Twenty-Sixth Sunday In Ordinary Time, Year C: Lazarus And The Rich Man

The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus is the only parable that contains a proper name, "Lazarus;" the rich man has no name, but he is traditionally known as "Dives," the Latin word meaning "rich."

Dives ended up in a Dive Bar in Hell's Kitchen for all eternity, and I don’t mean a below sidewalk-level seedy bar in Manhattan, NY.

Actually, the pronunciation in Latin is like the Spanish, “Deeves.”

Diva would be the name if he were a girl because of the sense of self-importance; who is difficult to please, like wanting to dine sumptuously each day.

However you pronounce it, the spiritual truths taught in this parable are not pretty. One person, Dives, is rotting in hell, the second, Lazarus, is living it up in the bosom of Abraham, and the third, Saint Luke, is telling it like it is.

If Dives is indeed in hell, we can be sure he did not plan on going there. In the Diary of St. Faustina, we read:

I, Sister Faustina Kowalska, by the order of God, have visited the abysses of hell so that I might tell souls about it and testify to its existence...But I noticed one thing: that most of the souls there are those who disbelieved that there is a hell.

As a personal interpretation, Pope Benedict XVI in his three-volume series of Jesus of Nazareth, said that the rich man was in purgatory, not in hell, because the rich man showed some charity to his brothers on earth. In this case, the chasm would only be descriptive; one can’t pass over from one side to the other until one is totally purified as per Revelation 21:27, which states, "Nothing impure will ever enter [heaven],…”

No matter where Dives is, he is clearly in pain. The purified or damned sinned through the five senses, therefore they suffer through all five of the senses. He dined sumptuously each day so his tongue is on fire.

There is a saying, “If drinking is interfering with your work, you’re probably a heavy drinker. If work is interfering with your drinking, you’re probably an alcoholic.”

Or in Dives case, if eating is interfering with your work, you’re probably a compulsive overeater. If work is interfering with your eating, you’re probably a food addict.”

Disordered desires refer to sinful or excessive desires or obsessions for worldly things, people, or places.

In Dives case, it was the satisfaction of gourmet food every day and the money that could afford that.

The rich man is not condemned simply for his wealth, but because he had not seized the opportunity to help the beggar by his door. A callous indifference to human need.

St. Clement of Alexandria wrote that "wealth seems to me to be like a serpent, which will twist round the hand and bite, unless one knows how to lay hold of it without danger by the point of the tail". He used this metaphor to explain that money is not inherently evil but is dangerous if handled with ignorance or greed.

I want to focus on recognizing Lazarus by our door and the barriers that we put up.

First, Lazarus never speaks or acts. He does not even stand up because the parable says that he spent his time lying at the rich man’s door- the only time I ever saw Lazarus get up was with the help of two crutches and two dogs which is depicted in a statue at Queen of Apostle’s Parish by the front sacristy.

Lazarus obviously needs a meal. One lady said that a homeless man would not accept her $ 10 McDonald’s gift card because he wanted only cash. And then he got angry when cash was not given. It might be better to give the gift card with the amount clearly marked to the St. Vincent de Paul Society who does collect McDonald’s Gift Cards, and they will make sure that only needy people who want them get them.

Or Lazurus not saying a word could be a poor country. Saint John Paul II connected the rich man as rich countries that drain most of the world’s energy and raw materials that are meant to serve the whole of humanity, saying that the solution is fair trade and solidarity between peoples. Giving to Catholic Relief Services or donating to your local food bank are two ways to help Lazarus.

Or volunteering at a local soup kitchen to either help cook the food or help serve it in a welcoming atmosphere, besides food, Lazarus needs kindness, respect, human warmth, which are often denied.

Do you know a Lazarus by name? In a time of relative abundance, the choice to turn away from need is shaped more by our sense of whom we are bound to than by what we have available to give.1