The story of the rich man and Lazaros is a window through which we get a glimpse of the eternal state of our souls and the life that continues beyond what we can experience in this world. Jesus does not call it a parable because it is a true story with real people and events, not just symbolic elements. In the story, there is a rich man who wears expensive clothes, dresses like a king, and throws exquisite parties every day. From a worldly perspective, he has it all. He is healthy, wealthy, and surrounded by people celebrating daily. He feels loved and has no need for anything material.
However, in the same place where this is taking place, just on the other side of the mansion’s walls, there is a beggar named Lazaros. In sharp contrast to the rich man, Lazaros lacks all things of this world. He is poor, sick, and alone. He feels abandoned. There is no one to help him or care for him. The only company he has is the street dogs licking his wounds. This story takes place in two contrasting worlds, two opposite lives. Jesus gives us a picture of their lives in this world, which is temporary. Then, He opens the eternal window, giving us the reality of the world to come, that is, of the life that never ends.
Both the rich man and Lazaros die, and in the spiritual world, their roles and places are reversed. The rich man finds himself in a place of distress, poverty, spiritual sickness, and loneliness. Lazaros, on the other hand, finds himself in a place of comfort, joy, and love. He is on the other side now. He is no longer separated from the rich man by a wall but by an abyss. Lazaros is no longer poor, sick, and alone, but he is resting, “in a place of light, in a place of green pasture, in a place of refreshment, from where pain and sorrow and mourning have fled away,” as we pray in the memorial services.
Jesus tells us that Lazaros is in the company of Abraham, the Father of the Faith in the Jewish and Christian traditions. They are together because even in his previous state of poverty and sickness, Lazaros had faith in God. In his earthly life, the poor man lacked all things of this world, but he did not lack trust in God. Now, he encounters the love of God for which he longed.
On the other hand, during his earthly life, the rich man only had faith in himself and his riches. Saint Cyril of Alexandria says that the rich man had been crueler than the dogs because he felt no sympathy or compassion for Lazaros but was completely unmerciful. He had turned away from the love of God, and he only loved the things of this world. Now, he finds himself in anguish.
The love of God, which brings light and refreshment when we open ourselves to Him, is experienced by those who reject Him as a distressing light, like a bright light left on at night that will not let you fall asleep. The rich man has closed himself to the love of God and experiences it as torment. Now that the veil of this life is taken away, and he can no longer ignore the presence of the love of God, the rich man finds himself tormented 2by that divine love.
In the afterlife, both the rich man and Lazaros are fully conscious and have memories of their life on earth. As Saint Gregory of Nazianzos says, the rich man knows Lazaros, whom he had despised, and remembers his brethren whom he had left; he is anguished by the glory of Lazaros. The tragedy in the rich man’s life was not his riches but his love of money.
The rich man loved himself and his money and needed no one, so he ignored the destitute man who had laid at his door and begged for the crumbs off his table. Now, for the first time, he acknowledges Lazaros and begs for a drop of water. Abraham answers him, not with revenge or condescension, but instead calls him “son.” Abraham tells him that in the realm of eternal life, what we have chosen to love will forever determine what we are capable of loving.
The rich man has become a stranger to God’s love because he spent his life rejecting that love, so now he cannot join Lazaros and Abraham in blessedness. The rich man’s name is never given in the story because, in a real sense, his memory is not eternal. God is the source of our identity and humanity. If we forget God — the root of our identity — we forget ourselves, even our own names.
The rich man had hardened his heart against God’s love and the love of his neighbor. During his life, he had no compassion, and he closed his eyes and hands to the one suffering in front of him. Now, in the eternal state, he is also incapable of loving, so his soul cannot receive the water to cool his soul.The rich man asks Abraham to warn his brothers who are left in this life. Abraham explains that if we do not believe the Word of God in the Scriptures (which tells us to love the Lord our God with all our soul, mind, heart, and strength, and our neighbor as ourselves), neither will we believe Christ Himself, Who is risen from the dead.
The Word has been given to us, Christ is risen, and He pours the love of God into our hearts in the Holy Spirit. All we have to do is to receive Him, be open to Him, and in this way, His love will overflow from us to others, especially those in need. When our heart is filled with the love of God, we can love others in practical ways, which unites us to Christ; because when a beggar extends his hand, it is Christ’s hand extended out to us. This openness to God and concern for others in our lives gives us a sure hope that when we leave this world, we will be with Abraham, the Father of the Faith, receiving that which he had sought all along — the comforting, illuminating, and life-giving love of God.
