Homilies

26th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME: LAZARUS AND DIVES

ST LUKE is known to be the evangelist of the poor, and his gospel is gospel of the poor. With this, we can understand his teachings on the rich and the poor, and on riches and poverty.  This opposition between the rich and the poor is very well reflected in today’s gospel, that is, in the story of Lazarus and Dives.

First, the gospel shows the contrasting situations of the two persons in the story. On the one hand, Dives or the rich man lives in luxury, living in an epicurean way, that is, eating the best food and drinking the best wine. But he is completely separated from the world characterized by poverty. On the other, there is Lazarus living in want and hunger. He eats only the scraps that fell from the table of the rich man. But then their fate was reversed when both died. Lazarus, in the bosom of Abraham, now lives in comfort, while Dives lives in torment and anguish.

Second, the gospel teaches us about the responsibility to care for brothers and sisters. The rich man in the gospel is not actually portrayed as bad man. He never did something evil or harmful to Lazarus. He did not beat him, he did not kicked him out. In other words, the rich man was never brutal or cruel to Lazarus, physically. But what is the sin of the rich man? It is not a sin of commission, but rather a sin of omission. The rich man was insensitive to the needs of others. He was not in touch with the real world. The only world he knew was his own world, but completely ignorant of the world of the poor. Thus, insensitivity to others’ needs is a sin. As brothers and sisters, we have the responsibility for each other, we have the responsibility to care for each other.

Third, the story in the gospel is actually for us. As one priest-preacher reflected, “we are the five brothers who are still alive.”  Some people would say that the poverty in the world has never been alleviated partly because of the insensitivity of the rich nations. The Church has constantly been reminding the affluent countries, in the name of social justice, to share their resources and wealth to the impoverished nations. But, it seems not all of them are listening. If only everyone comes to a realization that we are brothers and sisters, then we can be generous to each other.

I have heard of the story of a man named Albert Schweitzer. In his youth, he became a famous musical conductor and multi-millionaire in the United States. But one day he decided to leave that lucrative career in music, and instead studied medicine. When had become a doctor, he went to Africa in order to do missionary work. I suppose until now he remains in that continent. According to him, the gospel that we heard today has influenced him to say goodbye to the music career. He reflected that there are many Lazaruses on that side of the world who are in need of help from the Diveses.  Like him, we need also to reflect further on the gospel story. How many times have we been insensitive to the plight and needs of the poor? Have we resolved to change that attitude?

« Back to Homilies Index