To Opt for the Poor

Reversal of fortunes is one of the themes of Luke. It is beautifully sung within the Magnificat (Luke 1:51-53). It is plaintly narrated in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus today (vv 16:19-31).

Fr. Milanese demonstrated once more his profund biblical training. First of all, he drew my attention to the anonymity of the rich man. While the poor beggar had a name, Lazarus, which means "God has helped", the rich man remains nameless. What kind of a world is the gospel talking about? Throughout our history and in our daily life today, only the rich and powerful are known. Today, we know of Li Kar Shing whose name will go down in the history of Hong Kong, if not world history. Who will bother and can afford to remember the poor, which are many? However, in the world of the gospel, the world of eternal life, the rich is nameless. We may draw whatever lesson that fits our purpose from this point. An obvious one is that the Church should opt for the poor. This agrees with the teaching of Matthew 25:40.

Never mind whether Hades is the same as Hell or part of it, the fact that the rich man landed in Hades while Lazarus in Abraham's bosom must be an act of justice on the part of God. Even if we don't want to put God into our equation, "eating the cake we bake" is definitely a reasonable kind of justice. Therefore, we cannot ignore the lesson of justice in this parable. In the Old Testament, the rich was justified to be rich because it was a blessing from God. The poor deserved to suffer. In this parable, the rich man had done nothing terribly evil, no murder, no adultery, no theft nor false witness etc. Moreover, there is still a bit of love in his heart. The rich man still cared about the fate of his brothers (vv 27-28). So, what kind of justice is Luke, or his community, advocating? Loving one's family members is not enough for Luke's community. It is our duty and is a minimum requirement. Love should be more inclusive and not loving the poor is evil. Not caring about the plights of the poor, the rich man develops a hardened heart. He did not even know himself. Taking the cue of burning thirst (v 24), Fr. Milanese suggests that perhaps the torment in Hades is to be a quest of one's true self. Lazarus has found his and rests comfortably in Abraham's bosom. The rich man has never known himself completely because he spent his life enjoying only good things.

In short, for the community of Luke, eternal life is a sort of "mirror image", a reversal of present day fortune. Being rich is not an evil thing as long as you make good use of your riches to help relieve the plights of the poor. The teaching of the gospel does not deny the morality of the Old Testament. No doubt, it is more sympathetic towards the poor and it wants to restore a certain kind of social justice.

Now, I would like to warn of a problem with the Chinese translation of Luke 16:25.
εἶπεν δὲ Ἀβραάμ Τέκνον μνήσθητι ὅτι ἀπέλαβες σὺ τὰ ἀγαθά σου ἐν τῇ ζωῇ σου καὶ Λάζαρος ὁμοίως τὰ κακά νῦν δὲ ὅδε παρακαλεῖται σὺ δὲ ὀδυνᾶσαι
But Abraham said, "Son, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. (RSV)
亞巴郎說：孩子，你應記得你活著的時候，已享盡了你的福，而拉匝祿同樣也受盡了苦。現在，他在這裡受安慰，而你應受苦了。(思高聖經）
The Chinese translation adds an extra nuance into text: you have exhausted your blessings and Lazarus his sufferings. This translates fits well with the Chinese mentality. For example, superstitious Chinese never accept gifts in full, because "accepted in full受盡" sounds identical with "exhausted one's life span夀盡". They will return part of the gift or its equivalence. The way I see it, this translation will encourage charity in a negative manner. When there is a possibility of exhausting blessings, ways must be found to conserve and to increase the existing blessings. Abuse and corruption will result. You may accuse me of "slippery slope" thinking. Still, this is my worry and I am just pointing out the potential dangers.

Dear Lord, who can be truly rich without You? And You like to be found among the poor. Train us to recognize You in the poor we meet. Amen.