ But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that during your lifetime you received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in agony. Besides all this, between you and us a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who might want to pass from here to you cannot do so, and no one can cross from there to us.’ He said, ‘Then, father, I beg you to send him to my father’s house— for I have five brothers—that he may warn them, so that they will not also come into this place of torment.’ Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.’ He said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’ ” -- The New Jerusalem Bible. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1995, c1985
A Study
They didn't get it, the Pharisees that Luke's writers talk about here. They were caught up in looking good, not being good. They have been warned about their attraction more to money than to their neighbors. The Oxford Commentary says that this discourse "becomes a comment on the Pharisees who fail to respond, not only to Jesus himself, but also to the Christian proclamation about him."
The images that Luke's writer use are those from stories of other traditions, but widely known in Palestine. The view of torment in flames is rhetorical, not grounded elsewhere in scripture, as is Sheol, that limbo-like place of departed spirits.
A Reflection
What happens when the merciless ask for mercy?
Or when the unjust plead for justice?
For those who put their entire faith on appearing to live by the Law, there must have been quite a strange mechanism working in their minds. YHWH knows the true heart, yet these oh-so-righteous had convinced themselves that by appearing to be perfect in the law, they had somehow convinced YHWH of the same thing. Go figure.
Jesus brings them up right smartly here to face the truth. Lazarus was as poor as one can be without being dead. He asked only for his daily bread (and was apparently not always successful), and had no means for carrying out any temptation or trial. On the other hand, Dives, as the rich man is known in theological circles (dives is Latin for "rich") dressed himself in clothing that was terrifically expensive. Purple dye was produced from a fluid extracted from a little sea creature. One creature gave one drop. Linen was imported only from Egypt. No Palestinian flax farms, then.
Here stands a man with so much that he doesn't even follow the Commandment that says "Six days shalt thou labor...." And he walks past a poor fellow at his doorstep, begging for crusts, who cannot move, who cannot act. Do any images of us walking past homeless men and bag ladies come to mind?
Father Abraham tells Dives that now there is a gulf between them.
When will we see the gulfs that we have created between us and those who need our justice and mercy and love? The onus on them is not to be loveable. No, it is on us to love them as Jesus loves us. Do that, and love God; as Jesus said, on those two commands hang all the Law and the Prophets.
A Collect
Look with pity, O heavenly Father, upon the people in this land who live with injustice, terror, disease, and death as their constant companions. Have mercy upon us. Help us to eliminate our cruelty to these our neighbors. Strengthen those who spend their lives establishing equal protection of the law and equal opportunities for all. And grant that every one of us may enjoy a fair portion of the riches of this land; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
9:07:34 PM 
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