Homily for 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time
by Fr. Azam Vianney Mansha, CJM - STL
Today’s Gospel passage is known as “The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus.” This parable represents the two standards of living in our society, and that is, being rich and being poor; it also tells about the two states of our next world, and that is, hell and heaven.
Let’s begin with the rich man who was blessed with so many things, allowing him to live a very comfortable life. He did not kill; he did not break any law; he did not complain to Lazarus by saying, “Why are you staying close to my table and sleeping in front of my house?” He did not even complain about Lazarus eating his leftover food. So what’s wrong with him that he was sent to the place of fire? Before we see that, let’s quickly see the character of poor Lazarus.
Among all the parables of Jesus, Lazarus is the only character who has been given a proper name. His name stands for “God is my help.” The parable tells us that Lazarus was sick, weak, jobless, helpless and living on scraps of food. His name actually tells us that he depended on God. In other words, his poverty, sickness and dependency actually brought him close to God. In the same manner, God was close to Lazarus as seen by how God associates Himself with the poor in the Holy Bible. I believe you remember one of the famous Gospel songs that goes (Robert Kochis):
Whatsoever you do to the least of my people, that you do unto me. When I was hungry, you gave me to eat; When I was thirsty, you gave me to drink. Now enter into the home of My Father. Whatsoever you do to the least of my people, that you do unto me.
Both characters were not judged by the way they lived, but by their attitude with regards to God’s presence in their lives. Lazarus found God in his poverty as he completely depended on the Lord. On the other hand, the rich man was completely blinded with his wealth, and therefore, he felt no need for God’s presence in his life. The most important thing that the rich man was missing in his life was reaching out to Lazarus who was sick, weak, jobless, helpless and living on scraps of food. In other words, the rich man needed to go beyond his attitude of “me, myself and I.”
The rich man forgot the basic element of God’s way of life, which is, when God blesses a person, he/she does not need to raise his/her standard of living; but rather, he/she needs to raise his/her “standard of charity.” What does charity look like? As the Holy Church Father, St. Augustine of Hippo, said, “It has the hands to help others. It has the feet to hasten to the poor and needy. It has eyes to see misery and want. It has the ears to hear the sighs and sorrows of [people].”
During my seminary days in Rome, my grandparents sent me a gift to buy a warm jacket for the winter season because in Rome, it gets really cold! After buying the jacket, instead of taking a bus ride home, I decided to walk back to the seminary while admiring the beautiful, faith- enriching buildings. As I was walking, I saw a homeless person on the side of the road. It was winter but he did not have a jacket. I thought of going back to my seminary room to get my old jacket to give to him, but before I could do it, there was an inner voice in me, saying, “Will you be happy to receive an old jacket or will you appreciate it more to receive a new jacket?” I immediately said to myself, “A NEW ONE!!!” After this dawned upon me, I immediately gave my new jacket to the homeless person. After doing that, I was filled with this inner joy and peace in my heart. After spending a few special moments with that homeless person (which turned out to be a great way to polish the little Italian that I knew!), I went back to the seminary.
After a couple of weeks, a couple invited me to have lunch with their family. Back then, I did not know what moved them to do what they did, but after the delicious lunch, they took me to a store. I thought that they wanted to buy something for their children, but lo and behold!...they took me to the winter collection and asked me to choose a jacket for myself as a gift from them for the winter. The couple ended up buying me two jackets! I was so amazed by their charity and, even more so, by Divine Providence!!!
Dear sisters and brothers, let us not forget that our natural vocation is not to collect, but rather, to be charitable as a river flows to give water to others; a flower gives its fragrance to others; a tree bears its fruits for others; the sun shines for others. Therefore, when we are being blessed, it is for the hungry, the naked, the oppressed, the sick, and the persecuted because “without charity, the rich man is poor and with [charity], the poor man is rich (St. Augustine of Hippo, Sermon 350, 2-3: Charity, the Hidden Meaning of Scripture).”
May Mary, the mother of Jesus and our mother, intercede for us always to raise our “standard of charity.”
