The parable of Dives and Lazarus

Today’s gospel reading from Luke 16:19-31 is about Dives and Lazarus. Jesus tells the parable about the rich man who wore fine clothes and feasted magnificently each day. At his gate was the poor man Lazarus who longed to eat the scraps that fell off the rich man’s table. Lazarus died was carried by the angels to be with Abraham in heaven. The rich man died and was buried. From his place of torment, the man asked Abraham to send Lazarus and give him a little water. But Abraham explains that there is huge divide between Hades and Heaven, such that nobody could cross it. This reminds me of the level of inequality here in New Zealand where, in 2016, the top 20% of the population owned 70% of the wealth. Only 35 years ago it was 46%. We create the divide here in this world. This is the sin of the world or what we call social sin. While we are so caught up in trying to become good individuals we can easily become blind to the fact that we live in a world that is so brutally divided and unequal. Modern-day Lazarus lies at our gates. Even if we do not believe in Jesus or any other religion for that matter, our human conscience should be enough to make us aware that we need to constantly stand up for economic balance and equal access to the basic necessities of life.
 
Tom Rouse
 

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