A rich man who ... feasted sumptuously every day.
Luke 16:19-21, “There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores.”
We have a picture in this parable that is meant to shock us and to help us to recognize our own needs. The rich man left nothing to be desired, but unlike Solomon who recognized that “all is vanity,” he kept it to himself. Set as it is after Jesus warned the Pharisees about their inordinate love of money, we know that this is an issue of the heart. His self-interest was so high that he could not even feed his table scraps to the poor man outside his gate, much less help clean his body. And then we see later in this parable the terrible price paid upon death, wherein the poor man is comforted in Abraham’s presence and the rich man is in torment. Jesus points us to the answer being the good news as given by the Law and the Prophets, who tell us that we should love God and love other people and that when we fast, we ought to use the food we save to help someone in need. We hear the prophet Micah proclaim “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” Especially in this season, do we give thanks for all God gives us by sharing part of it with those unable to help themselves?
We thank you for the great abundance we have, far beyond “give us this day our daily bread,” that we may help others in your name, Lord Jesus!
ESV Lectionary
We have a picture in this parable that is meant to shock us and to help us to recognize our own needs. The rich man left nothing to be desired, but unlike Solomon who recognized that “all is vanity,” he kept it to himself. Set as it is after Jesus warned the Pharisees about their inordinate love of money, we know that this is an issue of the heart. His self-interest was so high that he could not even feed his table scraps to the poor man outside his gate, much less help clean his body. And then we see later in this parable the terrible price paid upon death, wherein the poor man is comforted in Abraham’s presence and the rich man is in torment. Jesus points us to the answer being the good news as given by the Law and the Prophets, who tell us that we should love God and love other people and that when we fast, we ought to use the food we save to help someone in need. We hear the prophet Micah proclaim “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” Especially in this season, do we give thanks for all God gives us by sharing part of it with those unable to help themselves?
We thank you for the great abundance we have, far beyond “give us this day our daily bread,” that we may help others in your name, Lord Jesus!
ESV Lectionary
posted by BenLaws at 6:35 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home