Today's Scripture
One Year Bible Daily Reading – Joshua 16-18; Luke 17:20-37
Scripture: Luke 16:19-31
19 “There was a certain rich man who clothed himself in purple and fine linen, and who feasted luxuriously every day. 20 At his gate lay a certain poor man named Lazarus who was covered with sores. 21 Lazarus longed to eat the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table. Instead, dogs would come and lick his sores.
22 “The poor man died and was carried by angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 While being tormented in the place of the dead, he looked up and saw Abraham at a distance with Lazarus at his side. 24 He shouted, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me. Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I’m suffering in this flame.’ 25 But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that during your lifetime you received good things, whereas Lazarus received terrible things. Now Lazarus is being comforted and you are in great pain. 26 Moreover, a great crevasse has been fixed between us and you. Those who wish to cross over from here to you cannot. Neither can anyone cross from there to us.’
27 “The rich man said, ‘Then I beg you, Father, send Lazarus to my father’s house. 28 I have five brothers. He needs to warn them so that they don’t come to this place of agony.’ 29 Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets. They must listen to them.’ 30 The rich man said, ‘No, Father Abraham! But if someone from the dead goes to them, they will change their hearts and lives.’ 31 Abraham said, ‘If they don’t listen to Moses and the Prophets, then neither will they be persuaded if someone rises from the dead.’”
What does this passage mean to me/us?
Contributed by Rich McGimsey
There once was a rich man, expensively dressed in the latest fashions, wasting his days in conspicuous consumption. A poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, had been dumped on his doorstep. All he lived for was to get a meal from scraps off the rich man’s table. His best friends were the dogs who came and licked his sores.
Then he died, this poor man, and was taken up by the angels to the lap of Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. In hell and in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham in the distance and Lazarus in his lap. He called out, ‘Father Abraham, mercy! Have mercy! Send Lazarus to dip his finger in water to cool my tongue. I’m in agony in this fire.’’ – Luke 16:19-24 The Message
The meaning in this story is as straight forward and subtle as it is uncomfortable. An emaciated man covered in sores being dropped off at the front door of a rich man just to beg for scraps of food is overlooked while dogs lick his sores. What kind of person can live in luxury and watch that kind of suffering? Obviously a person with no heart for God or any regard for his creation. There is also the subtle message in this story. At this time a person with great wealth was presumed to be blessed by God. Jesus points out that what a person has doesn’t determine his place among God but how he treats others will determine that place. This must have been a shocking statement at the time for people to hear. The rich man obviously doesn’t have any faith due to his actions of only being concerned with himself. The man is not condemned to Hell because of his wealth, but because of his ignoring the commands of God towards a fellow human. If we only take care of ourselves then we have turned a blind eye to who God wants us to be.
Prayer
Dear heavenly Father, we give thanks for the unbelievable gift of love and grace You gave to us. We pray that we love You with all our hearts and live our lives giving back this love and grace to others for the transformation of the world. In Christ’s name, we pray, Amen.
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