Homily for the Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

When God Puts You In A Position Of Lifting Up A Broken Spirit, Just Do It

Fr. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

St. Gerard Majella Church

Sunday, September 29, 2013

Today’s parable has two characters in it: a rich man and a poor man. The rich man was not named but the poor man has a name- Lazarus. The name “Lazarus” is derived from the Hebrew name “Eleazar” which means “God is my help.” Like so many rich people, the rich man in today’s gospel (Luke 16:19-31) lived, ate and dressed luxuriously. He was extremely comfortable and exceedingly elegant. He dressed in expensive purple garments and fine linen. He dined sumptuously every day, i.e. he feasted expensively and luxuriously every day. 

In a region where many folks considered themselves fortunate if only they ate a small piece of meat once in a week, and where they labored and toiled for six days of the week, this rich man indulged himself in a lavished, flamboyant and extravagant living. Meanwhile, not far from him was a poor man, Lazarus who sat and waited for the crumbs that fell from his table. Lazarus was a beggar and it seems he was also homeless because the gospel says “...lying at his door was a poor man named Lazarus...” His body was covered with sores. He was so helpless and so weak that he could not even ward off the street dogs that hovered around him and licked his sores. 

Our Faith teaches us that life does not end here. After this earthly life, there is another life that awaits each of us. Earthly life is temporary, but afterlife is everlasting. Therefore, we should spend our earthly life securing a better and happier future in heaven. So, after an earthly life of untold suffering, Lazarus died. He was carried away by angels to the bosom of Abraham. The rich man also died after an earthly life of extreme luxury, but he went to a place of torment- hell. Now, the rich man did not go to the place of torment simply because he was rich. Then what was his sin? After all he did not order Lazarus to be thrown out of his house and sight; he did not stop Lazarus from picking the scraps of food that fell from his dinning table; he did not scold or hit Lazarus. He was not deliberately cruel to him. He did not hold his nose to avoid smelling the poor man’s sores. He did not call the police to report that an intruder was around him. He did not look at Lazarus with scorn and contempt. What then was the sin of the rich man? His sin was that he never noticed Lazarus. The poor man was invisible to him. As far as he was concerned, Lazarus was part of the landscape. As far as he was concerned, it was perfectly alright for Lazarus to live a life of deep pain and hunger while he wallow in extravagant feasting. What took the rich man to the place of torment is not what he did but what he did not do. His sin was that he could look at a man ravaged by disease, a child of God, a human being like himself, saw his dire need for help but felt no sense of grief and pity in his heart. He saw a man covered with sores, a helplessly homeless beggar, a desperately hungry man, a man being plundered by deep pain, and did nothing about it. He does not lack the resources to help and to change the life of Lazarus, but he turned a blind eye. He was punished for refusing to notice the presence of a needy man. 

From the place of torment, he looked up and saw Lazarus and pleaded for a drop of water from him. But he was quickly reminded that he was reaping what he sowed while on earth. And when he asked that Lazarus be sent to his brothers to warn them to change their lifestyles to avoid ending where he ended, Abraham told him that there are priests and prophets on earth already doing what he wanted Lazarus to go and do. 

Some of us will look at today’s gospel as a condemnation of riches and an elevation of poverty. Jesus never condemned the wealthy for being wealthy. I want to say here that this kind of poverty is evil and sinful. This type of poverty is an offense against charity and compassion. Abject poverty of this kind should be fought and be defeated. It gives no glory to God; it gives no commendation to humanity. No human being should be allowed to experience it. It debases the dignity of the human person, and makes mockery the very idea of humanity and community. Jesus is not anti-riches or rich people. Riches are God’s blessings too. The rich man did not end up in hell simply because he was rich; and Lazarus was not carried to the bosom of Abraham simply because he was poor. The rich man went to hell because he was deeply selfish and self-centered. He lacked the virtue of love, charity and compassion. Lazarus on the other hand, went to heaven because like his name suggests, he totally leaned on God as his help. In his poverty, he was not jealous of the rich man. In his poverty, he did not turn away from God. In his poverty, he was not upset with God or with anyone. Despite his poverty, he still had faith in God. He loved God and sought help from him. In the end, he got the relief and salvation he sought for.

 If you are able to help someone, if you are able to put a smile on someone’s face, if you are able to make an impact in someone’s life, an impact rooted in love and compassion, try and do it. In the end, you will realize that you have stored so much treasure for yourself in heaven. The Lord has not called us to do nothing. Each of us has been called to do something- something good. Each of us has been called to be active Christians. Dormant and inactive Christians produce nothing. Dormant and inactive Christianity is worthless. Doing nothing is not a virtue. Do not be a Christian who does nothing. Every day of our lives, God puts us in a position of doing something worthwhile, of wiping away tears from the eyes of someone, of lending a helping hand, of speaking to a lonely person, of visiting the sick and the shut-in, of changing a life, of making a difference in the life someone, of making others see Jesus in us. When that opportunity comes, don’t act like the rich man in today’s gospel. Do something! Christianity is a religion of action- compassionate action. It is a way of life for those who love Jesus!