Food is a subject that Jesus talks about a lot in the gospels, and it often leads to his most interesting theology. Everyone eats food. Everyone got hungry then, just as we do now, so we can relate. In this week's passage from the Luke’s Gospel we hear a story that Jesus tells about the Rich Man and Lazarus. On the surface it is about wealth and poverty, but it is also very much about food. It is a part of the same conversation as last week’s story about the dishonest manager.
‘There was 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.
Jesus is talking to the disciples, but he is being overheard by the Pharisees. The scripture says that the Pharisees are “lovers of money,” and they are ridiculing the things Jesus is saying from the back. Right before this story begins Jesus yells at the Pharisees that “God knows their hearts!” He certainly meant it as an insult.
Jesus then begins our story about a fancy, robe wearing, rich guy who “feasts sumptuously every day.” There is a poor man outside of his house who has nothing to eat. The rich man does not give him even a crumb, and Lazarus dies of starvation. We are told that angels take Lazarus to be with Abraham after his death, but when the rich man also dies he is sent to Hades to be tormented. This continues Luke’s Gospel’s theme of reversal of fortune as the man who had no needs is now begging for even a drop of water, and Lazarus is being well taken care of.
When I hear this passage discussed it is often looked at from the standpoint of generosity. The rich man had plenty and did not share, and God wants us to share. Obviously that’s true, but I think there is a bit more to it. If the message of this story was that the rich man should have shared his food with Lazarus, then it is missing one major detail. There is no moment in the story where the Rich man doesn’t give food to Lazarus. The story simply states that the rich man has a lot of food, and that Lazarus wishes he could have some. It does not say that Lazarus asked for food and didn’t receive it or even that the rich man was aware of Lazarus’s need. Lazarus is outside the gates of his estate. The rich man may not have even known he was there.
The implied problem in the story is not that the rich man didn’t come out and give Lazarus a steak. The problem is that the rich man is inside with much food to himself and Lazarus is outside with nothing. There is no assumption in the text that the rich man could or should have given Lazarus anything, because Jesus isn’t talking about any specific individual people. He is talking about the state of things as they are.
In his time and ours it is simply a fact that there are people inside feasting sumptuously, and there are people outside starving. That is the problem. Jesus doesn’t want the rich guy to come out and give Lazarus a bagged lunch. He wants a revolutionary reversal of fortune that will flip the nature of our society so that everyone may feast together.
I think it’s important to point that difference out because it’s easy to read this passage and feel guilty about having food when others have none, and then ask, “what actions can I take to feel better and serve God?” Plenty of churches have food drives and soup kitchens and do great food ministry, and I’m all for it. We’ll be making lunches for the people in a homeless shelter this Sunday at my church. It’s good work, but it’s not what Jesus is calling for here.
Jesus is condemning a society that would allow for people to go hungry when there is enough food for all. When we feed people in need, we serve God, but we can’t forget that when we work to change our society we are serving God as well. The goal is not to convince people with an abundance of food to share it with others who have none. The goal is for us all to live together, sharing in God’s abundance.