Luke 16:19–31 (NRSV)
Read Luke 16:19–31 on biblegateway.com
Verse 19"There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. Verse 20And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, Verse 21who longed to satisfy his hunger with what fell from the rich man's table; even the dogs would come and lick his sores. Verse 22The poor man died and was carried away by the angels to be with Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. Verse 23In Hades, where he was being tormented, he looked up and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side. Verse 24He 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.' Verse 25But 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. Verse 26Besides 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.' Verse 27He said, 'Then, father, I beg you to send him to my father's house- Verse 28for I have five brothers-that he may warn them, so that they will not also come into this place of torment.' Verse 29Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.' Verse 30He said, 'No, father Abraham; but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.' Verse 31He 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.'"
Devotion
The 2012 income gap between the richest 1 percent and the rest of U.S. society reached the widest point since 1928 (Associated Press, 09/11/13). What was the economic gap between the parable's rich man and Lazarus? Was it as wide as today's gap?
Whenever economic gaps occur, they spawn physical gaps, including the rich man's gate, discriminatory neighborhood redlining and low-income housing in undesirable sites. As income and location increasingly separate us, we ignore, misunderstand and distrust each other. Our fear of the "other" intensifies; the chasm between us widens and becomes fixed. We do not share comfort of community. Instead, we experience agony of isolation from each other and God. We put ourselves in a "place of torment."
We can bridge chasms we built. We can choose to become aware of people on the other side. We can share our stories with each other. What an awesome God's family reunion!
Prayer
Dear Loving Parent, thank you for your Son and the parables he told that give us life-giving warnings. Forgive us for being chasm diggers and neighbor ignorers. Guide us to be bridge builders and story hearers. Amen.