The trouble with being trapped is that it almost doesn’t matter if you are. Feeling trapped can blind us to ways out.
This week’s gospel (Luke 16:19-31) is a unique parable of a man becoming trapped in what we assume will be eternal torment. It is certainly not the cheeriest of stories. But what is most remarkable about this is how self-imposed the man’s torment really is.
He spends the story trying to get other people to solve his condition. Not just for what got him there, but even for dealing with being there now.
When we feel trapped, what do we do? And how much of our attention is focused on what other people do to/for us?
In the parable, the rich man takes no responsibility for helping the world when he was alive. Then he hopes others will help him now that he isn’t.
But the story’s point isn’t that the man is a hypocrite.
It is to remind us how connected our lives are—and our responsibility to one another.