Let Us Listen!

Last Updated on: October 1, 2025

“He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.'” (Luke 16:31)

Thus concludes the parable of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31) – a tale of reversal, of justice delayed and justice delivered – and it’s a story that cuts to the heart of our spiritual blindness and moral complacency.

There was a rich man, clothed in purple and feasting daily, and he largely ignored the suffering of Lazarus, a poor man, covered in sores, who lay at his gate. When both men die, their fortunes are reversed: Lazarus is comforted in Abraham’s bosom, while the rich man is tormented! (Luke 16:19-22)

From the depths of torment, the rich man pleads that Lazarus be sent to warn his brothers, but Abraham replies, “They have Moses and the prophets; let them listen to them.” The rich man insists, “No, Father Abraham; but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent” (Luke 16:30). Then comes the reply:

“If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.” (Luke 16:31)

This isn’t just a theological pronouncement. It’s a psychological one. It’s a diagnosis of the human condition and our resistance to truth. As we become entrenched in comfort, we develop the capacity to ignore suffering as it threatens our worldview. Even the most miraculous signs cannot penetrate a heart hardened by privilege.

My great philosophical hero, Soren Kierkegaard, said “all obscurity is a dialectical interplay of knowledge and will.” In other words, when we don’t know something, it’s partly because we genuinely don’t know and partly because we don’t want to know. William James, the father of modern psychology, put it more simply, “Many people think they are thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudices.” Both dictums apply to the rich man’s brothers in Jesus’ story, and they apply equally to us!

We live in an age of information overload, yet moral clarity remains elusive. During the pandemic, we saw tribal loyalties eclipse scientific research. People adopted a narrative and rarely dialogued except to fortify their biases. We didn’t seek truth so much as confirmation. And now, as Gaza bleeds, we see it again – children buried beneath rubble, hospitals bombed, journalists silenced – and still, many just rearrange their prejudices to justify the unjustifiable!

Groupthink is not just a failure of intellect. It’s a failure in imagination, and It’s the refusal to see the humanity of the other. It’s the rich man walking past Lazarus every day, convinced that his comfort is deserved and that suffering is someone else’s problem. It’s the Western spectator watching Gaza burn and saying, “It’s complicated,” while prophets cry out from the rubble.

Jesus doesn’t let us off the hook. He says, ‘You’ve already been told.’ Moses spoke. The prophets cried out. And still you did not listen.

Today, the prophets are the mothers in Rafah, the doctors in Khan Younis, and the children who dare to dream of peace. Their voices echo the ancient cry, ‘How long, O Lord?’, and still, many do not listen. Many prefer to rearrange their prejudices. They cling to the comfort of their tribe, their ideology, their empire. Even a resurrection won’t convince them!

This is the reality of our time. We have access to more truth than any generation before us. We have footage, testimonies, satellite images, forensic reports. We have the cries of the wounded and the wisdom of the saints, and yet we remain unmoved. Because truth is not what we see. It’s what we’re willing to receive.

The Gospel of peace both comforts the afflicted and afflicts the comfortable. The words of Jesus and the prophets are fires that burn away illusion and awaken us to love, and they call us to see Lazarus, not as a threat or as a burden but as a brother. And so we are called to repent, not only of our sins but of our certainties.

Let us repent of our groupthink, of tribalism, and of spiritual and intellectual laziness. Let us repent of the ways we’ve silenced prophets and ignored the suffering of Lazarus at our gate. Let us repent of the ways we’ve used religion to justify empire and anaesthetise conscience. Let us listen—not just to the voices we agree with but to the ones we’ve ignored. Let us allow our prejudices to be challenged, our comfort disrupted, and our hearts pierced.

Resurrection is not just a miracle. It’s a challenge that confronts everything we thought we knew, and if we are not willing to be changed, then even resurrection will not convince us.

But if we are willing – if we are willing to listen to Moses and to the prophets, to the mothers and martyrs, to the wounded and the wise – then we may yet be transformed. We may yet see Lazarus, not at our gate but at our table. We may yet become the kind of people who do not walk past suffering but walk toward it!

So let us listen. Let us learn. Let us repent, and let us rise!

Our Sunday Eucharist

I really enjoyed our Sunday Eucharist last weekend with Karyn Hemming at my side and with a wonderful team joining us online. Unfortunately, Costandi Bastoli was a no-show, and he wasn’t answering his phone. This had us all a bit worried until I received an apologetic text message from him about an hour after we finished – “just landed in Sydney.” I’m sure I’ll find out the full story soon enough.

Interestingly, the video shorts were particularly popular this week. The first five published each received more than 1,000 views on YouTube, most likely because they were all focused on Palestine. The one on Gaza’s hidden death toll (see below) just passed 1,700 views, and that’s just on YouTube. The shorts are also published on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Telegram, and Instagram.

Of course, you can see all those shorts on our Sunday Eucharist Instagram page or watch the entire broadcast on YouTube.

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