Przestroga przed nadmiernym bogactwem w perykopie o chciwości (Łk 12, 13–21) oraz w przypowieści o bogaczu i Łazarzu (Łk 16, 19–31)

Abstract

Wealth is a recurrent a motif in the entire Holy Scriptures. The issue was given attention to by prophets and sages in the Old Testament, and by Jesus and his disciples, Luke and Jacob, in the New Testament. Luke is justifiably regarded as a defender of the poor and a critic of the rich. He earned the first title through his Gospel, which abounds in fragments praising the poor and even setting them as an example to follow: Happy are you poor, the Kingdom of God is yours (Lk 6: 20). This poor widow put in more than all the others (Lk 21: 3). [God] has filled the hungry with good things (Lk 1: 53). Luke also admonishes the rich since the Gospel contains severe criticism of wealthy people, for example: [God] sent the rich away with empty hands (Lk 1: 53). But how terrible for you who are rich now, you have had your easy life ( Lk 6: 24), How hard it is for rich people to enter the Kingdom of God. It is much harder for rich person to enter the Kingdom of God than for a camel to go through the eye of a needle (Lk 18: 24–25). Two of the pericopes with serious criticism of the wealthy deserve special attention: the fragment related to greed (Lk 12: 13–21) and the parable of the rich man and Lazarus (Lk 16: 19–31). In both Luke criticizes greedy welloff people. The former contains a warning for the rich that the punishment for their sins will be their sudden unexpected death. The latter goes even further and threatens the wealthy not only with sudden death but also eternal damnation. Therefore, a study of both pericopes together seems a justified approach as they complement each other. For the sake of clarity the paper is divided into two parts. The first offers a literary, semantic and theological analysis of the fragment related to greed (Lk 12: 13–21). The literary aspect deals with the context and structure of the text. The semantic approach discusses key words and phrases that allow a more profound understanding of the pericope. The theological aspect provides conclusions based on the text. The second part, which refers to the parable of the rich man and Lazarus (Lk 16: 19-31), also contains literary, semantic and theological elements.