Resurrection in the Rust

Today’s Gospel is one of those texts that haunts me. While the Scriptures often speak about hell, Jesus’s parable takes place in hell. A man is burning in the flames, and the reason, we are told, is because “during his lifetime [he] received good things,” leaving the poor man Lazarus to die of starvation and disease at the gate of his home, while he lived lavishly and feasted sumptuously. He sees Father Abraham and Lazarus standing side by side from across the lake of fire, and he begs Abraham to send Lazarus to his father’s house to warn his five brothers so that they do not come into that place of torment. Abraham refuses, because if they won’t listen to Moses and the prophets, then nothing will convince them to change their ways, even if a sick beggar rises from the dead. Photo by Deepak Adhikari on Unsplash We encounter numerous evil people in the bible, responsible for countless deaths and untold human suffering. Compared to them, this man doesn’t seem all that ba...