Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”
NL Daily Devotion for Sunday, March 14, 2021
by Dr. Kimberly Leetch, Clergy Stuff
Main Idea: Change comes from within.
The parable of the rich man and Lazarus tells a tale of two extremes. One man is filthy rich. Lazarus is filthy and poor. Upon their deaths, their roles are reversed (also in the extreme). The rich man was tormented and Lazarus was waited on by angels. While we may be tempted to make a case that selfish, rich people will go to Hades, and poor, sick people will go to heaven, we would then miss the bigger picture. Hades and heaven here are extreme descriptions to help make the greater point that change can only come from within.
The rich man was selfish during his lifetime. No mercy or exposure to the needs of others made him change his mind or his ways. When he died, he was faced with the reality that his actions had consequences. He begged for mercy for himself now that he could see for the first time the torment he had in his lifetime ignored.
When Abraham pointed out that it was too late for him to change his ways and it was impossible to change his situation even now, he begged for Abraham at least to send word so that he might save his brothers. (It seems it never is too late to change one’s heart after all.) Abraham scolded him, knowing that the brothers would not change even if Abraham sent them word. Like the rich man, no mercy or exposure to the needs of others was going to change their hearts.
Still, the rich man begged, thinking that they might change their ways if someone returned from the dead to tell them. (A foreshadowing to Jesus’ death and resurrection—even his resurrection would not affect change in everyone.) Abraham said that they had the words of the prophets (a message from the dead), and if they didn’t listen to the writings of their prophets, even a resurrection couldn’t make them change.
The rich man didn’t change until his eyes were opened to the suffering that he had ignored for so long. Once he could finally see with clarity, then his own heart changed, and he longed for salvation for his brothers. But no one’s words can affect change unless the hearer of those words is ready to receive them. Only when one is willing and able to change can one’s heart truly change. Change can be encouraged with words and actions of others, but real, lasting change comes from within.
