"There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores."
Gospel of Luke
In the beautiful but graphic Gospel story about Lazarus and the rich man, we have an "analogy". What do I mean by that? An analogy is used in those instances where we just don't have the language to describe the circumstances. There are no adequate words available to describe what you wish to convey; so the meaning is expressed through the use of a story, or a description from a human experience.
Jesus is master at using analogies. What is He trying to express through the use of this story of Lazarus and the rich man? Is he trying to say that God will condemn all people who have wealth? Is He trying to give us a picture of what heaven will look like for those rewarded, or hell for those condemned?
To discover the purpose of the story, we must go to the words that precede the story.
"The Pharisees who were lovers of money ridiculed Jesus. So Jesus said to them: You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of others, but God knows your hearts, for what is prized by human beings is an abomination in the sight of God."
Then He begins with the story: "There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus. As the story goes on, we begin to see that the rich man, caught up in his own extravagant life style, failed to see Lazarus or his plight.
"For what is prized by human beings is an abomination in the sight of God."
As human beings, and I believe it can be said of each of us at times, we can become conditioned into seeing only what we wish to see. Many times, we separate people into different camps. There are those who fall within acceptable camps; those who think, act, and behave according to our acceptable norms. Then there are those who may fall outside of what we may feel is acceptable. It's not that we do them harm. They just become invisible to us. They just don't exist. For the rich man, Lazarus did not exist. He didn't fit in with his circle, therefore, he was not seen.
The question that Jesus is asking us in the story is: "Who are the Lazaruses in our lives? Who are the people that fall outside our radar, that don't exist, perhaps because they are poor, a different color, a different sexual preference, a different religion.
God is saying: "They do count. They are my flock. I love them. Tend my sheep.
Through this story, Jesus encourages us to widen our circle and to see all others in the same way that God sees them. To begin to see as God sees, we must expand our vision to love, to respond, and to meet the needs of those who may be different than ourselves.
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