Posted on 09/25/2016 7:26:05 AM PDT by Salvation
The Rich Man and the Poor Lazarus by Hendrick ter Brugghen
In the Gospel for today about the rich man and Lazarus the Lord gives us some important teachings on judgment and Hell. We live in times in which many consider the teachings on Hell to be untenable. They struggle to understand how a God described as loving, merciful, and forgiving can assign certain souls to Hell forever. Despite the fact that the Doctrine of Hell is taught extensively in Scripture as well as by Jesus Himself, the doctrine does not comport well with many modern notions and so many think that it has to go.
Today’s Gospel goes a long way toward addressing some of the modern concerns about Hell. Prior to looking at the reading, it is important to understand why Hell has to exist. I have written on that topic extensively here: http://blog.adw.org/2010/07/hell-has-to-be/. Here is a brief summary of that lengthier article:
Hell has to exist essentially for one reason: respect. God has made us free and respects our freedom to choose His Kingdom or not. The Kingdom of God is not a mere abstraction. It has some very specific values and these are realized and experienced perfectly in Heaven.
The values of the Kingdom of God include love, kindness, forgiveness, justice to the poor, generosity, humility, mercy, chastity, love of Scripture, love of the truth, worship of God, and the centrality of God.
Unfortunately, there are many people who do not want a thing to do with those values, and God will not force them to adopt and live them. While everyone may want to go to Heaven, Heaven is not merely what we want it to be; it is what it is, as God has set it forth. Heaven is the Kingdom of God and the values thereof in all their fullness.
Hence there are some (many, according to Jesus) who live in such a way that they consistently demonstrate that they are not interested in Heaven, because they are not interested in one or many of the Kingdom’s values. Hell “has to be,” because God respects people’s freedom to choose to live in this way. Because they demonstrate that they do not want Heaven, God respects their freedom to choose “other arrangements.”
In a way, this is what Jesus says in John’s Gospel when He states that judgment is about what we prefer: And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil (John 3:19). In the end, you get what you want: light or darkness. Sadly, many prefer the darkness. The day of judgment discloses our final preference and God respects that, even if it is not what He would want for us.
This leads us to today’s Gospel, which we will look at in three stages.
I. The Ruin of the Rich Man – As the Gospel opens we see rich man (some call him Dives, which simply means “rich”). There was a rich man who dressed in purple garments and fine linen and dined sumptuously each day.
It is clear that he lives very well and has the ability to help the poor man, Lazarus, who is outside his gate. But he does not do so.
The rich man’s sin is not so much one of hate as of indifference. He is living in open rejection of one of the most significant Kingdom values: love of the poor. His insensitivity is literally a “damnable sin,” as it lands him in Hell. The ruin of this rich man is his insensitivity to the poor.
The care of the poor may be a complicated matter, and there may be different ways of approaching it, but in no way can we ever consider ourselves exempt if it is within our means to help them. We simply cannot avoid judgment for our greed and insensitivity. As God said in last week’s reading regarding those who are insensitive to the poor: The LORD has sworn by the pride of Jacob: Never will I forget a thing they have done (Amos 8:7). God may well “forget” many of our sins (cf Is 43:23; Heb 8:12), but apparently disregarding the needs of the poor isn’t one of them.
Hence this rich man has willfully and repeatedly rejected the Kingdom and is ruined by his greed and insensitivity. He lands in Hell because he doesn’t want Heaven, where the poor are exalted (cf Luke 1:52).
Abraham explains the great reversal to him: My child, remember that you received what was good during your lifetime while Lazarus likewise received what was bad; but now he is comforted here, whereas you are tormented.
II. The Rigidity of the Rich Man – You might expect the rich man to be repentant in the end and to have a change a heart, but he does not. Looking up into Heaven he sees Lazarus next to Abraham, but rather than finally recognizing Lazarus’ dignity and seeking his forgiveness, he tells Abraham to send Lazarus to Hell with a pail of water to refresh him. The rich man still sees Lazarus as beneath him (even though he has to look up to see him); he sees Lazarus as an errand boy and wants him to come to Hell with water.
Notice that the rich man does not ask to be admitted to Heaven! Although he is unhappy with where he is, he still does not seem to desire Heaven and the Kingdom of God with all its values. He has not really changed. He regrets his current torment, but does not see or desire Heaven as a solution to that. Neither does he want to appreciate Lazarus’ exalted state. The rich man wants to draw him back to the lower place he once occupied.
