Today’s Gospel—the story of Lazarus and the rich man—embodies three sweeping biblical themes. The first is the reversal of fortunes. As we say during Evening Prayer, “He hath put down the mighty from their seat and hath exalted the humble and meek. He hath filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he hath sent empty away.” A second and related theme is the danger of wealth. The Bible never teaches that wealth is, in and of itself, bad — but it is always dangerous. The
