The Rich Man and Lazarus - A Commentary

Tom Stidl | 10/21/2022

The Rich Man And Lazarus – A Commentary

By Thomas Stidl

Recently we heard the Gospel of the Rich Man and Lazarus. All of us heard the preaching about being caring to our poor, hungry brothers and sisters. We must feed the hungry, clothe the naked, shelter the homeless, etc. This is rightly so. These acts and about four more are mentioned in the corporal works of mercy. This is a very suitable preaching for this gospel reading. As the story goes, Lazarus went in Hebrew terms to Abraham’s bosom while the rich man went down to the nether world. Now let’s take a look at the last line of that reading.

“If they will not listen to Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead.” The ‘they’ in this reading refers to the rich man’s family.

Who rose from the dead? Why, of course, Jesus did. Did the Jewish leaders believe that Jesus rose from the dead in his time? Do the Jewish leaders in our time believe that Jesus rose from the dead? No. The Jewish leaders in Jesus’ time refused to believe the account of the Roman guards and even bribed them to keep silent about the matter or worse yet, lie about the situation. When this Gospel was preached over my near seventy years of life, I have never heard any cleric give a homily on this situation.

Was Jesus revealing his upcoming passion, death and resurrection during this parable to the religious leaders of his day? The answer my friend is yes. The religious leaders of his day would not admit that they made a mistake. They chose instead to keep the political status quo. They did not want to lose face with the people. Imagine for a moment if they would have done the opposite and accepted the fact that they killed the Savior of the World. Would He have forgiven them? Absolutely, Yes. How do I know this? He forgave Peter, didn’t He? But alas, this did not happen. You, dear reader, know the rest of the story.

Until next time, Laus Tibi, Christe. Deo Gratias. Praise be to God. See you in Paradise.

More Stories By Tom Stidl:

Living in the Presence of God - the Holy Spirit

The Fourth Commandment - Part 4

Hyperinflation and More Signs of the End of the Age - Part 2

The Fifth Commandment Part 1

Desire Habit Compulsion

A Time Of Trial

The Sign of the Cross

On Being a Hermit

About the Author

Tom Stidl

By way of introduction, I am a 70 year old cradle Catholic who spent approximately 12 years in the Real Estate Industry, 7 years working in a Collectables business (stamps and coins), and 26 years in the Direct Mail Data Processing Industry. I also now run a non-profit corporation in my spare time!!

While working, I also had the longest temporary position of my life being an usher for my local Catholic parish for 49 1/2 years.With the onset of Covid-19, I was retired from Church service although I still give out bulletins and the diocesan newspaper after Mass. I have attended Catholic schools for 13 years counting Kindergarten. I have attended weekly Mass, Holy Days of Obligation, and at times Daily Mass.

I can be contacted at stidl@verizon.net and may God richly bless all of us.