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26th Sunday of Ordinary Time C
September 29, 2013
http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/092913.cfm
There was a rich man... Curiously he has no name, while the starving beggar at his door is well known by his name, Lazarus, which derives from Eliezer and means "God helps", or "God is my help". Is this a passing word of encouragement to all the poor of the world?
Who then is that rich man, for he is the one that the message of the story is directed at? Who is he?
He remains nameless; a man of no name, for he is me. He is everyone. There is none so poor as not to have another at your gate, needy in some way that you can relieve. This story is ultimately not the damning of the millionaires: it is a teaching fit even for the least, even for poorest: we live by sharing, or we die.
Compassion, a heartfelt care for the one less well-off, is essential for a healthy life.Today's 'Social Justice' means the same, but it smacks of policies and programs and the responsibilities of governments. I think it must start in the heart of each individual or it will not go at all.
Later on the story folds back on itself to confront us personally. There is a gap, a divide that will be unbridgeable in the future life. Why don't we try to bridge it now?
We have Moses and the prophets: Why don't we listen to them! If we will not learn from them, if we are not moved by the plight of a sick man dying of starvation at our door... What then? What if we just won't care - what then?
We must be truly selfish. We must be so greedy that we have stopped seeing. We must be engulfed in darkness, blinded by our self-satisfaction, already spiritually dead, poisoned by the love of comfort and by pride.
It is good that the Bishops' Statement targets specific groups of the most needy. However when we categorise the poor we might be in danger of thinking only of the societal causes of their need and of looking for solutions in better national policies and international accords. We might miss the fact that each of us has something to share with someone needing help from us. A spirit of compassion will be on the lookout, in fact will be alert to giving life to every one we meet day by day.
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I hope the bishops' Statement will be read, for it is a better commentary on this gospel passage than anything I could offer: http://www.socialjustice.catholic.org.au/files/SJSandresources/2013-14-SJS-Statement.pdf
After describing the heart-breaking plight of millions under the five headings: those who are hungriest;those most vulnerable to disasters; Indigenous peoples;those with disabilities; and those uprooted from their homelands by conflict or oppression, the statement sheets home the message.
Three years ago Pope Benedict challenged the world in its response to the financial crisis to put the focus on those living in poverty:
Where human lives are concerned, time is always short: yet the world has witnessed the vast resources that governments can draw upon to rescue financial institutions deemed ‘too big to fail’. Surely the integral human development of the world’s peoples is no less important: here is an enterprise, worthy of the world’s attention, that is truly ‘too big to fail’. 45
The depth and breadth of poverty that still exists in our world calls us to action. That so many suffer multiple burdens of deprivation prompts deep soul searching. How is it that so many are excluded from enjoying spiritual, cultural, educational, social, economic and political freedoms? How is it that so many still lie like Lazarus at our gate, bearing in their bodies the cost of their struggle and denied access to the table of participation and solidarity time and again? This is the challenge for us, as Australians and as members of the global community, as we seek the path to reducing and eliminating poverty in the years to come.
In the Gospel parable,the rich man’s failure is not an overt cruelty,but an indifference to human suffering. The rich man passes Lazarus constantly but never actually ‘sees’ him – never actually recognising Lazarus’ need. We cannot be at peace, eating our fill, in the knowledge that a sister or brother lies hungry or sick at our gate. We know that such a state of affairs is as far as it can be from the vision of God. Our God is revealed as a God of abundance and hospitality who gives life to the world, bread to the hungry, and Christ as our guide and saviour. God in Jesus chooses humility, service and self-emptying as the hallmarks of a love which is everlasting, sumptuous and rich.
The gift that Jesus leaves us is the Eucharist. The Eucharist is the sacramental bond that forms us as Christians and is essential to our communion with one another and with God. It satisfies our spiritual hunger but reminds us of the bounty of God’s table. When we think of the continuing injustice in the world, we are chastened by the words of Fr Pedro Arrupe SJ:
If there is hunger anywhere in the world, then our celebration of the Eucharist is somehow incomplete everywhere in the world … In the Eucharist we receive Christ hungering in the world. He comes to us, not alone, but with the poor, the oppressed, the starving of the earth. Through him they are looking to us for help, for justice, for love expressed in action. Therefore we cannot properly receive the Bread of life unless at the same time we give the bread of life to those in need wherever and whoever they may be. 46
Greed and indifference divide the world. The chasms fixed between rich and poor were made by us and we can unmake them. When we see these people – the marginalised, the hungry and those in flight from violence or disaster – we cannot avoid the question: Why does this poverty still exist? What are the structures that perpetuate it?
Can we really say that so many are hungry or dying from preventable disease simply through bad luck?
In his Encyclical Caritas in Veritate, Pope Benedict spoke of a world in which there is a ‘scandal of glaring inequalities’ between rich and poor. ‘Corruption and illegality are unfortunately evident in the conduct of the economic and political class in rich countries, both old and new, as well as in poor ones’. He said that ‘malfunction and dramatic problems’ in the economic system must be addressed. 47
As Christians we are committed not only to work for the full realisation of human dignity for all people everywhere, but to seek out and remedy the root causes of poverty and injustice. We are called to open the door to the banquet hosted by Jesus where all sit together and feast as brothers and sisters. The poor cannot wait. Nor can we hold back: the parable of Lazarus and the rich man speaks to each one of us.
Towards the end they ask: What can Australia do?
Australia has assumed some important responsibilities. As a nation elected onto the United Nations Security Council, we have a direct hand dealing with global security challenges and humanitarian crises. As host of the 2014 Group of Twenty (G-20) economic summit in Brisbane, we have an opportunity to promote the responsibility of the world’s leading economies towards the world’s poor.
We, the Catholic bishops of Australia, call on our government to exercise these responsibilities not merely in our country’s narrow interests, but in the spirit of the common good of all humanity. Australia cannot claim these roles in world leadership if it has not shown that we are willing to act in the interests of the poorest and most marginalised within our shores, in our region and worldwide.
There seems little hope that the present Coalition Government is likely to be willing to act in the interests of the poorest, determined as they are to close our doors and bolt the gate against any refugees who desperately come in boats. So odd is our government's stance that the ABC has found it necessary to ask whether or not it is legal.
Is it illegal to turn back boats in international waters to Indonesia?
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-09-26/government-turn-back-boat-policy/4979898.
As I sit in stillness and direct my attention to the emptiness within, making room for a feeling of compassion for so many...; I wonder how a Christian politician, a Catholic member of cabinet will cope with all this... Will they find courage to defy the selfish culture that has been allowed to bloom in our once-fair land? Or will they continue to bow in servitude to the popular demand for balanced budgets and present prosperity for us? Will they dare to take the bishops' line and give a lead to the people who have no choice but to follow them until the next election? In the end it is the elected reps who make the decisions: Social Justice and human compassion demand we open the gates.
That basic level of human solidarity – hospitality to the stranger and refuge for those seeking protection – has been lacking in our national political debate over the past decade. The recent increase in the number of people arriving by boat is insignificant by world standards. In 2012, as a country like Pakistan struggled to accommodate 1.6 million refugees,Australia’s political leaders and media whipped-up hysteria over the arrival of 17,000 asylum seekers in Australian waters. 44