27th Sunday of Ordinary Time (Lk. 17:5-10)
Today’ s scriptures contain a message that doesn’t just prick our conscience but stabs at our conscience. When we listen to Christian preaching, we might not know the subject that Jesus talked about more than any other. He spoke often about the right use of possessions. Jesus’ words challenge us. Many times, preachers try to soften his words but the message he proclaims regarding how we manage our material possessions is a tough one.
No preaching is more pointed than when Jesus told the story of the rich man and Lazarus. The parable is like a lot of Jewish folk tales. And then again, it is different. Rich people take on two personas in Jewish literature. On the one hand, the wealthy can be heroically generous. The benevolent rich person gives away their money to the poor freely. On the other hand, rich people are also portrayed as miserly. Such a person doesn’t share but keeps accumulating wealth. A miser doesn’t notice the poor. The poor are invisible to them.
A typical Jewish story would be like this. Two men grew up together in the same neighborhood. When they were young, they started a business together which was very successful. Eventually they decided to part ways. The business was sold. The assets were converted into a large bag of gold. The two owners split the gold in half. The first man went off to another city. He ran a business there, but it failed. He went back to his hometown friend penniless. He called out at the gate of the friend’s house asking for entrance. He was admitted. He shared his sad story. The second man who was both successful and generous immediately gave his old friend half his fortune.
The first man took his gift, went to another city, started another business which generated immeasurable monies. But the second man’s finances were thrown into disarray because he had given so many assets to his old partner. He ended up penniless. He went looking for his friend. He went to the gate at the old friend’s house, but the first man ignored his cries for entrance. Eventually, the two men died. The first man was sentenced to eternal punishment. The second man was rewarded for his generosity. But the charitable man still loved his old partner. He asked God for leniency for his old friend. Because he did, God sent them both back to earth to relive their lives. It was a chance for redemption. The old folktale had several endings. In some versions of the tale the miser changes. In other versions the men are unable to change their behavior even when they lived their life over.
The story of the Rich Man and Lazarus falls into this genre of Jewish stories. But it has a Christian twist. The biggest differences in Jesus’ story is that there is no request for a second chance on the part of the rich man. He asks only for relief from his thirst.
The parable proclaims that the divide between rich and poor is wide in this life. The chasm grows in death. People who are selfish in life won’t find themselves in a good place for eternity. In the Christian tradition there are no second chances after death. We get our second chances while we live. If we have a change of heart, asking for forgiveness even up to the moment of death, we will be saved. If we never repent of our sins, we might be lost. One thing that Christian Theology says firmly is that there will be a day of reckoning.
Our world is different than the one Jesus lived in. When he lived, there were two classes of people, rich and poor. We have rich people. We have poor people. But what if we are neither rich nor poor. Then our question is probably, how much charity must I do? Christian teaching says there will be a final judgement. How will my charity be evaluated?
Perhaps the first question our Lord will ask will be, “Did you see me when I was in need? Or did you look away?” Today, unlike in Jesus’ time, we know about all the people suffering throughout the world. We feel overwhelmed. We might say it’s not my fault that there are millions of people in need. We speculate as to whether the poor deserve their fate. If we are privileged, we might feel like we deserve our wealth.
Jesus asks us to think differently. At the final judgement perhaps the first measure of our Christianity will be how empathetic were. If we say to our Lord when we meet him, “I saw the poor. I didn’t judge them. I tried to understand the injustices they faced, and in the end, I shared what I could.” If that is our answer, we may rest in the arms of Abraham.
Perhaps if we say these words, we will show that we are holy enough to join the saints in heaven.