Twenty – Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time – C
In our Gospels last
week and this
week we see Jesus has been dealing with the Pharisees. The Pharisees
had the
belief that if you were wealthy & healthy you were blessed for
being good.
If you were poor & sick you were being cursed by God because of
your sins.
If you are good God blesses you with money.
If you are bad, God curses you with poverty.
How many still think that is the case today.
If you are well off you must be a good person, - if you are poor and
having
problems it is because of your sins, maybe you are on drugs, or a
crook, or too
lazy to get a job, or a criminal. How many think that people dealing
with
poverty, homelessness, personal and family problems are getting their
just desserts
for their sins.
Jesus does NOT agree with these thoughts. How many sick did He
heal? How many sinners did He forgive? How many hungry did He feed? How
many
lepers did He cure? He did this to show that these conditions are not
caused by
sin, but are opportunities to show love and charity to our fellow men -
who are
also made in God’s image and likeness.
Even the Laws of Moses did not teach this. One thing that stands
out in
what Moses taught was that each person deserves to be treated with
dignity and
respect. Special care should be taken to
make sure the poor are not taken advantage of.
If there is a law suit between the rich and poor, the favor
should not
go to the rich man because if his position in society but that judges
need to
be equally fair to both parties. When
harvesting grapes or grain the owner was not to go through the field a
second
time but any produce left behind belonged to the poor -
as God gave the blessings of the harvest not
just to the land owner but to the landless poor. The food God gave was
for all
people. They had the year of Jubilee.
Every family was given a piece of land to support themselves. Some were
good
farmers and business managers and were able to raise the food to feed
their
families. But as we now there are some who are not talented as farmers
and
loose the farm to pay bills. Should the next generation have to suffer
because
their parents had some bad luck? No, on the 50th year all
land
returned to the original families so the next generation could have a
try and
support their families. Even when buying the land from another, it was
only
valued at how many years harvests were left until the next year of
Jubilee -
when the land would be returned to the original family. Over and over
again
throughout the Old Testament the prophets would make it clear that on
how the
poor aliens, the orphans and the widows were treated -would determine
if the
country would be blessed or if they would be punished by famine or war
because
they did not take care of the poor but took advantage of them instead.
The
people were to recognize all people, even foreigners, as children of
God made
in God’s image and likeness and as brothers and sisters deserving of
respect
and love.
So we see that Moses, the law and the prophets speak of the need to show respect and reach out in charity to our brothers and sisters in need - if we want to be blessed.
So we see our parable today. The parable of the rich man and poor Lazarus. The rich man is like the Pharisee - who thinks because he is rich that he is good and blessed. He lives in a large house, eats sumptuously, and has a easy life of luxury. But is he really the one who is blessed as it seems?
There on his doorstep is the poor beggar Lazarus, who is covered with sores, begging for alms to keep himself alive. In these days the families and friends of the cripples would put them on the street corners, by the city gates or by the homes of the wealthy to beg to get food to eat.
The rich man did not mistreat Lazarus, he just walked past him and ignored him. How could he miss him as he was sitting on his own door step right in front of him? Later when the rich man is suffering in the fires he calls Lazarus by name so he knew him so well he even knew his name. So here we have a rich man who is blessed with not only enough to feed himself and his family and even his dogs, but who does not share the extra God gave to him to feed the poor and crippled on his very doorstep. When God gives blessings he gives for the good of all. The poor and those in need are then an opportunity we have, given to us by God, to be like God, to imitate God in His love, who gives enough to take care of all His children. The problem is that the rich man did not learn from Moses, the law and the prophets to prove his goodness by taking care of the foreigner, the poor, the widow and the orphan. He instead used all he had for his own comfort. Even the dogs felt more compassion by licking the sores of Lazarus than the rich man showed. The rich man failed the test to see God’s image in each person and so he was not blessed in the end.
So we look at our own faith. How important are the good works of charity in living our faith as Jesus showed us by the example of His own life. Even the idea of “living as a Christian” and “being a Christian” has the connotation of imitating God and Christ - in love for all God’s children and showing it by helping those in need - if we wish to be truly blessed.
Today we celebrate
the 100th
anniversary of Catholic Charities in the
In our diocese we have had a off and on history of Catholic Charities. When the diocese was founded we had an office of Catholic Charities in New Ulm to help couples with marriage problems, to help unwed mothers, to help with the adoption of children to mention a few things. Then we lost this agency for a few years. Then under Bishop Lucker we tried again but because we could not afford to have our own Catholic Charities - we purchased services from the Winona Diocese which helped the southern counties of our Diocese and the St. Cloud Diocese helped the northern counties. Then we lost it again but now because of the Diocesan Ministries Appeal we again are fortunate to have Catholic Charities in our diocese to help our people who are dealing with poverty and lack of employment, refugees and migrants, the sick, those suffering from effects of abortion, those who are pregnant and need help, those who are looking to adopt, those who are having personal and marital problems and family problems and need counseling, as well as those who have lost a loved one and need support in their mourning and transitions of life.
It is up to all of us to see Christ in our Sisters and Brothers around us in need, in all who are Lazarus on our doorstep who are suffering physically, mentally, spiritually and economically. If we wish to be truly blessed we need to support the church in its work of bringing the love of God to those around us in their many needs. Moses, the Law and the Prophets as well as the word and example of Jesus Himself teach us to be blessed we should not make wealth a god, an end all in itself. But to realize everything we have is a gift of God not only for ourselves but for God’s other children as well - as we share our time, talents and treasures with the poor and those in various personal needs. Remember “There but for the grace of God go I.” We need to remember that when we are in need, how much we would like someone to see Christ in us, and give us a helping hand, an ear to hear our problems, a healing touch - to let us know that God loves us too through His people who live as Christ did.