Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C

LUKE 16:19-31

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE POOR? WE THINK ABOUT THE PICTURES IN THE NEWS OF STARVING CHILDREN IN HAITI – RED HAIR AND BLOATED BELLIES FROM VITAMIN DEFICIENCIES, ARMS AND LEGS LIKE STICKS AND SKELETAL FACES BECAUSE OF LACK OF CALORIES. I THINK MOST OF US WOULD GLADLY SHELL OUT A FEW DOLLARS TO HELP ONE OF THESE. THEN THERE ARE THE PEOPLE WHO AREN'T STARVING, BUT THEY HAVE TO WORK SIXTEEN HOURS A DAY TO PUT FOOD ON THE TABLE – HARD, BRUTAL WORK – AND THEY LIVE IN ONE-ROOM SHACKS OR LARGE CARDBOARD BOXES – AND MANY OF US WOULD LIKE TO HELP THEM AS WELL, BUT WE BEGIN TO ASK, WHY? COULDN'T THEY DO BETTER IF THEY JUST PUT THEIR MINDS TO IT? AND WE CAN WORK OUR WAY UP THE LADDER UNTIL THE FACT OF POVERTY BECOMES INVISIBLE TO US. BUT WHAT DO ALL POOR PEOPLE HAVE IN COMMON?

MY GRANDFATHER WAS POOR – HE CAME FROM A FARMING FAMILY, HAD A FOURTH GRADE EDUCATION, LEFT HOME AT FOURTEEN. HE WAS A RANCH HAND UNTIL THE AGE OF 30, WHEN HE MOVED TO THE CITY. HE NEVER HAD A NEW CAR, NEVER OWNED A HOUSE; HE AND MY GRANDMOTHER ALWAYS RENTED WHERE THEY LIVED. HE SOLD HOUSEWARES IN THE MONTGOMERY WARD STORE, AND LATER IN LIFE BECAME A BARTENDER. I THINK THE MOST MONEY HE EVER MADE WAS WHEN HE BEGAN TO COLLECT SOCIAL SECURITY, AND GOT A LITTLE HELP FROM MY DAD AND MOM. HE NEVER HAD ANY MONEY. HE HAD A LOT OF DREAMS, BUT COULDN'T FULFILL THEM – MONEY GIVES YOU POWER. HE WOULD HAVE LIKED TO HAVE GONE HOME TO VISIT HIS SISTERS AND THE PEOPLE HE GREW UP WITH, BUT COULDN'T – MONEY GIVES YOU FREEDOM. HE WOULD HAVE LIKED TO TAKE A VACATION NOW AND THEN, MAYBE SPENT SOME TIME ACQUIRING A NEW SKILL SO HE COULD HAVE A BETTER JOB, BUT HE NEEDED TO WORK EVERY CHANCE HE HAD – MONEY BRINGS YOU SECURITY. AND I'M SURE HE WOULD HAVE LIKED TO HAVE PROVIDED MY GRANDMOTHER WITH A HOME OF HER OWN, AND MY DAD AND HIS SISTER WITH AN EDUCATION – MONEY ALLOWS YOU TO HELP THOSE YOU LOVE. BEING POOR MEANS THAT YOU HAVE VERY LITTLE CONTROL OVER YOUR OWN LIFE.

LAZARUS IS THE ULTIMATE POOR MAN, SO POOR HE CANNOT MOVE, SO POOR HE CANNOT EAT, SO POOR HE HAS NO ONE EXCEPT A FEW DOGS; AND EVEN HIS DREAMS ARE TINY AND SAD – HE WANTS TO EAT SOME FOOD THAT WAS THROWN TO THE DOGS.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE RICH? I KNOW PEOPLE WHO HAVE A LOT OF MONEY, BUT THEY LIVE FRUGALLY. AND THEN THERE ARE THOSE WHO ARE LIKE THIS RICH MAN – THEY HAVE EVERY TOY THAT COMES ON THE MARKET; THEY GET A NEW CAR EVERY COUPLE OF YEARS, THEY'VE GOT A BOAT AND A TIME SHARE – AND I THINK WE ALL SENSE THAT THERE'S SOMETHING WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE, BUT WE CAN'T QUITE PUT OUR FINGER ON IT. CERTAINLY BEING RICH AND LIVING LIKE THIS DOESN'T SEEM TO BE A DEADLY SIN; AFTER ALL, IF YOU GOT YOUR FORTUNE HONESTLY THROUGH HARD WORK OR MAYBE BECAUSE YOU INHERITED WEALTH OR MARRIED WEALTH, WELL, DON'T WE HAVE THE RIGHT TO USE WHAT IS OURS AS WE WISH? AFTER ALL, THAT'S A PREMISE ENSHRINED IN OUR CONSTITUTION AND ENDORSED BY OUR POPES – WITH THE ADMONITION THAT WE SHOULD BE GENEROUS WITH OUR WEALTH, WE SHOULD GIVE SOME OF IT AWAY TO THOSE LESS FORTUNATE THAN WE ARE.

BUT THE REAL PROBLEM WITH WEALTH IS THAT IT IS SEDUCTIVE. IT REALLY DOES MEAN POWER – THE ABILITY TO DO WHAT YOU WANT; AND IT MEANS FREEDOM – THE ABILITY TO GO WHERE YOU WANT TO GO. AND IT MEANS SECURITY – AT LEAST AS MUCH SECURITY AS WE CAN HAVE ON THIS EARTH; AND IT MEANS THE ABILITY TO HELP THOSE YOU LOVE – HOW MANY OF US HAVE PUT A KID OR TWO THROUGH COLLEGE, OR THROWN A DAUGHTER A WEDDING TO REMEMBER?

