Lectionary Texts of the Week

Sunday, September 28, 2025

Proper 21 (26)—Season after Pentecost, Year C

Overview

Jesus tells another dark parable against the rich who do not care for the poor. First of all, the rich man’s sin is one of omission. He fails to help Lazarus (who is named in the parable to indicate that he is written in the book of life; the rich man, on the other hand, is given no identity) and lets him die in squalor while enjoying his own life. There is no indication that the rich man actively oppressed Lazarus in any way or has behaved especially cruelly. The image is one of separateness: the rich man in his “high castle” while the poor suffers from his poverty (Prov. 10:15) and this distance is recapitulated after death as the very gulf separating the rich man from Abraham. The very fact that the poor man was beneath his notice is what condemned the rich man. The point of the parable is that ignorance is no defense, since Scripture is abundantly clear on the matter of care for the poor (cf. Deut. 15 and countless other mentions in the Prophets).

This is a frequent Lucan theme in both his Gospel and Acts, whereby the same Holy Spirit that Jesus breathes out in his life and ministry has already spoken throughout the Old Testament. This continuity is expressed in a dark way in verses 30-31, which hints at how Jesus’ miracles, even his Resurrection, does not by itself cause repentance. That must come from a changed heart, and those who are callous toward the Law and the Prophets will not be softened by even so great a sign as this. Wealthy Christians today have even less reason to plead ignorance for failing to help the poor, since we also have the pointed witness of the New Testament added to the Old. The message should not be sugarcoated: care and involvement with the poor is an essential feature of the saved person and those with means must take special care that they share them with the less fortunate as a constant discipline.