When Rich People Laugh at the Poor, An Honest Response (Luke 16:19-31)

“The Pharisees, who we’re lovers of money, heard all this, and they ridiculed him.”This was their response to the poorly named  Parable of the Dishonest Manager, and was the reason Jesus told this parable about Lazarus and the Rich Man.  It isn’t that Pharisees we’re particularly uncaring or insensitive, it’s more that they were comfortable as a social class, privileged as a religious class, and seemed to be people who thought more about systems than people. I often wonder if that’s why Jesus runs afoul dog them. I believe it’s reasonable to consider that Jesus is possibly a Pharisee or some other privileged member of the synagogue himself, given the fact that he preaches and teaches there without anyone asking why, so part of the Why is that we criticize the people most like ourselves the most. Also, Jesus preaches and teaches that people are more important than systems when the systems become a burden rather than a boon. As some of the most wealthy people who ever lived on this planet, many Americans have more in common with the Rich Man than we do with Lazarus. How can we learn the lesson of Jesus that loving concern for others is more important than wealth or comfort when we too are often too comfortable to take this seriously?Support the show