If I were a rich man

Yesterday, Jesus brought his good friend Lazarus back to life. A miracle of love and compassion and a demonstration of God’s almighty power and authority. Today I want to talk about another Lazarus, a beggar whose body was covered with sores. A man who was so helpless that he couldn’t even chase away the street dogs pestering him by licking his sores.  Tired, helpless and giving up on life.

He had no food and he was hungry not knowing when his next meal would come. His prayer was that he could just catch the crumbs dropped on the floor from the rich man’s table. In those days, there were no knives, forks and manners were somewhat different by today’s standards.

Food was eaten with the hands and, in very wealthy houses, the hands were cleansed by wiping them on chunks of bread and many times the dirty bread was just thrown to the ground.

And there was Lazarus, a poor man with no strength, just waiting at the rich man’s doorpost for a small piece of bread. It never came. And the rich man showed no mercy, no love, no compassion. And meal after meal, the rich man satisfied his appetite, while the beggar got nothing. Yes, every day God gave this rich man a Lazarus to feed, and every day, the rich man looked the other way.

The beggar died and the angels carried him to heaven. God does take care of the poor. “This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all his troubles.” 

Every day, but today more than ever, God gives us some type of a Lazarus. Someone or a situation to show our love for the least among us. Day after day he puts a Lazarus in our life, the homebound, the unemployed, the sick, the tireless worker, those keeping food on our shelves and those aiding the dying.

Yes, there is a Lazarus somewhere in our life and there may be many in what we are experiencing today. Just as God gave the rich man the opportunity to show mercy to Lazarus, God is given us that same opportunity. A willingness out of love to share our good will, not to horde our goods; to be considerate of our neighbor and to make someone feel somewhat human again. That’s how we will be judged.

What sin did the rich man actually commit? What did he do wrong that gave him eternal hell? It was what he didn’t do, he didn’t notice Lazarus. No, he was so engrossed in his own comfort, his own pleasures, satisfying his own appetites. We see that today. For many it is a “for me only world”.

There are, and will be Lazarus’ today, who also have choices, and he chose to bear his condition with patience and trust in God, and for that he was rewarded. Yes, Lazarus was the Rich man’s ticket into heaven and day after day he refused to help with his pain and so entered eternity in misery. And as the story goes, that rich man became the beggar from hell, while Lazarus entered into heaven with the Lord.

We must always remember what Jesus has said, “whatever you do to the least of my brothers, that you do unto me”. Check in on someone today. Remember, some of our closest friends can be so proud, and yet need us.