The Rich Man and Lazarus

Scripture readings for the Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary time can be found at  http://usccb.org/bible/readings/092516.cfm

We have a powerful parable from Jesus today that speaks about death, about life, and about our spiritual life.

It is primarily about death and the fact that eventually we all will face death. Whether we're rich or poor, just or unjust, famous or unknown. We all know the saying, "There are two sure things: death and taxes." Death is a fact of life that we all must face. We don't know where, don't know when, but it will come. There's no way to stop it. In the invocation of the saints, there's a phrase that says, "From sudden and unexpected death, deliver us, O Lord." Death can come suddenly and unexpectedly, as with people killed in terrorist attacks, accidents, hurricanes or other natural disasters. We don't know when or where the Lord will call us. But we need to ask ourselves: are we ready?

There are some practical things that we should consider. Do we have a will so that our property will pass to the people  or institutions in the way we want? Have we provided for someone to make medical decisions for us in the event we are unable to do so?  Have we decided  where our final resting place will be? Most priest, deacons or those in ministry will tell you about stories of how sudden and expected death can throw a family into chaos. To make these preparations is not morbid, but practical. It is an act of consideration for the family  to make these preparations and then get on with life. I'm sure there are people that think that delaying these preparations will delay dying. But it doesn't. Death is a fact of life we all need to face.

A second point of the parable  is about life and how we live it. We go through life but once. We get only one chance! Abraham says to the rich man in today's parable that there is no going back to his brothers. There is no reincarnation, no rerun, no second chance.  The Letter to the Hebrews says that it is appointed for every person to die once. The days or years we waste do not come back. Are we using the time that God gave us to know, love and serve Him in this world and be happy with Him forever in the next?

Then there's the central point to the parable, our spiritual life. What did the Wealthy Man do wrong? Jesus is not condemning him because he is rich. The wealthy man did not make Lazarus poor. The parable does not indicate that he gained his wealth in any immoral or illegal way. The problem with the rich man  is that he did nothing! He was indifferent to the needs at his front door. He didn't harm Lazarus. He just didn't care about him and treated Lazarus as if he didn't exist.

This parable is about the good that we fail to do. This is called the sin of omission. So often we examine our conscience and think, "I didn't kill anyone. I didn't steal, I didn't commit adultery. I can't think of anything  wrong that I've done." But what about the good we fail to do to those around us?

In our first reading from Amos, we hear, "Woe to those who are complacent in Zion." (Amos 6:1)
 He describes them as lounging on their couches, listening to music, while their fellow Jews in the tribe of Joseph are going through a terrible crisis. The rich man's vice was not wealth but indifference. This parable teaches us and calls us to look at our sins of omission, the good we fail to do.

We are called in our following of Christ not to focus only on avoiding sin, but also in doing good for others. We are called to bring more light, more strength, more truth in this world and in people's lives by being Christian. Are we promoting righteousness and justice, the things St. Paul describes in the second reading? If our spiritual life seems to be on hold, maybe we should go beyond examining the sins we've avoided and start looking at the good we are doing by  projecting, proclaiming, introducing something of the Kingdom of God into our part of the world.

The key to doing that is how we treat the Lazaruses at our door. The parable tells us that Lazarus was poor. In our time there are all kinds of poverty, not only poverty of the body but poverty of spirit, poverty of soul. How do we deal  with the Lazarus at our door?

This parable asks us some questions that can profoundly enlarge our Christian life. What are are sins of omission? Do we even notice the good we fail to do for others? We are called to not only to avoid doing evil, but to do good for those in our life. The judgement against the rich man in the parable is based not on what he did, but what he didn't do. He lost forever his chance for doing good. But, like his brothers in the parable, we still have our chance to do good to others.

As we approach Holy Communion this week, let us remember to bring the Jesus we are receiving in Holy Communion to those in our lives, those who may be the Lazaruses in our lives, and then we can truly call ourselves Christian.