In the Christian Science Bible Lesson October 20, 2014 Issue

Compassion and spiritual progress

For the Lesson titled: "Probation After Death" from October 20-26, 2014

Christa Kreutz

The subject of this week’s Bible Lesson from the Christian Science Quarterly, “Probation After Death,” addresses the question of salvation: When, where, and how does it come to an individual? This Lesson shows that salvation comes through deep, ongoing spiritual transformation of thought and life, and that death holds no power to affect one’s true life.

The Lesson draws heavily from the Gospel of Luke, often noted for its emphasis on compassion for the poor and criticism of those who are too preoccupied with their own wealth to care for those in need. In the allegory of Lazarus and the rich man, we have a good example of this theme (see Luke 16:19–25, citation 7). The rich man is nameless, but he has traditionally been called Dives, which is simply Latin for rich. Lazarus, on the other hand, is a theologically rich name, the Greek form of the Hebrew name Eleazar, meaning “God helps.”

The rich man dines in luxury every day—quite uncommon in the ancient world. He has the opportunity to help ease Lazarus’ misery but fails to act compassionately. After the rich man dies, he suffers greatly for his sin, while Lazarus rests in comfort after his death.

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