The Stranger At My Gate

A Reflection on the Gospel for September 29th, 2019:
Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Luke 16.19-31

Jesus told this parable to those among the Pharisees who loved money: “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.’

“The man who had been rich said, ‘Then, father, I beg you to send Lazarus 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.’ Abraham 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.’”

---

It’s hard to ignore the words of Abraham: “If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.” Here we are, the adopted sons and daughters of a God who raised His only son from the dead. We have the full picture that the rich man begged for to save his brothers. And many of us have embraced it, as has been the evidence in my own life. But are we this way just for our own friends and family, or do we reach out to the stranger too? Do we ignore the stranger because we don’t know his circumstances? I wonder sometimes if the reason for the success of crowdsourcing initiatives is that we can put a face and a story to a problem. The money is for something. The person is deemed worthy.


Jesus doesn’t give us context for why Lazarus is lying in the street, penniless and sick. He just is. His need doesn’t require an explanation. How often have we heard that we can’t give to this or that poor person because of assumptions we make about how they will use the money or supplies? “They’ll just sell it for drugs or alcohol.” In the culture at the time of Jesus, someone’s physical ailment was a sign of their soul not being right with God. Your sickness was your fault. While charity was stressed in the Law and the Prophets, we know from other stories in the New Testament that the lived reality was that people who were ill were pushed to the margins.

"The world knows our faith by how we treat each other in times of need. I hope they also know us by how we treat the stranger."

Tweet

Nowhere in this parable does it say it would have been ok to ignore Lazarus if the rich man suspected his illness and poverty was caused by Lazarus’ sin. The rich man’s sin was ignoring Lazarus’ need, not whether he misjudged the sin or not. I know from personal experience it’s so much easier to give when you know where your money is going. And we absolutely should be a people who takes care of our friends and family. The world knows our faith by how we treat each other in times of need. I hope they also know us by how we treat the stranger.


I think this parable is challenging us to look past our pre-judgements of who deserves our charity and who doesn’t. The gift that we give when we are charitable isn’t our money anyway, it’s the love and care attached to it. It lets a person know that we recognize their God-given value, regardless of their choices and hurts. This parable is calling me to find the stranger at my gate.


​Stephanie Potter

---