Do You Know Lazarus?
Sunday, September 28th, 2025
Luke 16:19-31
19 ‘There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. 20And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, 21who longed to satisfy his hunger with what fell from the rich man’s table; even the dogs would come and lick his sores.
22The poor man died and was carried away by the angels to be with Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried.
23In Hades, where he was being tormented, he looked up and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side. 24He 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.”
25But 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. 26Besides 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.”
27He said, “Then, father, I beg you to send him to my father’s house— 28for I have five brothers—that he may warn them, so that they will not also come into this place of torment.”
29Abraham replied, “They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.”
30He said, “No, father Abraham; but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.”
31He 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.” ’
How many times have you every said, “if I had only known!”
- If I had only known that person needed help…
- If I had only known that child was being abused…
- If I had only known what that family was going through…
It is striking to me that the “rich man” does know Lazarus. Lazarus lay suffering at the rich man’s gate, longing for a scrap from the rich man’s feasts, with his only relief coming from dogs licking at his sores. The rich man’s awareness is revealed when he calls Lazarus by name from his torment in Hades. He knew Lazarus. He saw Lazarus. And he did nothing.
And yet, the bone-chilling truth that convicts me from this parable is how many people I see daily that are suffering, and I don’t even know their names. Do I know Lazarus? No, I do not. It is much easier to judge them namelessly.
- “She would probably just buy cigarettes.”
- “They are just stuck in generational poverty.”
- “Those people don’t know any better.”
When I served at a soup kitchen in Yakima, Washington, I was surprised to learn that the most difficult position to fill was not the cook, the servers, the setup crew, nor the cleanup…the most challenging volunteer position to find was people to sit with the men, women, and children who were eating and talk to them. To treat them like human beings. To learn their names.
The truth is that we cannot help EVERYONE. And yet, perhaps one of the messages of this parable is that we can help SOMEONE. We can learn names. We can look people in the eye. We can treat people with dignity and respect.
Do I know Lazarus? Do you?
