sores. It happened that the poor man died, and angels carried him to take his place with Abraham.
The rich man also died, and was buried. From the netherworld where he was in torment, the rich
man looked up and saw Abraham afar off, and with him Lazarus at rest.
He called out, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me, and send Lazarus, with the tip of his finger
dipped in water, to cool my tongue, for I suffer so much in this fire!’
Abraham replied, ‘My son, remember that in your lifetime you were well-off, while the lot of
Lazarus was misfortune. Now he is in comfort, and you are in agony. But that is not all.
Between your place and ours a great chasm has been fixed, so that no one can cross over
from here to you, or from your side to us.’
The rich man implored once more, ‘Then I beg you, Father Abraham, send Lazarus to my
father’s house, where my five brothers live. Let him warn them, so that they may not end up
in this place of torment.’ Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the prophets. Let them
listen to them.’ But the rich man said, ‘No, Father Abraham; but if someone from the dead
goes to them, they will repent.’
Abraham said, ‘If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be convinced,
even if someone rises from the dead.’” “If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets,
they will not be convinced, even if someone rises from the dead.”
Read:
Amos condemns those who live a luxurious life without a care for others. Paul exhorts Timothy
to be pure and blameless before God. Jesus gives us the parable of Lazarus and the rich man,
to remind us that we are indeed our brothers and sisters’ keepers.
Reflect:
There is something noble about the rich man in today’s parable. He is languishing in the
netherworld; but he has no attack of envy or fury, seeing Lazarus in heaven. He even knows
Lazarus by name! Further, even when he is burning in hell, he thinks of his brothers and
wants them to be spared of the same fate! If we were to meet this guy while he was alive
on earth, he would definitely come across as gentle, caring, and courteous. He could even
pass off as a diplomat in the United Nations, working for world peace! Yet, he has ended up
in hell! Perhaps the lesson is this: None of our best intentions or chapter documents or
wonderfully conceived sustainable developmental goals would suffice in the Kingdom: what
is needed is concrete action on the ground, wiping the tears of the neighbors, caring for their
needs.
Pray:
Identify the needs of someone around you and pray for him/her.
Act: …
and provide for him/her.
© Copyright Bible Diary 2022