“Once there was a very wealthy man who dressed in royal purple and fine linen, and he ate a lavish feast every day. A poor man named Lazarus was left at his gate. He was covered in sores. He would have been grateful to eat even the scraps that fell from the wealthy man’s table, but dogs came and licked his sores instead. One day Lazarus died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The wealthy man died on the same day and was buried. While he was being tormented in Hades, he looked up and saw Abraham very far away with Lazarus reclining next to him. He called out ‘Father Abraham! Show mercy to me and send Lazarus to cool my tongue with a taste of water from his fingertip. The flames here are agonizing!’

‘Child,’ Abraham replied, ‘remember all the good things in life that you had, while Lazarus had only bad? He is getting his share of comfort now, while you are in torment. In addition, there is a huge chasm between us and you, so that even if someone wanted to travel to the other side they couldn’t.’

‘Father,’ the wealthy man begged ‘then please send him to my father’s house to warn my five brothers so they won’t end up here.’

Abraham said ‘They should listen to Moses and the prophets.’

The wealthy man then said ‘No, father Abraham, they will repent if someone comes to them from the dead.’

And Abraham countered “If they ignore Moses and the prophets, they will ignore someone who comes back to life.'”

LK 16:19-31