Luke (16, 19-31)
Sunday, 25th September 2022 (26th O.T. C)
Once again the word of God draws our attention to the use of riches. You cannot serve God and money, Jesus told us last Sunday. The prophet Amos cries out against those who do not understand what justice and solidarity are.
Jesus’ words in the Gospel (the parable of the rich man and the poor man Lazarus: the rich man who has the poor and sick sitting at the door of his house and has more consideration for his dogs than for this person), serve to give us a wake-up call about our attitudes. “You cannot serve God and money”. Today he tells us this parable of the rich man and the poor man. The rich man is not affected by anything, evil does not seem to go with him. The bad thing is that his comfortable life leads him to forget about those who are around him and who are suffering. He becomes insensitive. This opens an unbridgeable gulf between him and the poor.
Similar situations still exist today. Some people even try to hold God responsible for these situations (another way of wriggling out of the situation). But it is we who are responsible, here and now. Our faith cannot make us disregard others, and even less so those who suffer (in them Jesus makes himself present to us). We must build bridges of justice, mercy, compassion and help, bridging the chasms between one and the other.
St. Paul, in the letter we read this Sunday, also reminds us of what our own attitude should be: to what extent do the needs of others influence my life?
Juan Ramón Gómez Pascual, cmf
How do I involve myself with others?
