The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus has many important lessons and possibilities for interpretation. I want to focus on one particular detail – the role of the Torah and Prophets in this parable.

Notice what Father Abraham says to the rich man in verse 29. It is, of course, a thoroughly Jewish answer! Listen to Moses and the prophets!

Luke's parable knows that these ancient faithful people and their writings speak the truth. We tend to diminish this element of the parable because it does not generally fit into our understanding of the afterlife. The story has no intention of portraying Jesus and his ministry as replacing the Jewish tradition. Instead, Abraham, Moses, and the prophets are seen as people of faith that should be listened to.

¹⁹ “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day.  ²⁰ And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores,  ²¹ who longed to satisfy his hunger with what fell from the rich man’s table; even the dogs would come and lick his sores.  ²² The poor man died and was carried away by the angels to be with Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried.  ²³ In Hades, where he was being tormented, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side. ²⁴ He called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip f his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in agony in these flames.’  ²⁵ But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that during your lifetime you received your good things and Lazarus in like manner evil things, but now he is comforted here, and you are in agony.  ²⁶ Besides all this, between you and us a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who might want to pass from here to you cannot do so, and no one can cross from there to us.’  ²⁷ He said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house— ²⁸ for I have five brothers—that he may warn them, so that they will not also come into this place of torment.’  ²⁹ Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.’  ³⁰ He said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’  ³¹ He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’ ” (Luke 16:19-31)

A Story from the Rabbis

As Christians, we can learn great lessons from Jewish interpretation and its ability to bring forth new interpretations. A rabbinic parable exists about the need to read our Scriptures in transforming ways:

By what parable may the question [of the difference between scripture and oral tradition] be answered? By the one of a mortal king who had two servants whom he loved. He gave a measure of wheat and a measure of flax to each. What did the clever one do? He took the flax and wove it into a tablecloth. He took the wheat and made it into flour, then kneaded the dough and baked it. He set the loaf on a table, spread the tablecloth, and waited for the king to come.

But the foolish one did not do anything at all.

After a while, the king came into his house and said to the two servants, “My sons, bring me what I have given you.” One brought out the table with the loaf baked and the tablecloth. And the other brought out his wheat in a basket with the bundle of flax over the grain.

What a shame! What a disgrace! Need it be asked which of the two servants was the more beloved? He, of course, who laid out the table with the loaf baked of flour upon it. (Paraphrased from Seder Eliahu Zuta 2, as recounted in Karin Zetterholm, “Jewish Interpretation of the Bible: Ancient and Contemporary”)

The parable suggests that interpretation transforms the meaning of the biblical text in meaningful and beautiful ways. The transformation from wheat to bread is to be celebrated. Sometimes it may seem folks who dependably preserve the text entrusted to them are the most faithful. However, that “simpler” path requires little—no work, no creativity. We have been given the rich ingredients of wheat and flax—building blocks for life! The rabbis know God desires active participation to refine the product. This is our present task in an ever-changing world. We are makers of bread! We participate responsibly in the ongoing and never-ending interpretation of shared texts, and we read anew.

Bonhoeffer on Advent

My thoughts and feelings seem to be getting more and more like those of the Old Testament, and in recent months I have been reading the Old Testament much more than the New. It is only when one knows the unutterability of the name of God that one can utter the name of Jesus Christ; it is only when one loves life and the earth so much that without them everything seems to be over that one may believe in the resurrection and a new world; it is only when one submits to God’s law that one may speak of grace; and it is only when God’s wrath and vengeance are hanging as grim realities over the heads of one’s enemies that something of what it means to love and forgive them can touch our hearts. In my opinion it is not Christian to want to take our thoughts and feelings too quickly and too directly from the New Testament. (Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a letter from prison, Second Sunday of Advent, December 5, 1943)

A Benediction (Or Miscellaneous Thoughts)

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