September 30, 2007
Father Tony
When the late Pope John Paul II visited New York City back in 1979, he gave a powerful reflection on the rich man and Lazarus. The rich man, as we heard in today’s Gospel, dressed in fashionable clothes and ate wonderful meals every day. Meanwhile, a poor man named Lazarus would have been happy with the rich man’s table scraps, but he fed those to his dogs. When the two men died, things were reversed: Lazarus found consolation and the rich man found torment. After summarizing the parable, Pope John Paul asked why the rich man was condemned. “Was the rich man condemned because he had riches, because he abounded in earthly possessions, because he dressed in purple and linen and feasted sumptuously every day?” The Holy Father answered, “No.” It was not for wealth that the rich man was condemned. He said, “The rich man was condemned because he did not pay attention to the other man, because he failed to take notice of Lazarus, the person who sat at his door and who longed to eat the scraps from his table. Nowhere does Christ condemn the mere possession of earthly goods as such. Instead, He pronounces very harsh words against those who use their possessions in a selfish way, without paying attention to the needs of others.”
The one statement that strikes me from the Holy Father’s comments is this – The rich man did not pay attention to the other man. These words are meant for us. Now, you and I probably do not consider ourselves rich. In comparison to Bill Gates we are not. All of us together would have only a tiny fraction of his net worth. Still, in comparison to most of the people on the planet, we are fabulously wealthy. We enjoy warm clothes and buildings with central heating and air conditioning. We have plenty of food to eat. Pope John Paul spoke directly to us who have so much. “We cannot stand idly by,” he said, “enjoying our own riches and freedom, if, in any place, the Lazarus of the 20th century stands at our doors.”
Now, this does not mean that we have to take the all of the world’s problems on our shoulders. You and I have enough problems of our own without trying to solve everyone else’s. But we can lend a helping hand. That is the kind of thing the Pope was talking about: not isolating ourselves, but finding a way to pay attention to other people in need. It is not just a matter of contributing to a collection – although that is important. It means sharing our gifts, above all sharing our love. The pope warned parents about giving their children all kinds of material things, but not giving them love. We all want to give our children the very best we can. That means we want them to have God in their lives. We want them to know Jesus Christ and to follow His way of love, a love that reaches out to those in need. The rich man had everything, but he did not have God. The poor man lacked everything, but he had God. Jesus makes it clear who was better off.
The poor and needy are right at our doorstep. It’s true that we can’t help everyone, but we can help some. As the pope reminded us, the important thing is that we pay attention to the other person. That person is like you and me: He needs love – that is, he needs God. Lazarus is at our doorstep every day. He comes in many forms and in many different circumstances – a child, a spouse or a friend… May we pay proper attention to these Lazarus’ so that one day they will welcome us into the kingdom of heaven along with Abraham and all the saints. We must respond to the call of today’s gospel, the call to love, selflessly and sacrificially, as Jesus did. Our eternal life depends on in.