The readings for the Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C) May be found at:
Early this morning, I met my running partner for a training run in North Fairhaven. Now, this is not anything new, we’ve been doing this for about ten years.
When I get to his house, I ask him, “How you doing my man?” and he responds to me saying “Life is hard.” That was his opening line - “Life is hard”. I think we can all relate to that, because life, as wonderful as it is, absolutely feels hard at times.
Now, I won’t bore you with the details of our run, except to say that we did more complaining during that one hour than the Hebrews did in the entire Old Testament.
So, life is hard - and it certainly was for Lazarus in today’s gospel.
Now, Lazarus was sick, homeless, starving and being licked by wild dogs, and these were not man’s best friend either, but street dogs - scavengers looking for their next meal. Meanwhile, Lazarus sat at the door of a rich man hoping desperately to eat the scraps that fell off his table. Life was certainly hard for Lazarus.
Not so much for the rich man. He had nice clothes, good food on the table and all the creature comforts life has to offer. This man had things, he clearly enjoyed things for himself and he had the opportunity to help others, especially those in need - but he did not share what he had.
The rich man and Lazarus. Two different people. Two different lives in this world. And ultimately, two different lives in the next.
Jesus’ point here is not so much that one person is rich and the other is poor, but that one was blind to the world directly in front of him. It’s about how - despite all the blessings we are given, we can be so focused on ourselves that we can neglect other people as a result.
As human beings, we can get so wrapped up in our own business that we forget about those around us. I know sometimes I do.
If we’re honest with ourselves and we compare our lives to most other people on this planet - we are blessed beyond belief and that gives us the ability to show great mercy and be incredibly charitable in how we care for others.
In fact, Jesus calls us to take care of each other. We are supposed to be his hands and feet. This is all about charity. Not necessarily charity in the form of giving money, but charity in our disposition, in our spirit, how we relate to people, how we care for people and the respect we show to them.
This parable is very clearly a warning for us to pay attention to how we live in this life.
Like the rich man who never sees poor Lazarus at his door, we will be judged by how we do or do not practice charity.
Now we might ask ourselves, if I am the rich man, who would be Lazarus in my life? Who am I neglecting, ignoring or depriving of my help, my time, my gifts? Who have I passed by outside of my door that was in real need because I was focussed on my own stuff?
And it may not just be a Lazarus outside of our door, but a Lazarus in our own homes. Our spouse, our children, our parents - are we charitable to them, are we concerned about their well being, do we think about them first or is it mostly about us and what we want, about our situation?
This week - if you have a quiet moment, I’d ask you to pray for our Lord to help you see more clearly, the Lazarus in your life. Pray. Be bold. Ask our Lord to show you how you can reach out and help someone else. Bearing the name Christian comes with responsibilities. Make it a priority to serve a Lazarus this week.
As my running partner said this morning - Life is hard.
But, the mercy and charity we show can make this life easier for others - and can absolutely determine how hard everlasting life will be for us.
