Sabbath Devotional :: But Now He is Comforted

The past few weeks have been pretty heavy. This is for anyone who, like me, sometimes wants to turn away altogether so as not to be crushed by the weight of it all.

“There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.” (Luke 16:19-25)

I remember reading this scripture several years ago and thinking it must be the most terrifying scripture I’d ever read. Despite a few earthly trials, I could not pretend to belong anywhere but in the group with the rich man, having received an abundance of good things in my lifetime. What was this scripture supposed to teach? Was there no hope for the rich man in the next life? Was there no hope for Lazarus in this life? What did all of this mean for me? Then I remembered that a central theme of the gospel of Jesus Christ is that there is such a thing as vicarious suffering.

Jesus Christ’s suffering is central to our salvation in multiple ways, the first of which is that is allows Him to succor us and saves us from the same suffering if we repent. Jesus taught the parable of the sheep and the goats in Matthew 25 to explain another: “inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” He also explicitly warned that “inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.” This provides an important insight on the atonement of Jesus Christ. In telling us that we serve Him by serving others, Christ is not describing a test we must pass by correctly guessing which of the people we encounter is Jesus Christ in disguise. He is teaching us that whenever we help alleviate any form of human suffering, we lift a part of the very burden carried vicariously by Jesus Christ himself. All of the dedication to personal righteousness we can muster pales in comparison to the good we can do for Christ by minimizing the pain He must suffer for others.

So would the story have ended differently if the rich man had hurried to the gate, lifted Lazarus from the dirt, gently tended to his wounds, and invited Lazarus to dine with him at his table? Isn’t that the reason for teaching the parable at all?

But that is still only one part of the equation. It is possible to succeed in alleviating suffering, but still fail to gain exaltation. Would the rich man in the parable have been saved by sending a servant to give Lazarus a bit of money just to help him move along? I think that’s much less likely. We read in 2 Nephi 2:6-7: “Behold, [the holy Messiah] offereth himself a sacrifice for sin, to answer the ends of the law, unto all those who have a broken heart and a contrite spirit; and unto none else can the ends of the law be answered.” It is no accident that our baptismal covenants require us to bear one another’s burdens, mourn with those who mourn, comfort those who stand in need of comfort, and stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places — all things that will break our hearts over and over again.

In fact, sometimes allowing our hearts to be broken on behalf of another is the only thing we can do. Emma Petty Addams wrote about this in her essay on our 4th Principle of Peacemaking in The Little Purple Book:

“The act of mourning in solidarity with another may accompany bearing, or it may occur on its own. At times, we might not have the strength to actively bear, but can find a place in our hearts to mourn. We should not underestimate the power of sharing the sacred experience of grieving with another, whether we are beside them physically or symbolically.”

So don’t be discouraged! Whether or not our efforts here in MWEG or in any other aspect of our lives result in immediate or even eventual relief, we can remember the words in the parable: “But now he is comforted.” And we can be comforted, too. As Jesus described when he announced his divine Sonship: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.” (Luke 4:18-19)