This helps to explain why Hell is eternal. It would seem that there is a mystery of the human person that we must come to accept: that we come to a point in our life when our character is forever fixed, when we no longer change. When exactly this occurs is not clear; perhaps it is at death itself.
The Fathers of the Church often thought of the human person as clay on a potter’s wheel. As long as it is on the wheel and moist it can be molded, changed, and fashioned. But there comes a point when the clay is taken off the wheel and placed in the fiery kiln (fire is judgment day (cf 1 Cor 3:15)), at which time its shape is forever fixed and cannot be changed.
The rich man now manifests this fixed quality. He has not changed one bit. He is unhappy with his torments, even wanting to warn his brothers. But he apparently does not intend to change, or somehow he is unable to change.
This is the basis for the teaching that Hell is eternal: once having encountered our fiery judgment, we will no longer be able to change. Our decision against the Kingdom of God and its values (a decision that God, in sadness, respects) is forever fixed.
III. The Reproof for the Rest of Us – The rich man, though he cannot or will not change, would like to warn his brothers. He thinks that perhaps if Lazarus would rise from the dead and warn them, they would repent!
We are the rich man’s brethren, and we are hereby warned. The rich man wanted exotic measures but Abraham said, “They have Moses and the prophets. Let them listen to them.” “Oh no, father Abraham, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.” Then Abraham said, “If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead.”
Of course this reply is dripping with irony, given Jesus’ resurrection from the dead.
That aside, the fact is that we should not need exotic signs to bring us conversion. The phrase “they have Moses and the prophets” is a Jewish way of saying that they have Scripture.
The Scriptures are clear to lay out the way before us. They give us the road map to Heaven and we only need to follow it. We ought not need an angel, or a ghost, or some extraordinary sign. The Scriptures and the teachings of the Church should be sufficient.
Their message is clear enough: daily prayer, daily Scripture, weekly Eucharist, frequent confession, and repentance all lead to a change of heart wherein we begin to love the Kingdom of God and its values. We become more merciful, kind, generous, loving toward the poor and needy, patient, chaste, devout, and self-controlled.
In the end we must be clear: Hell exists. It has to exist, because we have a free choice to make, and God will respect that choice even if he does not prefer it.
You and I are free to choose the Kingdom of God, or not. This Gospel makes it clear that our ongoing choices lead ultimately to a final and permanent choice, at which time our decision is forever fixed.
The modern world needs to sober up. There is a Hell and its existence is both reasonable and in conformity with a God who both loves us and respects our freedom.
If we have any non-biblical notions in this regard, we ought to consider ourselves reproved. Popular or not, Hell is taught, as is the sobering notion that many prefer its darkness to the light of God’s Kingdom.
The care of the poor is very important to God. Look through your closet this week and give away what you can. Look at your finances and see if they are pleasing to God. The rich man was not cruel, just insensitive and unaware. How will you and I respond to a Gospel like this?
“but helping them in many ways including treating them with respect, yet not necessarily respecting their sins or way of life.”
As they should with your sins and way of life.
“I said that a number one coffee filter would do better and gave him a box”
That’s exactly what we should do. The guy wasn’t poor, and your salvation isn’t in the balance. But things like that are what it’s all about in life.
Really?
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
I suppose so. But I think id call it “erotica” if I meant it as art! Sounds more classy.
There’s that.
And I agreed with your comment, “who is your neighbor?”
Depends on how one defines the word “poor”.
I am a big believer that part of the social contract is that we take care of our own. If someone is in a legitimate jam, though no fault of their own, then the family first has an obligation to help if possible. If the need exceeds the means of the family then private charity should be the next stop. In very extreme cases, yes the government can step in. This is the United States of America and we don’t let our people starve.
That said, unless you are an invalid, anyone on public relief should be required to work. If you really are down and out, we will make sure you get the proverbial three hots and a cot, but you will earn your keep. Public roads need to be de-littered. Parks and public restrooms can be cleaned. There are countless public works projects involving low skill manual labor that we would otherwise have to pay some civil service high school drop out $18hr to do that these people can do for their room and board.
Helping the poor must be done judiciously, or it not only does not help them, it can injure them and their families, and lead to bitter resentment and outright hatred.
