29 September 2019. 26 Sunday of Ordinary Time. Cycle C.
The word of God draws our attention once again to the use of wealth. The prophet Amos cries out against those who do not understand what is justice or solidarity.
The words of Jesus in the Gospel (parable of the rich man and Lazarus, a beggar: the rich man who has a poor and sick person sitting at the door of his house and yet has more consideration for his dogs that for this person), serve to give us a wake-up call regarding our attitude. “You cannot serve both God and money”, he told us last Sunday. Today Jesus tells us the parable of the rich man and the beggar. The rich man is not affected by anything; bad things don’t seem to affect him. The bad thing is that his comfortable life ensures that he is able to forget what is close to him and those whp suffering. He becomes insensitive. This opens an unbridgeable chasm between him and the poor.
In our days, therestill continues to be similar situations. Some pretend to even make God responsible for these situations (another way of passing the buck). But those responsible are us, here and now. Our faith cannot make us do without the other, and even less of those suffering (in them Jesus makes himself present to us). We must build bridges of justice, mercy, compassion and help, that heals the chasms between one another.
St Paul too, in the letter that we read this Sunday, reminds us of what our attitude should be. To what extent do the needs of others influence my life?
Juan Ramón Gómez Pascual, cmf
