Send Lazarus; We Need Each Other

"There was a rich man . . .  at his gate lay a poor man." (Luke 16:19). 

Only after it was too late, did the rich man realize that he needed Lazarus; then he cried out in torment "Send Lazarus!"

During his lifetime, the rich man was self-sufficient; he didn't think he needed Lazarus.  In fact, Lazarus was probably an embarrassment, sitting on his doorstep.  Lazarus, to him, was a nameless nothing who had nothing to give the rich man.

In 1987, I wrote the following meditation on "Send Lazarus."

"Lazarus may have needed the crumbs leftover from the rich man's meal in order to survive, but certainly the rich man did not need Lazarus.  The rich man was self-sufficient; he needed neither man nor God.  So it seemed.  His riches blinded him to truth, to humanity, to justice, and even to God.

"People who feel they are superior to others are half blind and don't know it.  The whites of this world often think they are superior to blacks.  American Christian whites need to cry out "Send me a black Lazarus to teach me."

"The males of this world often act as if they are superior to females; males, especially rich, white, males, need to cry out "Send me a female Lazarus."

"The masters of this world dominate their slaves.  Masters need to cry out "Send me a Lazarus."

It will take teams of persons---males and females, slaves and masters, blacks and whites---to solve some of our deep-seated problems.

WE REALLY DO NEED EACH OTHER.