The Rich Man and Lazarus: 26th Sunday OT

Point 1.  The rich man’s great sin is that he doesn’t even take notice.  In this parable, the most shocking sin is that he doesn't even notice him... he walks right past, every day, secure in his own little world, not letting the suffering of others disturb his peace.

And this is a major temptation for everyone, whatever your bank account is... to shut out suffering, to make yourself a comfortable little world where everything's fine and other people's pain doesn't really bother you.  That is, not to put too fine a point on it, the road to hell.





Point 2.   Who’s the rich man?  I am.  You are.  I think most middle-class Americans think of ourselves as just that: in the middle.  But we’re not.  Look at it from a truly Catholic perspective.  We’re the rich of the world.  If you have clean drinking water readily available, you’re rich.  If you can deal with human waste by flicking a toilet handle, you’re rich.  If you live in a society that won’t let you die of an easily preventable disease or bleed to death in the ER just because you can’t pay, you’re rich.  If you ate meat several times this week and that didn't strike you as extravagant, you’re rich.

Point 3.  Who’s the poor man?  I am.  You are.  That’s us too. There are a lot of different kinds of poverty.  Financial poverty is very real and very widespread.  But what about spiritual poverty?  What about the poverty of hopelessness?  What about the poverty of loneliness?  Poverty of faith?  What about the poverty of not believing in God’s love?

Poverty is all around us.  And we walk past each other every day... do we notice?  That’s the question and the challenge of this parable.  I don’t care how big your house is or the balance of your IRA.  Lazarus is all around you.  You can’t be a Christian if you don’t reach out.  And you can’t reach out if you won’t notice.


Expect to see Lazarus this week. Each morning as you start your day, start with the assumption that you will somehow come into contact with someone who needs someone. And this time, no matter how often you’ve walked by without noticing or pretending not to notice, this time stop. Close the distance. Risk the awkwardness. The people around you who are poor and suffering are your road to Heaven. They, more than anyone else, are Christ in your life. What is done for them, is done for Him. 

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