26th Sunday of Ordinary Time
Reflection: What do you ignore?
By SISTER MARY McGLONE
Some people think newborns can’t really see. But actually, their task is to learn to focus on objects near and farther away.
Sight and hearing develop as we learn to block some of the things we hear and see so that we can concentrate on what is important at hand. Although we may not think of it, both hearing and seeing have a great deal to do with our intentions and priorities. That’s what today’s readings are all about.
Today, we hear Amos berate the wealthy whose only focus is their own comfort and enjoyment. Our opening line says it all: “Woe to the complacent!” They have obtained all the luxury they could have imagined and can dance to their own tune. They ignore the fact that things are falling apart around them and people are suffering. Disaster has not yet hit them and they think it never will. What Amos says in prose, Jesus tells as a parable people love to hear — until it reveals them to themselves.
When we call today’s parable “Lazarus and a rich man,” we’ve already revealed its key message: Lazarus has a name, a dignified designation, and the wealthy man gets defined — perhaps as he defines himself — by what he has; he seems to be no more than a seeker of self-satisfaction.
As Jesus spins his tale, he describes the rich man’s overabundance. He had all he wanted, a life that most folks in Jesus’ audience could hardly imagine. Then he portrayed Lazarus in dreadful misery. When Lazarus died, Father Abraham took him on his lap like a parent comforting a sad, injured child. The rich man received all that he had ever given: nothing but grief.
Now at last, the once wealthy one sees what could have been: a beggar consoled and loved. In life, that rich man had dug the chasm separating him from anyone beneath his consideration. He had not crossed over into the zone of compassion, so he could never take up residence there.
Interestingly, Jesus doesn’t claim that the beggar was without sin. He only said that Lazarus lived in appalling conditions. As if his wounds and hunger were not enough, the only attention he received was from dogs, ritually unclean animals. Until he reached the afterlife, Lazarus knew he was invisible to many and disdained by others. Somewhat like the suffering servant in Isaiah 53, he was someone from whom people turned their faces, whom they spurned and avoided. He deserved rest in Abraham’s bosom simply because he needed it, nothing more.
Even after death, the rich man observing Abraham and Lazarus remained blind to Lazarus as a fellow human being. Now, rather than being blind to him, he saw him as a potential servant who might ease his discomfort. The closest the pitiable man ever got to expressing compassion came when he begged for a message to his brothers. With that, Abraham told him that if they couldn’t or wouldn’t listen to Scripture, nothing could bail them out of their prison of complacent egoism. Not even a resurrection — be it of Lazarus or Jesus himself.
This is where Paul’s message to Timothy comes in. Paul says, “Lay hold of eternal life, to which you were called.” Paul is not talking about a future place in the bosom of Abraham. He’s talking about the very day on which Timothy read his words. Paul believes that eternal life has already begun for those who live in Christ. Their care for one another, their ability to see as Jesus did, and their compassion for anyone in need ushers them into the reign of God here and now. At the same time, it’s not a done deal. Paul tells us we must compete or strive well for the faith. The reign of God is not a destiny, but a way of living with and for others.
A few years ago, as I was getting on a highway, I saw a man that greatly resembled a nephew of mine who was lost in drink and drugs and disillusion. I quickly switched lanes to check him out. It wasn’t my nephew. As I drove on, I wondered. What if it had been him? What would I have done? And when it wasn’t he, what might I have done anyhow?
Today’s readings are meant to provoke us to sharpen our senses and sensitivity. Jesus’ parable asks us to judge where we choose to focus and what we intentionally block out. What do we see when we pass a beggar? Do we even notice the amount of plastic we throw away or the water we let run unnecessarily? When we see need, do we evaluate the one in need or our own response?
Who and what can we not afford to ignore?
Reading 1
(Amos 6: 1a, 4-7)
Thus says the LORD the God of hosts:
Woe to the complacent in Zion!
Lying upon beds of ivory,
stretched comfortably on their couches,
they eat lambs taken from the flock,
and calves from the stall!
Improvising to the music of the harp,
like David, they devise their own accompaniment.
They drink wine from bowls
and anoint themselves with the best oils;
yet they are not made ill by the collapse of Joseph!
Therefore, now they shall be the first to go into exile,
and their wanton revelry shall be done away with.
Responsorial Psalm
(Psalm 146: 7-10)
R: Praise the Lord, my soul!
Blessed he who keeps faith forever,
secures justice for the oppressed,
gives food to the hungry.
The LORD sets captives free.
R. Praise the Lord, my soul!
The LORD gives sight to the blind;
the LORD raises up those who were bowed down.
The LORD loves the just;
the LORD protects strangers.
R. Praise the Lord, my soul!
The fatherless and the widow he sustains,
but the way of the wicked he thwarts.
The LORD shall reign forever;
your God, O Zion, through all generations. Alleluia.
R. Praise the Lord, my soul!
Reading 2
(I Timothy 6: 11-16)
But you, man of God, pursue righteousness,
devotion, faith, love, patience, and gentleness.
Compete well for the faith.
Lay hold of eternal life, to which you were called
when you made the noble confession in the presence of many witnesses.
I charge you before God, who gives life to all things,
and before Christ Jesus,
who gave testimony under Pontius Pilate for the noble confession,
to keep the commandment without stain or reproach
until the appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ
that the blessed and only ruler
will make manifest at the proper time,
the King of kings and Lord of lords,
who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light,
and whom no human being has seen or can see.
To him be honor and eternal power. Amen.
Gospel
(Luke 16: 19-31)
Jesus said to the Pharisees:
“There was a rich man who dressed in purple garments and fine linen
and dined sumptuously each day.
And lying at his door was a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores,
who would gladly have eaten his fill of the scraps
that fell from the rich man’s table.
Dogs even used to come and lick his sores.
When the poor man died,
he was carried away by angels to the bosom of Abraham.
The rich man also died and was buried,
and from the netherworld, where he was in torment,
he raised his eyes and saw Abraham far off
and Lazarus at his side.
And he cried out, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me.
Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue,
for I am suffering torment in these flames.’
Abraham replied,
‘My child, remember that you received
what was good during your lifetime
while Lazarus likewise received what was bad;
but now he is comforted here, whereas you are tormented.
Moreover, between us and you a great chasm is established
to prevent anyone from crossing who might wish to go
from our side to yours or from your side to ours.’
He said, ‘Then I beg you, father,
send him to my father’s house, for I have five brothers,
so that he may warn them,
lest they too come to this place of torment.’
But Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the prophets.
Let them listen to them.’
He said, ‘Oh no, father Abraham,
but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’
Then Abraham said, ‘If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets,
neither will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead.'”