WHETHER WE LIVE A SIMPLE OR LAVISH LIFE STYLE, THE REAL PROBLEM WITH WEALTH IS THAT IT ISOLATES US. MOST OF US LIVE IN LONGMEADOW. IT'S A NICE PEACEFUL COMMUNITY, BUT RIGHT OVER THERE ACROSS FOREST PARK IS A CITY WHICH HAS A PRETTY HIGH CRIME RATE, INCLUDING THE OCCASIONAL SHOOTING AND HAS THE DUBIOUS DISTINCTION OF BEING THE 38^TH MOST DANGEROUS CITY IN THE UNITED STATES. NOT REALLY OUR PROBLEM. WE KNOW THERE ARE A LOT OF POOR PEOPLE IN SPRINGFIELD – SOME OF US PASS STREET PEOPLE EVERY DAY AS WE GO INTO OUR OFFICES. HOW MANY POOR PEOPLE CAN YOU COUNT AMONG YOUR FRIENDS? IF YOU ARE LIKE ME, THE ANSWER IS PRETTY CLOSE TO ZERO. AND WHEN YOU DON'T COME INTO CONTACT WITH PEOPLE WHO ARE POOR, WHEN YOU DON'T INTERACT WITH THEM AS HUMAN TO HUMAN, YOU ARE KIND OF LIKE THE RICH MAN IN JESUS' STORY. DAY AFTER DAY YOU BUILD A GULF BETWEEN YOU AND THE VAST MAJORITY OF HUMANITY – BECAUSE, LET'S FACE IT, MOST OF HUMANITY ARE POOR COMPARED TO US. AND EVENTUALLY THAT GULF BECOMES SO LARGE THAT IT CAN'T BE CROSSED, AND WE SUDDENLY FIND THAT WE ARE ETERNALLY SEPARATED FROM OUR BROTHERS – JUST THE OPPOSITE OF WHAT JESUS WANTED, WHO CAME INTO THE WORLD TO MAKE US ONE PEOPLE, ONE BODY.

DOES JESUS WANT US ALL TO HAVE JUST WHAT WE NEED AND NO MORE? IS HE A SOCIALIST WHO WANTS THE STATE TO TAKE FROM THE RICH AND GIVE TO THE POOR UNTIL EVERYONE IS EQUAL? OR IS HE A CAPITALIST WHO ADVOCATES THAT EXCEPT FOR A MINIMUM SAFETY NET TO KEEP PEOPLE FROM STARVING ON THE STREET, IT'S EVERY MAN FOR HIMSELF?

I THINK NEITHER IS TRUE. JESUS LOVES THE POOR, AND WANTS THEM NOT JUST TO HAVE ENOUGH TO EAT AND A PLACE TO GET OUT OF THE COLD. HE WANTS THEM TO HAVE THE POSSIBILITY OF BECOMING MORE FULLY HUMAN, OF ACHIEVING THEIR POTENTIAL AS HUMAN BEINGS. HE WANTS HIS BROTHERS AND SISTERS TO HAVE POWER, FREEDOM, SECURITY, AND THE ABILITY TO DO THINGS FOR THOSE WE LOVE. BUT JESUS LOVES THE RICH AS WELL, AND WANTS THEM TO TEAR DOWN THE WALL THEY ARE BUILDING, SO THAT THE GULF DOES NOT BECOME UNCROSSABLE.

AND THAT'S THE WORLD IN WHICH WE ARE PLACED, A WORLD WHERE UNDER IDEAL CIRCUMSTANCES THE RICH HELP THE POOR TO REACH THEIR POTENTIAL, AND THE POOR HELP THE RICH TO STAY CONNECTED TO THE HUMAN RACE.

MOST OF US IN LONGMEADOW ARE RICH, COMPARED TO THE REST OF HUMANITY. AND MOST OF US DON'T HAVE ANY REAL FRIENDS AMONG THE POOR. SOMETIMES WE ARE GENEROUS, WE GIVE THEM MONEY, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, BUT THEY REMAIN AN ABSTRACTION, AND WE DON'T SEE THEM AS BROTHERS AND SISTERS.

I WONDER WHAT MIGHT HAVE BECOME OF MY GRANDFATHER IF SOMEONE WITH WEALTH HAD TAKEN AN INTEREST IN HIM WHEN HE WAS A TEENAGER OR A YOUNG MAN JUST STARTING OUT? HE MIGHT HAVE DONE A LOT BETTER IN LIFE, AND IN TURN MAY HAVE HELPED SOMEONE ELSE, AND THE WORLD WOULD BE A BETTER PLACE.

I GUESS WHAT I'M TRYING TO SAY IS THAT THE TRAGEDY OF POVERTY IS THAT SO MANY FAIL TO REACH THEIR POTENTIAL, SO THAT THEY COULD BE A BLESSING RATHER THAN A BURDEN TO THEIR FELLOW MEN. AND THE TRAGEDY OF BEING WEALTHY IS THAT WE ARE IN DANGER OF NOT BEING A BLESSING TO OUR FELLOW MAN.

FOR THE RICH MAN IN THE PARABLE, IT'S TOO LATE. FOR YOU AND I, NOT YET. HOW ARE YOU PERSONALLY GOING TO CHANGE YOUR RELATIONSHIP TO YOUR OWN WEALTH? BECAUSE IF YOU LOOK CLOSELY AT YOUR LAZARUS, YOU WILL SEE THAT HIS FACE IS THE FACE OF JESUS.