Lazarus the Beggar is the subject of a parable related by Jesus in the Gospel of Luke, commonly referred to as “Lazarus and the Rich Manâ€, not to be confused with the Lazarus of returning-from-the-dead-fame. It seems this Lazarus takes his post outside the gates of a rich man’s estate, defiling the landscape with his scabrous appearance and begging for food. Mr. Rich takes no notice of him, going about his luxurious life without a care. Comes the day of reckoning – Lazarus lands in the bosom of Abraham, while Rich Man is consigned to hell. Naturally, the latter begs for succor from the suddenly elevated Lazarus, which earns him naught but a lecture about having had it good in the short term. Here’s the sorry part – it doesn’t appear that too many people have listened to that parable over the ages.
