Today's gospel annoys me, and it should annoy you as well. I mean, we go to all that trouble to learn the commandments so we can live by the rules, avoid going to hell and hopefully getting into heaven, then WHAM! along comes Jesus with this parable.
Lazarus, a poor man, dies and goes to heaven; the rich man---who has no name and therefore no identity--dies and is buried. Lazarus finds himself cradled in the bosom of Abraham, which is a great place to be cradled. The rich man finds himself in a place of torment, so we can assume if it's not hell it's at least some place in north Jersey. Probably near Bayonne or Elizabeth. Maybe Newark.
Anyway, that's not the disturbing part, unless you happen to be visiting us today from New Jersey, in which case I apologize, but don't blame me, I didn't write the gospel. Take it up with Luke should you be lucky enough one day to find yourself in the bosom of Abraham and not in that "place of torment." Trust me, it's an improvement.
But I digress. What is really disturbing about today's gospel is that Luke does not tell us WHY the rich man ended up in hell. It doesn't mention any mortal sin he may have committed to suffer eternal torment. It doesn't even say he intentionally ignored Lazarus lying outside his door. He was rich and he enjoyed his things and presumably he enjoyed his life. What's wrong with that? Apparently something.
Surely the gospel doesn't mean to imply that all rich people are headed toward hell.
At the beginning of Mass, we confess to God and one another that we have sinned in our thoughts, in our words, in what we have done---and what we have failed to do. A sin of omission! When we do not do good, we commit a sin! Missing Mass is the most obvious. But we also have the obligation to love one another, to forgive one another, to help one another. And when we do not do these things, we, like the rich man, run the risk of winding up in Hoboken. (Sorry! I meant hell!)
But there is another annoying part in today's gospel. What did Lazarus do to merit going to heaven? Did he pray a lot? Did he go to church? Luke doesn't tell us. Does Lazarus go to heaven just because he's poor? Put another way, do poor people automatically go to heaven?
We know poor people can be as greedy, rude, and selfish like the rest of us. So what makes Lazarus special? The answer is in his name. A name, especially in the Bible, gives us a clue about a person's character and role in life. Lazarus is the English form of the Hebrew name Eleazer. It means, "God is my help." Lazarus trusted God alone, in spite of all hardships, poverty and hunger. And God rewarded that trust. The dogs that came to lick Lazarus' wounds are a poor person's health care.
Some in this church today are like Lazarus. Perhaps they lost their jobs or their health is not good. Maybe they are sad or depressed. Today's gospel calls them to put their trust in God alone. And the rich man is given no name, not just because he has no identity, but so that each of us can put ourselves in his place and examine our lives by gospel values and not just enjoy life. We must be concerned about the poor people around us. God may be helping them through us.
[Here's proof God has a sense of humor. On my way driving on the local streets to church today, I spotted a poor, old woman sitting on the curb. I thought , "God, I have no time to stop and help that poor person. I have to get to church so I can tell parishioners to help poor people!"]
If we ignore the cry of the poor, if we refuse to do good, we runs the risk of ending up someplace much worse than Hoboken.
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