There is a lot to unpack in Jesus’s stories in this passage from Luke, and coming up with a single thread that runs between them might be a bit difficult. Both the passage on divorce and the story of the rich man and Lazarus point to a need to protect the vulnerable. Jewish law allowed men the right to divorce their wives, but not women their husbands. This put women in a vulnerable position, and Jesus would have certainly been an advocate for the vulnerable. So also with the story of the rich man, where Jesus once again spares no rebuke for the powerful: enjoy your riches here, but do not overlook the poor.