The rich man, though he cannot or will not change, would like to warn his brothers. He thinks that perhaps if Lazarus would rise from the dead and warn them, they would repent.

Sept. 25, 2022, the Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time:The story of the rich man and Lazarus and the prophecies of Amos should inspire us to correct the evil of poverty that plagues our world.

(See Vol. 52.) Second, “The Rich Man and Lazarus” was the only parable where Jesus honored a character by name.

Lazarus longed to eat the scraps that fell from the rich man’s table” (Luke 16:19 ff). Both men died, with Lazarus going to heaven and the rich man going to hell.