Jesus spends much of his public ministry speaking about "the poor." He constantly reminds us that the poor will always be with us and He will not let us become deaf to their cry. Listening to the cry of the poor is a radical return to the fundamentals of our faith. It means putting on the mind of Christ. Scripture reminds us that God has made a covenant not with individuals but with a people. It reminds us of the deep links we have to others. As the Psalmist says, it means "keeping faith forever, securing justice for the oppressed, giving food to the hungry, setting captives free and raising up those who are bowed down."
The rich man in today’s parable didn’t do anything wrong. His life was spent enjoying the benefits of his wealth. He wore the latest fashions and sat down to his gourmet meals each day. Yet all the while Lazarus was at the doorstep, within reach, longing for the scraps from the table. For all we know, the rich man was a good man, a religious man, in good standing with the community. He did not insult Lazarus or abuse him. In fact, it seems that he never even noticed him.
But how could he not notice? Lazarus, after all, was always at the man’s door.
Jesus reminds us in this story that God always notices the unnoticed. He holds the unimportant as important and will comfort those the world ignores in their misery. God, we are told, knows the name of the poor and cherishes them.
It’s not wealth that Jesus condemns, it’s complacency.
Lazarus is on our doorstep. He is one of the more than one million children who are homeless in America, who sleep every night on our streets. He is one of the many fellow Americans who are afflicted with and dying from AIDS. She is one of the millions of Americans who have no access to health care, who must choose between buying her heart medicine and putting food on her table.
Lazarus is on our doorstep. He is an acquaintance who lost his job through downsizing and has just taken out a second mortgage. She is an elderly woman who is in a nursing home now for years where no one visits.
Lazarus is on our doorstep. He is the person in our school or in our office that cries out for respect but must face ridicule every day. She is the person struggling with mental illness who comes off a bit odd and is discounted as a person of value. He is our next door neighbor who recently lost his wife of forty years and hangs around the driveway as we come home, looking for company.
There is good news and bad news in today’s gospel. The bad news is that we very likely do not notice people who are close to us and who are in need. The good news is that there is still time to change. Lazarus is on our doorstep. The parable in today’s gospel asks us to be wiser than the rich man. It asks us to open as many doors as we can to provide love, forgiveness, and justice to others. Waiting would be a terrible mistake. For a time may come when, like the rich man, we discover that a step once possible has become a wide chasm, over which no one can cross.
Included Graphic: "The Rich Man and Lazarus" - Eugene Burnand
