{"id":11297,"date":"2025-09-23T13:29:04","date_gmt":"2025-09-23T17:29:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/socialjesus\/?p=11297"},"modified":"2025-09-24T12:36:12","modified_gmt":"2025-09-24T16:36:12","slug":"justice-today-great-reversal-tomorrow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/socialjesus\/2025\/09\/justice-today-great-reversal-tomorrow\/","title":{"rendered":"Justice Today or a Great Reversal Tomorrow"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"Justice
Image by Canva<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Our reading this week is from the gospel of Luke:<\/p>\n

\u201cThere 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\u2019s table; even the dogs would come and lick his sores. The poor man died and was carried away by the angels to be with Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, where he was being tormented, he looked up and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side. He called out, \u2018Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in agony in these flames.\u2019 But Abraham said, \u2018Child, remember that during your lifetime you received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in agony. Besides all this, between you and us a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who might want to pass from here to you cannot do so, and no one can cross from there to us.\u2019 He said, \u2018Then, father, I beg you to send him to my father\u2019s house\u2014for I have five brothers\u2014that he may warn them, so that they will not also come into this place of torment.\u2019 Abraham replied, \u2018They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.\u2019 He said, \u2018No, father Abraham; but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.\u2019 He said to him, \u2018If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.\u2019\u201d (Luke 16:19-31)<\/p>\n

Welcome Readers! <\/i><\/b>Please subscribe to Social Jesus Here<\/i><\/b><\/a>.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

This is Part 1 of The Rich Man, Lazarus and Justice<\/strong><\/p>\n

There are three narrative elements that are inescapable about Jesus in this week\u2019s reading. First, the Jesus of Luke\u2019s gospel was a theist, not an atheist. While I believe atheists can follow Jesus\u2019 ethics and values (see here<\/a>), the Jesus of the story believed in and taught the existence of God. Second, the Jesus of this story often refers to an afterlife. Humanists who do not believe in another life beyond this one can still embrace and promote the ethics in the Jesus story such as the golden rule, nonviolence, and economic justice. The Jesus in the story spoke of things such as laying up \u201ctreasure in heaven,\u201d being rewarded at the \u201cresurrection of the righteous,\u201d and the meek \u201cinheriting the earth.\u201d After all, Jesus was a 1st Century Jewish man who lived in a world where these ideas and beliefs were overwhelmingly prevalent. This was the prevalent metaphysical worldview, the water that they swam in. And third, the Jesus of these stories spoke of being rewarded in that afterlife for following his \u201ckingdom\u201d teachings on how we relate to one another now in a kind of great reversal. He spoke of both an intrinsic reward in the present life for the choices we make and another reward in the \u201cage to come\u201d when that reversal took place for those who followed his teachings. This week touches on one of those occurrences: the story of the rich man and Lazarus. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This story uses the then-popular belief in a future, great reversal. This is where we will begin in Part 2<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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