THE RICH MAN AND LAZARUS

Today's Gospel reading, though generally referred to as a parable, most certainly (in my humble opinion) is not.  Consider, for example, last week's Parable of the Sower: no pretense was made of relating to a real event that actually took place in space and time.  It was, rather, symbolic, and therefore its meaning required interpretation.  In this case, on the other hand, our Lord does not say that the Kingdom is like unto, or anything of the sort, but merely says, there was a certain rich man, and a certain beggar named Lazarus (and note: in no parable is a character given an actual name).  And so it would seem, rather, that this is a straightforward true story.

I am not sure why this story should have been inserted in this particular place in the Gospel, but I would suggest that perhaps it was in order to illustrate the words just previously spoken by our Lord: "Ye cannot serve both God and Mammon."  Which is to say: one cannot truly serve God while being at the same time attached to the riches and pleasures of this world.  For all such "good things" shall surely pass away, and can in nowise be taken with us when we pass from  this world to the next.  As the saying goes, "You can't take it with you."

Therefore does the Holy Apostle Paul proclaim, "God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified to me, and I unto the world."  That is to say, it is only through a disciplined life of self-denial--setting aside every attachment to the so-called "good things" of this world--that we can hope to be saved.

And so... was the rich man someone whom the world would consider evil?  Did he flagrantly violate the commandments of God, willfully striving to inflict pain and suffering on others?  Was he "literally" Hitler?  By no means!  Indeed, he may well have been a most esteemed and respected member of the local synagogue.  But he had, nevertheless, forgotten God, having come to consider a life of self-indulgence and fleeting happiness to be the ultimate goal and purpose of his existence.

And as for Lazarus: was he such a model of virtue and piety that he was deemed worthy by God to be received into Abraham's bosom?  Who can say?  It is, however, fairly certain that he was profoundly humble and content to thankfully receive that small measure of consolation granted to him.

Truth is, neither was the rich man punished and cast by God into hell; nor was Lazarus permitted to enter Paradise as a reward for his good deeds.  Rather, they both gravitated to that place to which their hearts naturally inclined.  And so it is for us all: God neither casts us into hell, or rewards us with Paradise, on the basis of outward appearances.  He alone is capable of judging the true inclination of each human heart.  But in the end, it is we ourselves who choose: either eternal separation from God in a hell of our own making, or else communion in love with the angels and all the saints in God's heavenly Kingdom.