April 30

The Rich Man and Lazarus

             “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day.  And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who longed to satisfy his hunger with what fell from the rich man’s table; even the dogs would come and lick his sores.  The poor man died and was carried away by the angels to be with Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, where he was being tormented, he looked up and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side. He called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in agony in these flames.’  But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that during your lifetime you received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in agony.  Besides all this, between you and us a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who might want to pass from here to you cannot do so, and no one can cross from there to us.’  He said, ‘Then, father, I beg you to send him to my father’s house— for I have five brothers—that he may warn them, so that they will not also come into this place of torment.’  Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.’  He said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”

Luke 16:19-31

There are some in this world…

            There are some in this world who have every comfort that money can buy.

            There are some in this world who die in the street.

            There are some in this world who have honor and glory and strive for power.

            There are some in this world who live in anonymity and poverty and strive to survive for one more day.

            There are some in this world who are sound in body and mind.

            There are some in this world who live with broken bodies and fractured minds.

God sees all.  God knows all.  God judges all.

            The criteria for heaven is not how much we accomplished or how much we changed the world or how well our wealth and influence grew.  We reap the benefits for those things here on earth.  We are praised and exalted for those things here on earth.  We are held up as examples of lives well lived for those things on earth…but God has a different currency.

            Look at this story.  Who does God know the name of?  It is not the one with all the wealth and power…the one who gave the most money to the church or held benefit dinners or had buildings named after him or had theological degrees.  The rich man is anonymous.  The one that God sees and calls by name is Lazarus.  The poor man, the broken man, the man who could give everything that he had and have that gift make no impact at all.  The man who was dirty and smelled and was more popular with the animals then with his own kind.  The man who was told that he did not matter ended up sitting with Father Abraham in eternity.

            The currency of Heaven is not the same as the currency of Earth.  God looks at resilience and hope and love and generosity and faith.  He looks at purity of heart in the midst of overwhelming circumstances.  He looks at relationship with Him.  Lazarus was a nobody, but when the end of his days came, the Father brought His beloved child home.

            Our children sit in Lazarus’ seat.  This is the best time in history to have special needs; there is greater awareness and better access to resources than ever before.  But it is still mostly a place of marginalization and anonymity.  Every day, some part of the IDD community is told that they will not amount to anything and that they are a waste of space that are consuming valuable resources.  They are given menial jobs and pitiful looks and have their needs pushed to the side so that those with power and money can invest in building their kingdoms.

            The day will come when those anonymous, wealthy and powerful men and women will come to the end of their days and stand before the judgment of God.  They will be asked how they treated God’s beloved during their life.  And The Creator will gesture to our children, who He knows by name, standing by His side.

A moment to reflect:

What do you feel when you read the story of Lazarus and the Rich Man?  Where does that come from?