There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who longed to satisfy his hunger with what fell from the rich man’s table; even the dogs would come and lick his sores. The poor man died and was carried away by the angels to be with Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, where he was being tormented, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side. He called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in agony in these flames.’ 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. 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.’ He said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house—for I have five brothers—that he may warn them, so that they will not also come into this place of torment.’ Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.’ He said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’ 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
“It is easy enough to transpose that dramatic inequality in food distribution in the Bible to our own contemporary food distribution. In our practice, the wealthy can enjoy an abundance of lavish foods while subsistence workers (on a very low minimum wage) and others who are “left behind” get the leftovers from such distributive practices. This arrangement of food distribution is reflected in the parsimonious practice of “food stamps” that is a grudging policy of food distribution. And now the imposition of work requirements on the hungry reflects the dread of some wealthy that “some needy person might get something for nothing” from our vast abundance of food! The imposition of work requirements on the vulnerable is matched by generous government grants designed for the most advantaged producers!
That intentional inequity that happens daily in our society occurs on international scale as food becomes a weapon for the rich nations against the poorer nations. Food becomes an instrument of manipulation and extortion. That inequitable practice of food distribution calls to mind the parable of Jesus concerning a rich man and Lazarus, who “longed to satisfy his hunger with what fell from the rich man’s table.” The parable proposes that the rich man and his ilk are held to the demanding expectations of the Torah while Lazarus is embraced by Father Abraham, a stand-in for God’s compassion. The parable suggests that parsimonious food distribution leads to an alienation that does not and cannot come to a good end, while the tilt of God’s rule is toward those who hunger and are eventually blessed.”
Walter Brueggemann in Materiality As Resistance: Five Elements for Moral Action in the Real World (Louisville: WJKP, 2020), 34-35.
As I type this, I must admit that I spend more days each year in undeveloped countries that lack clean drinking water, shelter, and food for the average person. I see the ineffectiveness of parsimonious food distribution. People should not send help. Handouts only fuel local corruption and external support dependency. How can we achieve good ends? Follow the example of Jesus. Go help or send helpers who build disciples.
I have chosen to give my life to doing the work of helping people like Lazarus (whose name means “God helps”) in the hardest places and teaching them to follow Jesus with integrity and to turn brokenness into blessing by following His ways. Join me through your giving or service. Simultaneously, let us tell rich people dressed in purple to store up their treasures in heaven through generous giving while they still have time.
What will you do? Most take the parsimonious path by default. Don’t let that be you. If you fit in the story as having more than enough resources to live, give, serve, and love, then either go help or send helpers. God is watching. If you have insufficient resources and you identify with Lazarus, then cry out to the God who helps. God sees, hears, and will move toward you with compassion. Calling for His help for our work in Nepal.