The Rich Man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31)

Lazarus was a beggar. I don’t know how he came to be that way… maybe the same way people become beggars today; Poor economic times, destructive life styles, mental illness, who knows? Lazarus was alone in the world with no one to help him. He was incapacitated and had skin sores and was hungry. Only the local dogs had compassion upon him… they licked his wounds. There are two Lazarus’ mentioned in the New Testament. The other one had two sisters and when he died there was much sorrow and many tears. When the beggar Lazarus died he went to his grave unloved, unwept, and not missed.

The rich man on the other hand liked to dress nice and lived in “mirth and splendor” every day. He had a lot of friends and five brothers who loved him. I’m sure at his funeral there were many tears shed and accolades spoken… and yet the rich man ended up in “Hades”.

You see, the rich man had a low opinion of beggars and after a while beggars just become a part of the landscape… like a fire hydrant. He probably thought Lazarus had “earned” his condition (like that makes a difference) and he wasn’t going to support Lazarus in his poor choices. That thinking kind of makes sense but that thought process landed the rich man squarely in the fires of Hell.

I’m sure when Lazarus was born he was a beautiful little boy and his mom and dad were overjoyed to have him but somewhere along the way Lazarus lost the ability to work, lost his family, lost his health and lost the capacity to be liked. In the Hebrew language names mean things and Lazarus’ name meant something… it meant “God has helped”. I’m reminded of Jesus’ words… blessed are the poor who are in a relationship with the Spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. God does help.

Someone told me they kept a supply of Whataburger gift certificates in their wallet in case they came across someone who looked hungry… not a bad idea.