Fr. Paul ANIGBORO

 

The story of the Rich Man and Lazarus is similar to the story of the Rich Fool whose lands yielded in abundance, but the difference is that while the latter ends with sudden death, the former tells us how the rich man ended in hellfire after his death. “Is it a crime to be rich?” What exactly did the rich man do to deserve eternal punishment?

The sin of the rich man in today’s Gospel passage is not in how he made his money (Jesus did not specify) but about his indifference to the poor and suffering around him. The rich man had enough money to host parties daily and feast sumptuously but didn’t care for the poor in his community. Lazarus was attracted to his gate in the hope of feeding on the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table but sadly, no one gave him anything instead Lazarus’ sores became chocolate for the rich man’s dogs.

One great man once said: “Evil triumphs in the world not because there are so many bad people but because of the indifference of good people.”... let us be good to People especially When You Do Not Stand to Gain from Them. Why is it that we humans treat people well when we consider them as beneficial to us and we treat others like flies when we feel they are useless to us? This rich man who never gave Lazarus a cup of water to drink was asking for a little drop when he recognized Lazarus in Abraham’s bosom. So he even knew that someone like Lazarus was in existence!

The fact that you feel someone is useless to you does not mean you have the right to treat him or her like garbage. The poor, dirty, or smelly human being you see and ignore daily is Jesus and if you do not recognize Jesus in him or her, you would not recognize Jesus in the Holy Eucharist.

The rich man when he realized he could not get a drop of water, he cried: “Then, father, I beg you to send Lazarus to my house; for I have five brothers that he may warn them, so that they will not also come into this place of torment” (Luke 16:27-28). This is where the story becomes a living reality in our lives. In truth, we are hearing this message as the brothers of the rich man and Lazarus is here already and he is warning us. Are we going to listen?  Or we are going to prove Abraham right that even if someone rises from the dead, we would not repent.

Indifference to the plight of others is one of the great evils afflicting our world today. It is asking “what is my business?” when we can do something (no matter how little) to change another person’s story. Indifference is a form of blindness. Unlike the rich fool, God did not take the rich man’s life immediately. He had several opportunities to catch a glimpse of Lazarus, but was technically blind to him. Sometimes, we get into useless competitions with those we think are richer than we are that we fail to notice the poor around us. We find it very hard to count our blessings because instead of taking into consideration those in far worse conditions, we keep comparing ourselves with those we think are better. The truth is that there are billions of poor people in the world; billions suffering from all kinds of circumstances. Even Jesus (responding to Judas Iscariot concerning the woman who anointed his feet with costly ointment), noted that: “you will always have the poor with you” (Matthew 26:11 & Mark 14:7).

When we consider the enormity of poverty around us, we are tempted to ask; “What can I do? What difference can I even make?” These questions should not make us more indifferent, rather they should spur us to action. Jesus is not asking you to solve world poverty, instead, Jesus tells this story today so that we can open our eyes to see what is in our power to do. It wouldn’t have taken much from the rich man to help Lazarus, but he was too blind to notice.

Have a splendid Sunday. God loves you.