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[Note: This is one of a series listed under the heading: Wordie Post." It was originally posted on the Word Press blog entitled "Our Daily Bread," found at rtippett97@wordpress.com. The changes at Word Press are similar to those on Twitter and Facebook, where I was posting to an empty space. That was because I began and maintained that blog as one of their free offerings. When their force to change to a paid blog website did not move me, they cancelled their "Reader," so posting on Word Press has become like a caged animal at the zoo, where only workers occasionally toss the animals a bite to eat. Word Press [et al] is like what I imagine life was like in the satellite countries of the Soviet Union: meager, bleak, spiritless. So, I am transferring those forty articles here.]
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Luke 16:19-31 has Jesus telling the story of Lazarus and the rich man. Most adults calling themselves Christians know this story, even if vaguely. Lazarus was a poor servant. The rich man was from a wealthy family. Both died on the same day. Lazarus, whose name mean “God Has Helped” or “God Is My Helper,” went to stand beside Abraham [call that heaven]. The rich man, who had no name, showing how unimportant money is in the afterlife, he went to Hades. Nobody stood beside him. Between the two was a chasm.
When you read the story, you see that the soul burning in Hades called out to “Father Abraham,” not to Lazarus. That says the soul still thought it had privledge in Hell and was too important still to talk to the soul of the man who used to be banned from the Temple in Jerusalem where the rich man worked [as a hired hand, making lots of jack, with benefits]. That soul still saw the soul of Lazarus as a slave, with Abraham his new Master. So, that soul asked Abraham to send his new slave soul over with a drop of water on his finger, to touch the burning hot tongue of the once rich man. Abraham calmly explained how you had your turn being self-served, while Lazarus spent that time being abused by souls like you; so, turn about is fair play.
Abraham then added, “Besides, this chasm is fixed and neither of your souls can pass from one side to the other.” That touched something within the evil soul of the former rich man. He realized he had some brothers who were exactly like him: rich and mistreating all who were deemed of lesser value. So, that soul begged Abraham to let Lazarus go back as a Charles Dickens’ spirit and scare his brothers into not making the same mistake as him. Of course, had Abraham fallen for that act, the soul of the once Jewish lawyer would take that ‘good deed’ to the Satan court of appeals and say he deserved to be on a level of Hades that was closer to the air vents and cooler. Abraham told him his brothers had everything they needed – same as him – so expect their souls to be joining his soon enough.
What is often missed in this story being retold is how the soul of Lazarus said nothing. He didn’t tell Abraham, “Hell no I’m not going to help him. He’s where he deserves to be. Let his soul fry!” Lazarus was oblivious to everything going on. His soul was busy praising Yahweh. He was probably asking Yahweh if he could go back and be a Saint on earth again soon.
That unwritten part of the story is Jesus speaking silently to all the self-righteous “Christians” of this world – conservative, liberal, middle of the road – saying Christianity today is exactly like Judaism was then, when Jesus told this parable. Lazarus was not a beggar full of sores who fought dogs for a crumb or two that fell from the tables of the rich rulers. That is some unknown rich man’s translations of Greek into whatever languages make readers of Scripture think that.
Lazarus was a servant of Yahweh who told those in the Temple they also needed to serve Yahweh and not themselves. He was kicked out of the premises, forced to stand at the gates. They said he was full of sores, but the reality is he was pointing out all the sores that were the rich man and his brothers [and all like them]. Lazarus desired to be fed spiritual food when he went to the Temple; but, instead, all he heard was crumbs of meaningless dribble from priests who knew nothing of value with which to lead flocks. The “dogs” were the mongrels who wore fancy robes that came to Lazarus and demanded he pay them to lick his legal sores, unjustly forced upon him.
Getting into heaven demands more than being poor. Begging is a sign of faithlessness and one does not enter heaven because they know how to beg God to let them sin and still be special to Him. Getting into heaven requires service. It is the axiom: Scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours.
In short, the scene Jesus painted about heaven is fairly accurate: two good souls. The unstated scene of Hades misses the reality that the former rich man would have been shoulder to shoulder with other failed soul; but, they just could not be seen [souls being invisible and all]. The dumb smuck thought his soul was all alone, when it wasn’t. The great chasm was created by all the souls clawing and scratching to get back the lives they had squandered, thinking they were going to heaven instead of Hell. Maybe, they were trying to dig up the souls of those priests, pastors, and ministers who sold them a load of crap before they died and went to Hell.
Moral of the story: Make a name for your soul by marrying Yahweh. Then your soul can also claim to be one “God Has Helped.” To reach that name, you have to also be known as one who has been “God’s Helper On Earth.” You don’t get either name by pretending to be better than anyone else, pretending to love everyone except the ones you hate, or spending less than a few hours in a lifetime pondering the meaning of Scripture.