There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. Luke 16:19-21
“Let us look at the pride of the rich man puffed up for things of no real importance; “He was clothed, it says, in purple and fine linen,” that is, his study was to deck himself in beautiful attire, so that his raiment was of great price, and he lived in never-ceasing banquetings; for such is the meaning of his feasting every day: besides which it adds that he feasted sumptuously, that is, prodigally.
All the luxury therefore of that rich man consisted in things of this sort: in clothing clean, delicate, and embroidered with linen, and dyed with purple, so as to gratify the eyes of beholders. And what is the result? Differing but little from the figures in statuary and painting, the rich man is indeed admired by those who are destitute of sense, but his heart is full of pride and haughtiness: he has high thoughts of himself and is boastful, and while there is nothing of excellence in his mind, he makes variously colored hues a reason for his empty pride.
His delight is in expensive banquets; in music and revellings; he has numerous cooks, who labour to provoke gluttony by carefully prepared meats: his cupbearers are beautifully attired; he has singing men and singing women, and the voices of flatterers. Such were the things in which the rich man lived; for the disciple of Christ certifies us. saying, “that all that is in the world is the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of the world.”
Meanwhile Lazarus, bound fast by sickness and poverty, was cast down, He says, at his gate. For the rich man dwelt in lofty halls, and spacious mansions nobly built: whereas the poor man was not so much laid as cast down, thrown there in neglect, and not deemed worthy of any account. Cut off from compassion and care, he would have liked, to satisfy his hunger, have gathered the worthless morsels that fell from the rich man’s table.
He was tormented moreover by a severe and incurable malady: “Yes, even the dogs, it says, licked his sores,” and that, as it seems, not to injure him, but rather, so to speak, as sympathizing with him, and tending him: for with their tongues they allay their own sufferings, removing with them that which pains them, and gently soothing the sore. But the rich man was more cruel than the beasts; for he felt neither sympathy for him nor compassion; but was full of all mercilessness.”
Cyril of Alexandria (376-444) in Commentary on St. Luke, Sermon CXI (From the Syriac. MS.12,154).
I hope you like the new header photo on my final day in Alexandria. The weather was absolutely gorgeous. I got to spend time outside with dear fellow servants, Adel, Ereny, Sylvia, and Feda, who serve the broken and hurting with AYC.
By the time this posts, I will be on the long journey home. In a way, we are all on the same journey, for in this parable the rich man and Lazarus both made it to their eternal home.
Where will you end up?
Many, like Lazarus, are “cut off from compassion and care” because riches have tempted the wealthy to focus only on finery and feasting at holiday times, rather than on people, and specifically, the poor around them.
Where do you find yourself in the full story (read Luke 16:19-31)?
As you read it, remember that the name Lazarus literally means “the one God has helped.” It should sober and shake people to realize that the eternal destination for the rich man and Lazarus was linked to what they did in this earthly life.
So what’s the lesson from Doctor Cyril today on generosity?
Use whatever you have to help the spiritually and materially poor. Don’t send help. Do what God did on the first Advent. Go to the broken and the needy.
What difference will your service make?
It will make a difference in every single person you serve for God’s glory. But there’s something much more important that will happen. It will shape your eternal destiny!