Today we hear about the Rich Man (or Dives as he is called sometimes) and Lazarus. I think that we are often tempted to see this parable as referring to others. To apply it to ourselves is discomforting. Often we do not think of ourselves as rich. We think of others who have more than us. Perhaps, Dives would have said that too as he looked at Herod and the High Priest, or even the Roman Emperor himself, in comparison. Yet, it remains, Dives is in torment and Lazarus is in paradise. Imagine looking at things from the point of view of Lazarus today. Individually, would he look at me as rich, or collectively, would he, as a nation, look at New Zealand as rich, acting as Dives did? Dives dressed, ate and lived in luxury without a thought for Lazarus to whom he gave nothing. Even, tormented in flames in Hell, he thinks of Lazarus as his servant and of Abraham as his father. Such self-indulgence, arrogance and disregard for others is clearly noxious to God, so much so, that there is a great chasm fixed between Abraham and Dives which no one can cross. Is there a chasm in my heart? Do I wallow in entitlement and self-justification? For Dives it was too late but for me I can bridge the chasm, here and now, through prayer, mercy and almsgiving. Selfless acts of mortification mean we die to Dives and live to Christ.
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