Readings:
Amos 6:1, 4-7; 1 Tim. 6:11-16; Lk 16:19-31.
Our
Sins of Omission
Last Sunday, we
read from prophet Amos as he lashed out on the rich for exploiting the poor.
His message was direct and uncompromising. He told the people of Israel that,
because of their social injustice and religious arrogance, the Lord will punish
them by means of a total military disaster. Amos who came from the South, and
preached in the North, warned that, due to the life style of the people the
impending disaster will spare no one, it will affect the rich and the poor
alike. In today’s first reading, Amos warned the rich who feasted sumptuously
and enjoyed a comfortable life style that they “Shall be the first to go into
exile, and their wanton revelry shall be done away with.” The rich did not care
about the poor, in fact, they took no notice of them, except to exploit and use
them to advance their own selfish interests.
In the Gospel
reading, Jesus presents us with the parable of the rich man, Dives and Lazarus.
Dives, (pronounced ‘Dive-ees’ the Latin for ‘rich’) was a
rich man who dressed in purple (royalty) and fine linen clothes; and feasted on
exotic and costly dishes and drank expensive wine. And there was Lazarus, a Latinized
form of Eleazar meaning ‘God is my help.’
Lazarus was a homeless, crippled beggar, who was so sick that he could not
drive away dogs that came to lick his sores. He survived on the leftovers that
fell from the rich man’s table. Though, day in day out, Lazarus would make his
way to the rich man’s gate, he did not notice him. The only time the rich man
noticed Lazarus was when he saw him in the after-life on the bosom of Abraham.
While the rich man was laughing, rejoicing and celebrating on earth, Lazarus
was in agony. But in heaven, Lazarus rejoiced while Dives suffered in hell. And
Christ warned: “Blessed are you who are poor, for the kingdom of God is yours.
Blessed are you who are now hungry, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you
who are now weeping, for you will laugh. But woe to you who are rich, for you
have received your consolation. But woe to you who are filled now, for you will
be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will grieve and weep.” (Lk.
6:20-25).
But what was the
sin of the rich man? What was his crime? And why was he in hell? He did not
kick Lazarus out, shouted at him, or prevented him from sitting by his gate.
The parable said nothing about the source of his wealth. Being rich was a
blessing from God. For Psalm 112:3 tells us: “Wealth and riches shall be in
their homes; their prosperity shall endure forever.” And Deuteronomy 8:18
reminds us that “It is the Lord, your God, who gives you the power to acquire
wealth, by fulfilling, as he has now done, the covenant which he swore to your
fathers.”
The only crime
that sent the rich man to hell was that he did not care; he did not notice his
fellow man dying in abject poverty. He did nothing to alleviate his pain and
suffering or remedy his situation. He saw Lazarus as part of the landscape in
front of his gate. He lacked human decency to pursue a life of holiness by
taking care of his fellow man in need. He failed to do what Paul urged Timothy
to do in the second reading. “But you, man of God…pursue righteousness, devotion,
faith, love, patience, and gentleness. Compete well for the faith. Lay hold of
eternal life…” (1 Tim. 6:11-12). He failed to obey the commandment of love. He
did nothing! It
was the sin of omission that sent the rich man to hell. We contribute to
the sufferings of the poor by doing nothing to help them in their poverty!
We often feel that
the poor deserve their state in life. We seem to think that it is because they
are lazy that they remain in poverty. M.K.O. Abiola, the late Nigerian
millionaire was right when he said, “If I am the richest man, living among the
poorest of the poor, I am the poorest of them all.” How easy we forget
that the rich should help the poor in this world while the poor will help the
rich in the next. “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.’” Hell is real, and we may go there if we
refuse to notice the Lazarus in our family, our community, our society and in
our world. They
are everywhere, but can we see them? They are needy people, hurting people,
people who need our attention, who want us to help them with school fees. They
are pan-handlers on the street corners, and they sleep under bridges. Can you
see the hurt in their eyes? They need you now. Do not wait for the reversal of
fortunes to notice them, it may be too late then. Let us remember, as John F.
Kennedy would have us do, in his inaugural address of January 20, 1961, “If a free society
cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich…”
Finally, it seems
odd that the rich man’s request, that his brothers be warned was refused. Isn’t it true, that
if men possess the truth of God’s word, and, if wherever they look, there is
sorrow to be comforted, need to be supplied, pain to be relieved, and they are
not moved to do anything, or take action to alleviate their sufferings; then
nothing can change them, even if someone should come from the dead? We are
in no doubt as to why the rich man went to hell; for God sends no one to hell. He went to hell
because of his sin of omission, and we are not
immune to that sin. May we choose the path of righteousness and decide to
do something today, to alleviate the pains of our suffering brothers and
sisters, so that we may not join the rich man in his pity-party held in hell.
May God bless us today and always. Amen!
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