This well-known parable of the rich man and Lazarus brings Several questions to mind. First, why is the rich man in hell, this place of “torment?” Jesus didn’t say that the man acquired his wealth dishonestly. We aren’t told that he is to blame for Lazarus’ predicament or that Lazarus begged from him and was refused. We are not told if the rich man committed any evil deeds. All we know is that he feasted well and dressed in fine clothing, as any rich person likely would, so why then, did he go to hell?
The reason we have trouble pinpointing why this man is in hell may have a lot to do with how we think of sin. We often think that we sin only through thoughts, words, and deeds, but lets not forget that another way we sin is by omission. During the Confiteor, which we said moments ago, we admitted, “I have greatly sinned, in what I have done and in what I have failed to do.” Too often, we overlook the sin of omission in our lives yet this parable reminds us that this sin can send a person to hell. This happened to the rich man.
The poor man, known as Lazarus, was lying at his door, and rich man couldn’t care less. “Whatever happens to him is none of my concern,” he most likely said to himself. In the meantime, dogs came and went, licking the poor man’s sores. When he died, the angels carried him to heaven.
The rich man had done nothing wrong to Lazarus but he did fail to do a good deed. He failed to reach out and share any of his blessings with the poor man. The rich man committed a sin of omission, and for that he went to hell.
This raises the second question: why did Lazarus go to heaven? So far as we know, he never performed a single good deed. What qualified him for heaven? The clue lies in his name. In biblical stories of this nature, names are significant because they often convey the basic character of the person. In fact, this is the only parable of Jesus where a character in the story has a name, so the name must be significant for understanding why Lazarus went to heaven.
The name, Lazarus, is the Greek form of a Hebrew name, Eliezer, which means, “God is my help.” There is the clue. Lazarus is a poor person who believes and trusts in God. So he found himself nestled in Abraham’s bosom in paradise because of his faith and trust in God, not because he was materially poor. Keep in mind that poverty can easily make a person bitter toward God, angry and even criminal.
According to this parable, one that undoubtedly startled Jesus’ audience, the gospel measurement for heaven or hell is determined not by one’s wealth but in seeing. Jesus warns that spiritual blindness and spiritual indifference condemns people. That lesson shouldn’t surprise you. At the end of Matthew’s gospel, we are told, “Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?” In other words, when did we see you and yet not see you? And Jesus told them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it for one of these, you did not do it for me. And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
The rich man saw Lazarus hungry, thirsty, a stranger, naked, and sick but he chose not to see him. He was spiritually blind. In not seeing, he did not act and in not acting, he omitted the compassion and sharing he should have given Lazarus. Thus, having no concern for anyone but himself, the rich man is condemned to hell for his sin of omission.
Only when it was too late, did the rich man understand the message God had been trying to send him through Moses and the prophets. What about us? When we listen to Jesus and the prophets, do we really get the message? I doubt anyone here wants to spend eternity in hell but that could be our fate if we ignore the advice Jesus is giving us here.
A Christ-like sensitivity to those in need enables us to see their need and respond accordingly. This parable confronts us not because we are wickedly rich and insensitive…hardly that…but because we so often fail to act in a compassionate manner. This parable challenges us to open our eyes and see, then to act upon what we see.
What would be your response if a total stranger walked up to you and asked if you had any spare change? Lacking sensitivity, we could easily say no without much thought. When you see panhandlers on street corners, what is your inclination? Lacking sensitivity, we could quickly judge that our spare change would be wasted on booze or drugs.
The letter to Timothy urges us to pursue a life of virtue. Now that may sound quaint and old fashioned to you yet what is more important if we desire to be in heaven someday than striving to be virtuous in this lifetime?
This parable wasn’t merely a warning about hell. Here Jesus is challenging our sensibilities. How might we overcome our avarice and become more caring to those less fortunate? In the narthex, we have bins to collect donations to provide Good Cheer, our local food bank, with provisions they can’t afford to buy. You may not see those who are less fortunate than you are, but you are being mindful of their needs when you donate a personal hygiene product, a paper product, or a protein product each weekend when you come to Mass. If heaven is our quest, we can’t afford to stand by idly enjoying our own riches and freedom if Lazarus is at our door.