A man known throughout the town for his great wealth and tight fistedness never contributed to any charity or did anything to alleviate the plight of the poor. The chairperson of one of the community’s worthy charitable organizations decided to approach the rich man at his office.
“Sir,” the fundraiser said, “Our records show that despite your great wealth, you have never given to our annual drive.”
“Oh, really?” the rich man fumed. “Well, do your records show that I have an elderly mother who was left penniless when my father died? Do your records show that I have a sick brother who is unable to work? Do your records show that I have a widowed sister with three small children who can barely make ends meet? Do your records show any of that?”
“No sir,” replied the embarrassed volunteer. “We did not know any of that information.” “Well, if I don’t give anything to them, why should I give anything to you?”
Hopefully, not one of us here is as miserly as that wealthy man was yet we may still feel a bit uneasy having just heard both Amos and Jesus berate people for being rich.
In contrast to many others, especially in third world countries, the vast majority of us are “wealthy.” We have a roof over our head, none of us are starving, we have heat to keep us warm, and most of us have our own means of transportation. However, there is no need to feel any twinge of guilt for simply being “rich.” To be wealthy is not, in itself, morally wrong. The moral question raised in today’s readings is simply how are we using our wealth?
In the parable Jesus shares today, the rich man is condemned not because he is wealthy, but because he remains unmoved and unaffected by the suffering at his door. His lack of concern for Lazarus condemns him to an eternity of misery.
Those who listened to Jesus give this parable were likely surprised by the outcome of his story. That God would punish the rich man and reward the beggar with eternal life made little sense to his Jewish listeners who believed that wealth was a sign of God’s favor and suffering was punishment for being sinful.
With this parable, Jesus makes the point that our earthly treasures provide no guaranteed passage to heaven. If anything, whatever wealth we have could threaten our salvation if we are too obsessed with our assets to pay much attention to God in our daily lives. Last week’s gospel passage ended with the warning from Jesus, “You cannot serve both God and mammon (that is, money).” If, like the rich man, we use our wealth selfishly, ignoring the needs of others, we will find ourselves separated by a chasm of our own making from God’s divine love and compassion.
In trying to spare his brothers the same fate, the rich man implores Abraham to send Lazarus to warn them to change their ways before it is too late, but Abraham knows such a warning would be futile. “If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead.” One was raised from the dead, namely Jesus, and yet many in the world continue to ignore the message that the rich man wanted his brothers to hear.
The rich man had been forewarned by the teachings of the Hebrew Scripture to be compassionate to the less fortunate. Undoubtedly, he heard the warnings of the prophet, Amos bluntly chastising those who are rich. Isaiah addresses this responsibility when he wrote, “This is the fasting that I wish, sharing your bread with the hungry, sheltering the oppressed and the homeless, clothing the naked when you see them, and not turning your back on your own.”
Some of you may feel that Jesus’ story of Lazarus and the rich man belongs to the distant past but his story is just as timely today. There are many Lazaruses at our own gates. What is our attitude toward them? Are they someone else’s problem? Has our self-centeredness blinded us to their presence?
We might make any number of excuses as to why we mimic the rich man, but none will win us a place at the eternal banquet if we choose to remain totally blind as the rich man did to the plight of the less fortunate. To give something to those in need is better than doing nothing at all. Had the rich man shared even one meal with Lazarus, he would have bridged the chasm that separated him from the love of God.
One indicator of how mindful we are of the less fortunate is how readily we contribute to Good Cheer. Lately the red barrel has been empty more often than not. The next time you come to Mass, can you bring one of the three P’s? Outreach attempts to provide paper products like toilet paper, personal hygiene items such as toothpaste and protein items such as canned tuna so that these products are more affordable to those who patronize Good Cheer’s food bank.
By his moral standards, the rich man didn’t show himself to be a true son of Abraham. Do we show ourselves to be disciples of Jesus, heeding his advice to be aware of those in need? Our legacy lies not in what we own but in what we share to make our world a happier, healthier place for the less fortunate in our midst.