Readings:
Amos 6:1, 4-7; 1 Tim. 6:11-16; Lk 16:19-31.
Our
Sins of Omission
Last Sunday, Amos the prophet denounced the wealthy 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 would punish them by means of a total military disaster. Amos warned that, due to their lifestyle, the impending disaster would spare no one; it would affect the rich and the poor alike. Today, Amos warned the rich who feasted sumptuously and enjoyed a comfortable lifestyle 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; they took no notice of them, except to exploit and use them to advance their selfish interests.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells 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, disabled beggar who was so sick that he could not drive away the dogs that came to lick his sores. He survived on the leftovers from the rich man’s table. Though Lazarus sat at the rich man’s gate day in and day out, he did not notice him. The only time the rich man noticed Lazarus was when he saw him 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. 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).
What was the rich man’s sin? And why was he in hell? He did not kick Lazarus out, shout at him, or prevent him from sitting by his gate. The parable said nothing about the source of his wealth. Being rich was a blessing from God. “Wealth and riches shall be in their homes; their prosperity shall endure forever.” (Ps. 112:3). Deut. 8:18 states, “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 sin 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 suffering or remedy his situation. He saw Lazarus as part of the landscape in front of his gate. He lacked human decency to live 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 did not obey the commandment of love nor understand that “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is to care for orphans and widows in their affliction.” (James 1:27). He did nothing! The sin of omission sent the rich man to hell. We contribute to the sufferings of the poor by doing nothing to help them out of their poverty!
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; can we see them? The poor and the immigrants. These people need our attention. They are pan-handlers on the street corners, and they sleep under bridges. Can you see the hurt in their eyes? They need you. Please 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 denied. Isn’t it true that if men possess the truth of God’s word, and, 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, nothing can change them, even if someone were to come back from the dead? We know 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 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. Amen!
Rev.
Augustine Etemma Inwang, MSP
No comments:
Post a Comment