An escort for Lazarus

¹⁹ “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. ²⁰ At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores ²¹ and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.  ²² “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side.

Luke 16: 19-22

Perhaps you’ve seen beggars asking for money or food, whether downtown Chicago or downtown Kenosha.  Perhaps you’ve been in their shoes.  But you’ve probably never seen anyone as low as Lazarus.  He had to be carried everywhere and didn’t get special treatment for being disabled – remember there were no handicap stalls in those days.  Perhaps his only ‘lucky break’ was finding someone who could drop him off at a rich man’s gate giving him an outside chance of being fed from day to day as rich people came by.  But it seems most days he wasn’t being fed and he spent his time longing for some scrap of food, something to ease his hunger.

He was a wreck physically in other ways.  His body was covered with sores which not only hurt but probably scared people away when they saw him.  He was pitiful and the part about the dogs coming and licking his sores reveals his wretched state.  This wasn’t like man’s best friend coming to ease his pain.  Dogs in those days were scavengers, licking his sores for their satisfaction, and Lazarus didn’t have the strength to keep them away.

Which is why verse 22 is so astonishing and so uplifting – “The angels carried him to Abraham’s side”.  This poor disgusting beggar got a heavenly escort.  Angels, those spirit creatures who stand near God and do his work, lifted his soul off this earth and carried it into heaven.  That’s better than having a presidential motorcade or the armed escort our leaders have.  That’s more honor and protection than any earthly ruler has ever dreamed or imagined.

And why was Lazarus getting such an honor?  From the bible we know people don’t get to heaven because they’ve done enough good things in life or that they suffered quietly during their miserable lives.  The angels dropped Lazarus off next to Abraham, whom the bible calls “the father of all who believe God’s promises”.  It was Abraham who trusted what God said, even when it meant having to move hundreds of miles, believe in the impossible and give up the only son he had.  No doubt when Lazarus was on earth he trusted God too.  Hopelessly sitting at the gate, waiting hungrily, despairing of his troubles, he still held on to the love of God who promised to forgive sinners.  Perhaps Lazarus, like many people in his day, felt that his disability and poverty were due to his sins and God’s anger with him.  Even with that, he knew that God was a forgiving god and always came to the rescue of his people when they turned their hearts to him.

What about you?  Have you been in low places in life?  Do you long not only for scraps of food but to be right with God?  Does the fact that Jesus paid for all your sins, so you don’t have to pay, make you feel good?  Then your escort is waiting.  Oh, it may not come tonight and it may not come for another 40 years or more.  But the angels are standing by and ones have already been appointed for you when the time comes.  And when you see Lazarus you can say, “When I was younger, I wanted to be just like you”.