Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time Luke 16, 19-31
I would like to downplay this gospel and say, we are all nice people not like
the rich man in the Gospel just be generous in the collection and don’t worry
and then go on with the Creed, but I don’t think that I can. It seems that Jesus
has something to say to the rich of the world, a message that isn’t always easy
to hear. Two weeks ago, we heard the story of the prodigal son who wasted ½ of
his father’s fortune; last week we learned of the crooked manager, and we were
told that we can’t serve both God and mammon; and today we hear the parable of
poor Lazarus and the rich man who isn’t even worthy of a name. Is Jesus trying
to tell us something? Obviously, he is. Jesus is warning us about the danger of
riches. Jesus is telling us to be careful when it comes to putting our trust in
our money and he is telling us that if we have money, we had better use at least
some of it to help those who are in greater need than we are. There are two
things from the parable that I would like to call to your attention today.
First, the names of the two characters in the parable and second this great
divide or chasm between the two of them. The Rich man is nameless, we have
traditionally given him the name Dives, which is simply Latin for “rich man.”
Dives lives in wealth all his life. He wore fancy clothes and dined sumptuously
every day. He probably died from gout. I imagine that he lived in a big house
with a huge gate around it like the ones we see in Beverly Hills. The huge gates
were too kept the riff raff out. Lazarus is a Greek name meaning God is my help.
So, Lazarus is lying at the gates of this rich man’s house in misery he is
covered with sores, open wounds and he longed to eat the scraps that fell from
the rich man’s table but presumably the rich man never gave a thought about him.
Now both died and Lazarus was taken to the bosom of Abraham, “heaven” and the
rich man to the netherworld, a place of torment, “hell.” Dives forgets that he
has been punished and thinks that he can still order folks around. He has the
audacity to say to Abraham, “Send Lazarus to dip his finger in water to cool my
tongue.” Abraham replies, “sorry rich dude, you had your comfort, you days of
ordering the poor around are long gone.” “But… even if I was going to order
Lazarus, I can’t because there is great chasm that separates us from you.” I
would invite you to reflect upon this great chasm for a few moments. I would
offer to you that this great chasm isn’t something that just exists in the
nether world. It isn’t just a big division between heaven and hell, no it is
chasm that is built here on this earth in this world. We separate ourselves from
the poor and the needy. We do everything we can to keep them out. The high gates
in Beverly Hills; in our own county where we have plenty of Lazarus’ a solution
offered is to put them on a bus with a one-way ticket to Dayton Ohio. Or a plane
to Martha’s Vineyard. Did I just say that? Yes, I guess that I did. The answer
is quite clear. We can’t keep separating ourselves from the poor. We can build
higher walls, hire more security guards but ultimately the poor will have the
last say. Today’s Gospel isn’t supposed to make us feel guilty, it is meant to
empower us and free us. Remember for Dives it was too late, he had all law and
the prophets, but he didn’t listen to them. I don’t want anyone to say to me
when it’s too late, why didn’t you tell me? We have the law and the prophets. We
know how we are supposed to treat the poor and needy. We need to open our eyes
to the Word of God and unstop our ears to hear the cry of the poor. This week
the mayoral candidates for the city of Los Angeles and the sheriff candidates
for LA county had a debate. They all talked about the homeless problem. This
isn’t a political problem; it is justice problem. We must listen to the poor
today; we must do it for the sake of Lazarus, but we must do it for our own sake
as well. Our second reading for today is from Paul’s letter to Timothy. Paul
reminds us of the kind of people we are called to be. People of integrity,
kindness, piety, steadfastness, and love. Today’s passage begins with verse 11
but I think that verse 10 is important for us, Paul says, “the love of money is
the root of all evils, and some people in their desire for it have strayed from
the faith and have pierced themselves with many pains.” The way of the follower
of Jesus is a life of generosity, kindness, and love. As I said the names are
important. Lazarus got one and the rich one didn’t. One practical way to bridge
the chasm that divides us is to learn the name of a poor person. The fellow you
see on the corner, or the woman asking for a handout in the parking lot. Ask
them their name. They are the ones who are going to get into the kingdom first.
Maybe they will see us at the end of the line and say to father Abraham, “Father
Abraham, I know that guy, they can come in with me.”
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