Look for Lazarus

“They will not be convinced...” Luke 16:31

This is the only time Jesus gives a name to a character in a parable. His name is Lazarus. He is a poor man, diseased, with oozing sores on his body. The dogs would come and lick his wounds. Lazarus was begging every day outside a rich man’s home. Perhaps this rich man is nameless because it can be you or me every time we ignore the needs of others. Sometimes the poor, the sick, the orphaned, the widowed, the imprisoned, they are right there in front of us, and we continue to pursue our own business. We do not realize that they are open doors to heaven. We forget that what is most important to God is not how much money we make, how big our home is, how far we’ve climbed, how many places we have travelled to, but how much we loved our neighbor! 

In the parable, the rich man goes to hell, and Lazarus goes to heaven. The rich man pleads with Abraham to send Lazarus to his 5 brothers to warn them that hell exists. But would his 5 brothers take time to listen to Lazarus, do you think? No, they will not be convinced by Lazarus. They would not mind him with his stinking clothes, and dirty hands. 

Perhaps we live in a gated subdivision and there is no Lazarus at our gate. For Lent, let us look for Lazarus and his family so we will not be one of the nameless in Jesus’ eyes. Or at the very least, if we are staying safe in our home, let us open our hearts and our wallets and give alms to organizations that are helping the poor at this time.