the call

For the complete version, see website below.

-------

04/23/08
Remaining Awake
Jill Carattini

There is a parable Jesus tells in the book of Luke that is perhaps as easy

to overlook as any injustice we want not to see.  I have misread the story
for years.  In it, Jesus speaks of 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” (Luke 16:20).  When
the poor man died he was carried away by the angels to be with Abraham.
The rich man also died and was buried.  Then Jesus notes, “In Hades, where
the rich man was being tormented, he looked up 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’” (16:24-25).

It is far from a mere commentary on wealth.  In this parable, Jesus
describes a man who chooses to live with a great chasm between his success
and a poor man’s fate.  At his own gate, he daily passes the beggar,
choosing neither to see him nor his agony.  He allows the rules of social
hierarchy to keep the man at his feet nameless and invisible.  Even from
Hades, the rich man chooses to address Lazarus as a mere servant, asking
Abraham to send him to soothe his own discomfort.  But the chasms he
allowed in life have now grown fixed in death.

If we will hear this parable with our ears open to the story, attune to
our discomfort and possible biases, approaching with a sensitivity to the
lessons of history within the fierce urgency of now, there is a glimpse of
an amazing God and the welcoming table to which we are invited.  For
Christ’s is a theology that is far from assuming God’s only concern for
humanity is that we make it to eternity.  As Nicholas Wolterstorff writes,
“God’s love of justice is grounded in God’s longing for the complete shalom
of God’s creatures and in God’s sorrow over its absence.”(2)  And so, the
kingdom we discover in the proclamations of Jesus is one that turns social
norms, status, and hierarchies upside down, one that reminds us that the
beggar Lazarus has a name, a place, and a value beyond the one we may have
given him.  The words and actions of Christ call us to take seriously the
world in front of us, because in fact, it matters deeply.



Jill Carattini is senior associate writer at Ravi Zacharias
International Ministries in Atlanta, Georgia.


(1) William Faulkner, “Requiem for a Nun” in William Faulkner: Novels
1942-1954 (New York: Library of America, 1994), 535.
(2) James Washington, Ed., A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings
and Speeches of Martin Luther King Jr. (New York: HarperCollins,
1986), 269.
(3) Nicolas Wolterstorff, Until Justice and Peace Embrace (Spring
Arbor: Spring Arbor Distributors, 1999), 113.


-------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright (c) 2008 Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM)
"A Slice of Infinity" is aimed at reaching into the culture with words of
challenge, words of truth, and words of hope. If you know of others who
would enjoy receiving "A Slice of Infinity" in their email box each day,
tell them they can sign up on our website at
http://www.rzim.org/slice/slice.php.  If they do not have access to the
World Wide Web, please call 1-877-88SLICE (1-877-887-5423).

Copyright notice:  "A Slice of Infinity" may be copied and re-transmitted
by electronic mail, and individual copies of a particular "A Slice of
Infinity" may be printed, provided that such copying, re-transmission,
printing, or other use is not for profit or other commercial purpose.
However, "A Slice of Infinity" may NOT be reproduced in any form on the
World Wide Web or in print media or other media without express written
permission.  RZIM considers requests to reprint, transmit, or otherwise
reproduce "A Slice of Infinity" (or portions thereof) in print, or other
media on a case-by-case basis; please contact RZIM at 1-800-448-6766 to
submit a request.

Any copying, re-transmission, distribution, printing, or other use of "A
Slice of Infinity" must set forth the following credit line, in full, at
the conclusion of the portion of A Slice of Infinity that is used:
Copyright(c) 2008
Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM).
Reprinted with permission.
A Slice of Infinity is a ministry of Ravi Zacharias International
Ministries
Ravi Zacharias International Ministries may withdraw or modify this grant
of permission at any time http://www.rzim.org.