LUKE 16:20 — KING JAMES VERSION 0
“And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores,”
At his gate was laid a man named Lazarus, covered with sores — at his gate: the spatial proximity is the moral point. Lazarus is right there — at the gate of the rich man's house, visible from the entrance. Covered with sores communicates his physical condition. Lazarus is the only named character in any of Jesus' parables — the name (Eleazar, God is my help) is the theological statement about his true status.
Church Fathers on Luke 16:20
Our Lord had just before advised the making friends of the Mammon of unrighteousness, which the Pharisees derided. He next confirms by examples what he had set before them, saying, There was a certain rich man, &c.
There was, not is, because he had passed away as a fleeting shadow.
But not all poverty is holy, or all riches criminal, but as luxury disgraces riches, so does holiness commend poverty.
Read all 17 entries in the readerCatena Aurea · St. Thomas Aquinas, tr. J. H. Newman · public domain
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