In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

5 The Parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man: Reversal Now or Later We move, in this chapter, from the beginning of Jesus’ ministry in the Gospel of Luke to its very heart, in the midst of the travel narrative, as Jesus makes his way to Jerusalem followed by friends, seekers, and foes alike. Between the Nazareth proclamation (Luke 4:16-30) and the parable of Lazarus and the rich man (16:19-31), the beatitudes and woes of Luke’s Sermon on the Plain (6:20-26) deal with the now familiar theme of status reversal between rich and poor, powerful and lowly, in a straightforward, explicit declaration. But after that, the Gospel makes a move toward practical instruction—not just declaring status reversal, but also trying to work out the implications of Jesus’ unique ministry and interpretation of Torah for the daily life of his followers. As he comes closer to Jerusalem, Jesus’ teachings seem to intensify, and the parable of Lazarus and the rich man is a part of that process. Of the three texts discussed in this project, the status reversals here in chapter 16 are the clearest example of total inversion, with little hint of leveling and with no chance of repentance or change after a certain, apparently imminent, point. There is a sense of urgency, a recognition that the Pharisees to whom the parable is directed, and the realworld elites represented by the parable’s rich man and his brothers, are running short on time to change their lives and participate in the reign of God. We have considered thus far in this study a song centered on status reversal (chapter 3), and a sermon exploring that theme further (chapter 4). In this chapter, we will look at a parable that embodies the reversal between rich and poor, hungry and fully sated (cf. Luke 6:20-21, 24-25), in a story about two men: “a certain rich man” and “a certain poor man named Lazarus” (16:19-20). This comparative set-up is a common element of Greco-Roman rhetoric, although it is unusual to name either character.1 It is also a common set-up for other Lukan parables about “a certain man” (cf. 10:30; 12:16; 14:16; 15:11; 16:1; 19:12; 20:9). Often these parables are read and interpreted as 197 spiritual allegories for God and the reign of God, and it is relatively easy to do so. But this practice alone, without further exploration, shortchanges the complexity of life and of Jesus’ message. Certainly there is spiritual truth in the parables, but in keeping with the argument throughout this project, spiritual truths and relevance cannot and should not be separated from political, economic, and social realities. According to Luke, Jesus was crucified as a political threat to the local elites of Palestine and to the Roman Empire. It is therefore unlikely that his parables and actions were simply spiritual in nature.2 Even when his teachings speak of the afterlife, as Luke 16:19-31 does, they do so with a message intended to make a difference in the present world. The parables of Jesus in Luke typically employ an element of surprise in the midst of familiar settings in order to challenge the audience and push them into deeper thought and positive action in response to a new reality.3 We shall follow William Herzog in our approach to the parable of Lazarus and the rich man, in acknowledging that such parables “were not earthly stories with heavenly meanings, but earthy stories with heavy meanings, weighted down by an awareness of the working of exploitation in the world of their hearers. . . . The parable was a form of social analysis every bit as much as it was a form of theological reflection.”4 The interconnectedness of social and theological issues and proposed solutions is indispensable to our study of Lazarus and the rich man, as it has been throughout this study. A common understanding of this parable is that the rich man is sinful and therefore condemned to hell, while the pious poor man Lazarus is taken to heaven as a reward for his righteousness.5 This reading can be seen, for example, in a modern-day African retelling of the parable, where the rich man is depicted as horribly immoral and abusive in every way imaginable: ignoring a young girl begging for food, wasting money to impress his sycophantic friends, divorcing a faithful wife...

Share