"Jesus said to the Pharisees, 'There was a rich man who dressed in purple garments and fine linen and dined sumptuously each day. And lying at his door was a poor man named Lazarus...'"
Luke 16:19-20
And so begins the cringe-worthy Gospel of the rich man and Lazarus. Both men die and Lazarus can be seen resting at the bosom of Abraham by the rich man, suffering in torment. And what does this teach us today? Obviously, it teaches that we, the rich, are to do what we can to help Lazarus at our door. Oh, we may not be dressed in fine purple linen and we may not exactly be dining sumptuously, but we are certainly the rich in this story. And why are we to help Lazarus? Because he deserves it? He was a hard-working guy who fell on hard times? Not necessarily. Maybe Lazarus was a recalcitrant son who squandered his father's money, living it up! And we are still called upon to care about him and help him...why? Because he is there. He is there and he is beloved of God, just as all humans are beloved of God. We are not called to judge the Lazarus-folks at our doors, we are called to love and help them. All humans share the dignity of being God's beloved, regardless of what we may see in them. We are not capable of judging them justly, that is solely up to God. But we are called to love and serve. So, as we embark on an autumn Monday, let's keep our eyes open for the Lazarus(es) among us this day and let us love and serve. Love, heidi
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