26th Sunday of Ordinary Time
A quick look at our first reading and gospel for this weekend the twenty-sixth Sunday of
ordinary time, gives us a scrooge-like reference in that the people in both
readings were not committing any sins, so to speak, they just ignored the poor
and destitute sitting on their doorsteps.
They didn’t hurt the poor they just chose not to be cognizant of them
and their plight. They did nothing to
lift the burden of hunger, disease, or poverty from those they must of
obviously saw with their eyes but not with their heart. The judgment against
them is not for any acts of commission
but rather for acts of complacency and omission toward the poor.
Down through the centuries there have been numerous “Lazarus’s” at our gates. People who for circumstances often beyond their control, (i.e., poverty, illness, abuse) have gone at the least unnoticed and at the worst seen as responsible for their own dilemma. It is not because most people are monsters and have evil intent against others, it is more the case that people are “distracted, numbed by their own concerns, and who worry more about their own comfort level such that, they wear social blinders and cannot see the scope of poverty before them. As one commentator said that this gospel parable isn’t a threat or a condemnation of people but, rather this parable is a social mirror that each of us needs to stand in front of it to see how we individually look.1
At times the Lazarus’s at our gates are the
victims so often of being classified by a variety of ways (i.e., racism, sexism,
homelessness, disabled) and set apart in such a way that their plight may be
ignored by many people. Many people
today in various countries are listed as “illegal aliens.” And as such can become the focus of much
debate as to whether they are entitled to any rights at all. Many of us may not encounter such persons
directly because their existence has become so polarized in politics and media,
that we cannot say we are not aware of their plight. The individual stories and faces of such
person are often ignored even in countries who possess great wealth. One can wonder whether, we too like the
persons in the first reading this weekend, are only marking time before we too
will have to pay the consequence such behavior.
Or as one commentor said of the gospel reading, referring to
the rich man’s interaction with Lazarus- “He didn’t kick him away from the
gate, didn’t hurl insults, didn’t call the dogs off. He just didn’t see him. Day after day, he
stepped over the man whose stomach growled within earshot of his feasting. He passed by the flies, the sores, the
outstretched hand. And it never occurred to him to care.” 2
Most of us do not have enormous influence on the larger problems
of our country and so might feel like
“what can I do.” But look around your
environment, the places where you work, play, live, encounter other people. Are there some, you just simply ignore, or do not, see? Maybe if you are a student in
school and you have many friends who go classes with you and eat lunch with you. You, like the rich man, have many blessings
through your popularity and friendship. What if you enter the cafeteria at school and see a new student there alone with no one to eat lunch with, do you notice him? Notice not just with your eyes, but with you
mind and heart. Do you think of reaching
out from your wealth (i.e. having lots
of friends to eat with) to invite him personally into your circle of
friends. Or if you’re a nurse on a
particular floor in a hospital are their patients there that seldom get any
visitors or anybody’s attention. Perhaps
they are patients who are dying, or patients for whom their doctors have
determined there is little hope they will recover. Is there something, some way, you could help
them to know they are noticed? If you a
prisoner in prison and a new man or woman comes into your area, does anyone
reach out in friendship to the bewildered newcomer, or are they ignored and
left to the abuse of others who will use them for their own purposes?
In the gospel the rich man finally ends in a place of torment and fire. Lazarus has been gathered to bosom of Abraham
and lives in a place of serenity and peace.
The rich man begs Abraham to have Lazarus come and touch his finger in water and
cool the rich man’s lips. Abraham points
out that Lazarus cannot do this because of the great chasm between the two
men. Perhaps if the rich man during his
lifetime, instead of always enjoying himself and his wealth, took time to
build a bridge of love, concern, attention between himself and Lazarus, he would not find himself in such an
impossible place where now no one can reach him or change his situation.
If we want to follow Jesus, we must be willing to cross the
street. To stand beside the wounded and broken people of the world. We need to share what we have whether it
be time, friendship, care concern, power.
For truly, if we look at our wealth, our
wellbeing, our friendships, our jobs, they may be more a result of how God has
blessed than something we ourselves have accomplished. To live a life of faith and love
for us, and all creation, we must
be willing to look beyond the gate of our own comfort and see who is lying
there at our doorstep.3
“If they do not
listen to Moses and the prophets,” Jesus says, “they will not be convinced even
if someone rises from the dead.” So, who is lying at our gates?4
1. 1.Vociings.com
2. 2.Ibid
3. 3.Ibid
