For this part of the series, just a few things to consider before I start drawing to a close in a future post.

And Jesus said:

There 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's 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, 'Father 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.' But Abraham said, 'Child, 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.' He said, 'Then, father, I beg you to send him to my father's house—for I have five brothers—that he may warn them, so that they will not also come into this place of torment.' Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.' He said, 'No, father Abraham; but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.' He said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.' (Luke 16:19-31, NRSV)

Is it significant, or not, that the only distinction Jesus makes here between the fellow in torment and the man in paradise after death is that the first was rich and well fed, and did little to help the second, who was poor? Does it mean something that Jesus points out nothing, nothing about what we today would call "morality" in the life of either man? That the only thing Jesus mentions is wealth and luxury versus poverty and suffering?

We like to talk about Sodom with respect to God's unhappiness toward its inhabitants. Typically, we refer to Sodom in regard to perverse sexual practices. But, how often do we talk about the bottom line, the root of the problem, as Ezekiel saw it:

This was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy. They were haughty, and did abominable things before me; therefore I removed them when I saw it. (Ezekiel 16:49-50, NRSV)

The root of Sodom's sin, the source of its culpability, was being rich, and proud, and not helping the poor. I like another English translation, which uses the word "complacent" to describe Sodom. It's interesting to me that many of us dress in our fine clothes, sitting in our padded pews on Sunday mornings, with our luxury cars and SUVs sitting in the parking lot, wondering what restaurant we'll attend for lunch, while speaking of the evils and impending doom of those who practice "sodomy."

And what are we told about Zacchaeus, about what and where he was before salvation, and after? Not much. Only the important parts, perhaps?

A man was there named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was rich. He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was short in stature. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see him, because he was going to pass that way. When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today." So he hurried down and was happy to welcome him. All who saw it began to grumble and said, "He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner." Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, "Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much." Then Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost." (Luke 19:2-10, NRSV)

How about James 2:1-5 (NRSV); who has God chosen to be heirs of his kingdom?

My brothers and sisters, do you with your acts of favoritism really believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ? For if a person with gold rings and in fine clothes comes into your assembly, and if a poor person in dirty clothes also comes in, and if you take notice of the one wearing the fine clothes and say, "Have a seat here, please," while to the one who is poor you say, "Stand there," or, "Sit at my feet," have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters. Has not God chosen the poor in the world to be rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him?

It's a bit more radical in the beatitudes. Note how this relates to Jesus' teaching about Lazarus, as noted previously:

And all in the crowd were trying to touch him, for power came out from him and healed all of them. Then he looked up at his disciples and said: "Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets. But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. Woe to you who are full now, for you will be hungry. Woe to you who are laughing now, for you will mourn and weep. Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets.

In James 1:27, just before the quote noted above:

Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

Although there are many, many other passages along this vein, for example the many passages in the prophets which speak of social justice, and I think they form an overarching theme in the Bible, I'm aware that arches can be built and cited for or against most anything. Given a book of the Bible's breadth in time and subject matter, this is almost unavoidable. In this regard, I'm not a big fan of lists like the foregoing—although obviously I'm not above using them. I tend to think that sometimes other things are more powerful, and so instead I'll leave with the following point.

Jesus, as God incarnate, was born to a very young (let's say, thirteen-ish to fifteen-ish), unwed, poor girl who was refused room and bed at a common inn, even though she was with child and about to give birth. The Son of God was from a no-good, disrespected village named Nazareth, and born in a manger where—I presume— the animals stained the hay with their urine. What, exactly, is this story to mean to us about the nature of God and Man, and with which of the latter the former most identifies? In other words, to whom did the Lord God come first and foremost?

This one, it seems to me, is undeniably central, clear and to the point.