the scraps falling from the rich man’s table. Even dogs used to come and lick his 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 welloff, while the lot of Lazarus was misfortune.
Now he is in comfort, and you are in agony.
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 said, ‘If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be convinced,
even if someone rises from the dead.’”
Reflect
One of the greatest tragedies in today’s Gospel is that even after he died and was in torment in
the netherworld, the rich man still doesn’t seem to have learned his lesson. Seeing Lazarus
with Abraham, he begs Abraham to send Lazarus to bring him water and to warn his brothers.
The rich man still does not see Lazarus as a person with dignity and value. Instead, he sees him
as a tool to be used to help the rich man and his brothers – “more important people.” The rich man
does not even address his request to Lazarus, speaking to Abraham instead. How often do we ignore
the needs of those we see each day? How often do we value people primarily for what they can do
for us? Wrapped up in our own concerns, it is easy to fail to notice those in need. It is easy to
ignore the humanity of those who serve our needs, denying them even common courtesy. This Lent,
the example of Lazarus and the rich man should open our eyes and shake us from
our selfish isolation.
© Copyright Bible Diary 2023