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Lazarus
at Our Gate
Fr.
George Smiga
Sept.
26, 2004
Luke
16:19-31
There
were two major league baseball players, a catcher and a pitcher,
who were not only very good friends but also men of faith.
They both loved baseball so much, that they could not imagine
being happy in heaven if there were no baseball there. So
they made a pact that whoever would die first would try to
come back and report whether there was baseball in heaven
or not.
Shortly
after this pact, the catcher suddenly died and was ushered
into his eternal reward. A couple months later, being a man
of his word, he appeared in a dream to his friend. “I have
good news and I have bad news,” he said. “Which do you want
to hear first?” The pitcher responded, “I'll take the good
news”. “Well the good news is this: there definitely is baseball
in heaven. The field is perfect, the crowd is always supportive,
and I play every day.” “Wonderful,” said his friend. “What's
the bad news?” “Well the bad news is, I'm looking at the bulletin
board and you're scheduled to pitch tomorrow.”
It
is going to happen to all of us sooner or later, with warning
or unexpectedly. We will need to pass from this life to the
next, and make an account of the life we have lived here.
That is why it would be wise for us to listen to Jesus' teaching
in today's parable. For in this disturbing but important parable
we hear how a rich man failed to attain eternal life, even
though he had been abundantly blessed.
Why
did he fail? There is nothing in the parable that indicates
he was a dishonest man or a mean man. Nothing that indicates
he was unthankful for what he received. He seemed to be a
person who enjoyed life and who shared what he had with his
family and friends as he feasted sumptuously every day. Nor
is there anything in the parable that indicates that he mistreated
the poor man Lazarus who was at his gate. He did not insult
him or abuse him. In fact, it seems like he never even noticed
him.
This
is what I would suggest is the failure of the rich man: he
did not notice Lazarus at his gate. Even though the two of
them were close, with Lazarus sitting at his very door, he
lived his life isolated from the poor man, with a gap between
the two of them. There was a gulf between them, and the rich
man lived his life without even noticing the poor man who
was close at hand. Now after his death, the rich man certainly
noticed Lazarus. Not only did he notice him, but he wanted
to bridge the gap between them. He begged that Lazarus would
bring but a bit of water to cool his tormented tongue. But
after death we discover that the gulf has become a chasm,
and it is no longer possible to cross it.
Obviously
then, the point of the parable for us is to notice Lazarus
at our door and to reach out and cross the gulf between us
while there is still time.
Lazarus
is at our gate. 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. Lazarus is at our door. She is one
of the forty million Americans who have no access to health
care, who must choose between buying her heart medicine and
putting food on her table. Lazarus is at our gate. 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 ten years where no one visits.
Lazarus
is at our door. 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.
The
gospel today calls us to notice Lazarus at our door, and to
reach out and cross the gulf that isolates us from him. It
calls us to do this in a very personal and specific way. It
is important to notice in the parable that the rich man failed
to gain eternal life not because he ignored all the beggars
in Israel, but only because he ignored one beggar, the one
named Lazarus who sat at his door.
We
cannot be expected to reach out to the millions of people
without health care or the tens of millions who are dealing
with grief. But we can be expected to notice the Lazarus who
sits at our gate. Who is he? What is her name? You know it.
Who is the person who is coming into your mind right now?
That person is the person that the gospel calls you to recognize,
to notice, and to touch. Do not ignore him. Do not pretend
that her need has nothing to do with you.
There
is good news and bad news in today's gospel. The bad news
is that we are very likely ignoring people who are close to
us and who are in need. The good news is that there is still
time to change. Lazarus is at our door. The gospel calls us
to notice him and let our love make a difference. Reach out,
cross the gulf that presently separates you from him. After
death, it will be too late.
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