2013-09-26 Daniel Daring 2013 articles 2012 articles
26th Sunday: Hear the Scriptures and repent
Amos 6:1, 4-7; 1 Timothy 6:11-16; Luke 16:19-31
A
contemporary parable (the source unknown) speaks about a rich man who died and
stood in front of the gates of heaven. Asked by Peter what he did to deserve
entry to heaven, the man thought for a while and exclaimed: “Once, I gave a
peso to a beggar.” Peter, apparently unmoved by this extraordinary deed of
charity, asked a follow-up question: “What else have you done?” After a
longer pause, the man again answered with jubilation: “There was another
incident when I gave another peso to another beggar.” Peter, in exasperation,
asked again: “Anything else?” The man was thinking, and thinking, and
thinking. The finally, he answered: “I do not remember anything else.” So
Peter approached the Lord, presented the case and asked: “What shall I do with
this man?” Now, it was time for the Lord to think. Peter waited patiently for
the verdict. Finally, the Lord spoke: “Give him back these two pesos and send
him to hell!”
Two
worlds apart
“There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day” (Luke 16:19). Too Much: A Commentary on Excess and Inequality, a website dedicated to promote equality in the North American society, has an article of Sam Pizzigati, Saving the World - from the Rich. The article has a survey done by R. A. Prince about the personal spending habits of those whose net worth is $61 million. The survey was done among 300 hedge fund managers. The figures are mind-boggling. Over the period of 12 months in 2005, each one of them spent approximately: $3,998,600 on fine arts, $429.700 on yacht charters, $376,400 on jewelry, and $304.900 on hotels and resorts. As in Jesus’ parable, we do not know their names. The figures reveal, however, that they belong to a different world than most of us.
“At
his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat
what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his
sores” (Luke 16:20-21). According to the World
Bank estimates, 2.8 billion live in poverty, namely on less than $2 U.S.
dollars a day. The New Testament would describe those people as penes
– poor, those who are forced to work hard, but still able to survive. There
are, however, more than a billion people who live below the poverty line, having
less than $1 U.S. dollar a day. In the New Testament language, they would be
called ptochos – beggars, those who
have nothing on their own. Many of us can identify themselves with the poor. We
work hard every day, get paid very little, and always find it difficult to earn
enough for our needs. Few of us, however, can qualify us beggars. Those are the
people who gave up. We can see them walking in shabby clothes, talking to
themselves, and sleeping on the streets or in the park. For them, life has
nothing to offer. Occasionally, we meet them when they approach us begging for a
coin or food. We give and send them away; their presence makes us uncomfortable.
Unable to change their lives for better, we leave it to God. Isn’t the meaning
of Lazarus’ name, ‘God helps’?
Great
Reversal
“The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side” (Luke 16:22-23). What a reversal! What is unimaginable in this world takes place after death: the poor are rich and the rich are poor. “Blessed are you beggars, for yours is the kingdom of God. . . . But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort” (Luke 6:20.24). No more masters and servants. No matter how much the rich man pleaded with Abraham in order to be able to use Lazarus for his errands, his request was denied. One thing, however, stayed the same: “a great chasm,” which separated them in this world, was also separating them in the afterlife.
There is, however, a problem with this reversal: it cannot be verified. Tell to the rich people that there is another world in which they are going to be poor and they will laugh at you; tell them that there is a place where nobody will serve them and they will shake their heads in disbelief; or tell them that they are going to be tormented in Hades and they will ask you to stop scaring them with unfounded stories. Yes. One either believes it or leaves it. Nobody will come from the other world to tell us how it is there. And even if anybody came we would not believe. Everything hinges on faith. Moses in the Book of Deuteronomy said: “If there is among you anyone in need, . . ., do not be hard-hearted or tight-fisted towards your needy neighbor” (Deut 15:7, NRSV). And Isaiah wrote: “Is it not this fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin?” (Isaiah 58:6-7). The question is whether we want to listen to Moses and the Prophets.
Conclusion
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