Today's Gospel...

[FightingFat]

Does anyone else think that today’s Gospel shows Jesus’ sense of humour?

It’s almost like he’s ribbing the Pharisees. Enoch Powel once sense of this part of scripture that the parable has absolutely no merit.

What do you guys make of it all?

 

[Deacon_Tony560]

Interesting insight, but I think the church teaching is that he is warning them that if they don’t get off their high horses and help the less fortunate, they will end up like the rich man.

May God bless you for your faith,
Deacon Tony SFO

 

[csr]

At least two points stand out from Luke 16:19-31 *:

First, our choice in life is fixed upon our death:

26: between us and you, there is fixed a great chaos: so that they who would pass from hence to you, cannot, nor from thence come hither.

Second, some will not believe:

31: If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they believe, if one rise again from the dead.

 

[Toni]

No I did not see the humor part of it either, I pretty much saw what the Deacon posted.

Feed the poor, shelter them, help them, whatever you did for the least of my brother.

Also the last post that spoke of Father Abraham going to warn them, if they did not believe the prophets, they aren’t going to believe anyway.
Great testimony to the fact that even today Christ, walked the earth and look at the nonbelievers and those who are fighting for God to be taken from everything. They all march to the beat of their own drummers and someday will also see that they were all warned.
Christ came to help us all, but how many people out there are ready to ask for the graces they need to see that. All we have to do is ask!

 

[Joe_Kelley]

When He says they won’t even believe one who comes back fromthe dead He appears to be referring to His own Resurrection.

 

[FightingFat]

I see the comedic influence being that

a) He is talking to the Pharisees
b) How much like his audience the rich man is

Other interesting points are-

Lazarus was also the name of one of Jesus’ closest friends.
In the story, the rich man is condemed only because he is rich- the poor man is saved only because he is poor.

Given the lack of individual merit of either party in the story display, it seems one has to read Jesus’ humour into this parable in that he was almost taking the mickey out of his audience!
I think we often forget that Jesus was a great orator and must have often used emotion to add a extra spin to his teaching. Careful consideration makes the Gospel more alive somehow.