The Rich Man or Lazarus?

Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15
Psalm 91
1 Timothy 6:6-19
Luke 16:19-31

Let  your eyes feast on the wonderfully lyrical and descriptive depiction of today’s parable by the renowned Gustave Doré. In a masterful use of asymmetry, poetic geography and landscape, Dore gives us depth, distance, heights and depths with an abyss in between. The rich man of parabolic fame sits on high, celebrated by an adoring audience. Wine and food are supersized to overemphasized the gluttony and the obvious misappropriation of earthly goods. Moving down we find a lower state of being where dogs and beggars subsist off the thoughtless excess of the rich (loaves of flat bread were used as serviettes by Roman Aristocracy and “recycled” by being tossed over balconies). But Doré goes the extra mile: he gives us the towering figure of a slave who is dressed so well one wonders  what the rich man might be wearing in comparison. The division is unmistakable and the contrast between the two scenes is stark. But then I stumble for a moment. The dogs look more like hunting hounds, the pedigreed pets of a prince and the beggar shows no “sores.” Could it be that the author is bent on romanticizing poverty? Poverty, I am always reminded, is not pretty.

But the parable moves on and so does the picture before us. The scene changes to a different sort of verticality: Lazarus is now “above,” in heaven, feasting in Abraham’s company while the rich man suffers punishment “below.” Theologian Joel Green reminds us that the rich man, despite his suffering, has not learned humility. His speech is in the imperative (send!) and twice he assumes poor Lazarus to be his errand boy. The separation that fed his greed now rises against him: The towering servant is the angel at the gates of the Garden of Eden.

But there is more: the parable comes closer to home. While our age trains us from birth to make idols of the rich and famous, Paul writes to Timothy saying: “Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment (1 Tim 6:22).”   And thus the third interpretation of the parable emerges: While the Wedding Supper of the Lamb is distant in the future (eschatological), the poor are here now. Jesus and Dore present them at the forefront, as to not allow us to pass them by, to ignore them. But the pharisees, the lovers of money were ignoring them. Their attention was fixed on wealth and social posturing. “If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead (Luke 16:31).”  It is indeed necessary to rip out half the bible (Moses and the Prophets, the Hebraic Torah and Nevi'im) to obscure God’s preferential love for the poor. “Command (the rich),” Paul continues, “ to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share (v.23).” Why not live this way, imitating God in His love for the poor? Rock singer Bono said once: "God is with us if we are with them." Remember the promise of God for those who love His Name: “With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation (Psalm 91:16)."

Pastor Alejandro Sotres