The Rich Man and Lazarus
A really great Gospel last Sunday, one of those parables that really stands out and you tend to remember. Some of the Early Church Fathers considered it a part of the two brother pattern which is evident throughout Scripture and related the rich man to Israel and the poor man Lazarus to the Church. Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, in his book Jesus of Nazareth , emphasises the motif of the suffering just man from the Psalms (specifically, 44 & 73) which is part of an Old Testament tradition of questioning why the wicked man prospers, and explaining his unhappy reality. He cannot understand the Word of God, from whence true happiness comes. The Pope then shows us another, even deeper dimension to this parable, one which I have marked in my copy of Jesus of Nazareth and often return to. This is the rich man’s request for someone from the dead to warn his brothers – pointing in the end to Jesus Himself who will rise from the dead, the sign of Jonah. The rich man's begging for more ...