A big justification of colonialism was that it helped poor savage pagans to evolve into civility and prosperity and the Christian faith. And often, it did. Equally often, it did not, and degenerated into exploitation and misery.
Importantly, those who were good and helpful were not exclusively Christian; and many who called themselves Christian were cruel and exploitative. To confuse matters further, those with good intent often created bad results because of poor planning or timing; and those who were cruel and exploitative often resulted in kindness and prosperity in their wake, despite their bad intentions.
Thus, the complexity of the word “judicious”.
So the bottom line is that kindness and charity cannot be haphazard, and forethought is essential to success. Some rules of thumb:
1) Needs and wants are two very different things. If someone is poor because of self destructive behavior, requisite help demands they stop being self destructive; or as likely as not, charity will be used to further their self destruction. As with sin, it must be seen as sin must be recognized as such, and forgiveness must be asked for in the spirit of change, or it just justifies the sin. Yet even so, a junkie can starve, so instead of giving him money to buy food, he should be given food and watched to eat
2) Real charity demands no return, even recognition for the charitable act. Otherwise it is remuneration and consideration, not charity. Likewise real charity demands a lack of judgment of the recipient: a pretty, small child with “their future ahead of them” should not be seen as a better and more deserving or even as a worse recipient than a smelly and ugly old man.
Beware of feelings of goodness and righteousness from giving gifts, for they erode humbleness and give rise to feelings of both superiority and self pity in the giver. As with those who suffer “gift guilt” from accepting charity, it is wise in either case to not think of yourself as a “creditor” and them as a “debtor”, because it poisons the gift.
3) Charity that is righteously given often just addresses “the tip of the iceberg”. The saying by medieval Jewish scholar Moshe ben Maimon (Maimonides), that “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime”, is quite true and accurate, and inoffensive to Christians. Often the recipients of charity get what they barely need right then, out of a huge reservoir of their need. So virtuous charity seeks to help them at a deeper level, so they are more able to help themselves in the future.
This opens the door to levels of charity. For example, you buy someone a cup of coffee. While they drink it, you find out that they are close to earning their GED, but are afraid of the examination. So a further act of charity is to nudge them to make the effort despite their fear.
Charity can be leveraged in interesting ways. If they have a nice looking pair of used slacks, a shirt, and some shoes, they might look a better candidate for a job. If they need glasses to see, driving them to a charity office that provides free glasses might give them a huge boost.
If they have agonizing pain from a medical condition, a lift to a free county hospital might be life changing.
If the love of their life is a new puppy, low cost do it yourself animal vaccinations from a drug store could prevent it from having an agonizing death in the lap of its traumatized owner.
Judicious charity is possible. It can change lives and is an act of righteousness.
All sin damns.
All sin has the same penalty - death.
Al sin has the same solution - forgiveness.
All sin damns.
All sin has the same penalty - death.
Al sin has the same solution - forgiveness.
Government redistribution based on taxation and determination of eligibility for benefits is demonic. It removes all personal responsibility for succoring those in need. It perpetuates a class of citizenry forever indigent and dependent upon government sustenance. This system removes any obligation to provide support for and nurture those in need by the private sector.
It is especially significant and instructive that citizens who support the socialist doctrine mandating government redistribution are substantially less likely to offer personal support than are citizens who disdain the welfare system.
It is always the private sector, local service agencies, churches and kind hearted people who provide the most meaningful and helpful support to those in need. The government never offers enough to end the cycle of dependency.
It is not within the intention of bureaucracies to offer solutions to the problems they are mandated to serve. Rather, the reverse. A bureaucracy will always create more and more need for its services in order to achieve its mandate to persist and expand.
“As they should with your sins and way of life.”
Yes. We are all sinners and all poor - just in different ways.
Even the rich man is poor in different ways.
We may not be able to change others, but we can try to help others in many different ways.
That what I thought was stated as voluntary, not mandated.
Poor are folks in Haiti, there are no poor in this country.
I was agreeing and elaborating!
I have a personal aversion to giving money/cash to panhandlers on the street. That is because I assume, rightly or wrongly, that s/he will take that cash to buy booze or drugs. What I do instead is to take the person to the nearest fast food place and buy them a meal. At worst, a halfway decent meal can’t hurt them, whereas the booze and drugs certainly can.
That’s very practical. Another way to assist street people is to contribute to a rescue mission.
What is your definition?
“Teach a person to fish, don’t give them a fish.”
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