dives, the sin of the rich man
The sin of the rich man was not that he did wrong things, but that he did nothing. The sin of the rich man which merited him the fires of hell was not that he did wrong things, but that he did nothing.
The rich man did nothing wrong to Lazarus. He did not drive him away. He did not remove him from his house. He did not kick him or even speak to him as to insult him. He did not even object when Lazarus was picking up bits and pieces of bread that fell from his table. The rich man did not lay a finger on Lazarus. But that is precisely the problem - he did nothing for Lazarus.
The gospel today and our first reading have nothing to do with being rich. But it has something to do about insensitivity; it has something to do with becoming insensitive to what is happening around us.
For the rich man in the gospel, Lazarus, the poor man who could not eat, and who had sores all over him became very much part of the natural day to day scenery, he was no longer disturbed by his sight, he was not affected by his destituteness, he was unmoved by his misery, he did not feel pity for his situation, he did not feel remorse that somebody so hungry was sitting nearby while he ate heartily. He did not even feel shame. He was simply insensitive to what is happening around him, no longer affected by what he saw and probably he did not see him at all. Insensitivity is the height of selfishness.
The same thing happened in our first reading, this time during the time of the prophet Amos. The notables would lounge on their couches, and eat lambs from the flock, and calves from the stall; they would sing idle songs to the sound of the harp, drink wine from bowls, and anoint themselves with the finest oils, but as our reading says, they are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph! - the ruins of Joseph, meaning the many victims of war in their midst. There was hunger all around them, people have no homes, people were sick, people around them suffer and yet they could still afford to lie down on their beds of ivory listening to idle songs. Now what is that - insensitivity. Like Lazarus they did nothing wrong to this people. But that is precisely the problem - they did nothing for these people.
This is not about the rich. This is not about the poor. This is about insensitivity whether one is rich or poor. Insensitivity is the height of selfishness.
This is the problem when human tragedy becomes too common. Hunger is everywhere, homelessness is everywhere, children becoming beggars and even snatchers and thieves, becoming a natural part of the environment, an ugly scenery perhaps but almost normal and common for many of us.
This is the problem when sin becomes too common. Graft and corruption anywhere, gambling at just about every corner, throwing babies anywhere, pornography wherever, murders for whatever reason, all becoming a natural part of our day to day life, an ugly scenery perhaps but almost normal for many of us.
And so we may no longer feel disturbed, we have become immune, we are no longer moved, we no longer feel disgust, we do not feel repugnance, we do not even feel guilty. The common becomes banal, ordinary and sooner or later it become trivial.
The sin of the rich man is not that he did wrong things, but that he did nothing. Do we feel the same at the sight of so many people living in squalor and in dire poverty - people we meet almost everyday? Are we affected when we see children begging and even living in the streets instead of going to school? Are we disturbed still by what we see as needless suffering cause by neglect?
A religious person once complained to the Lord in prayer about the many tragedies he has seen on the streets, disturbing news he read in the newspapers, dreadful news he came to know about. Before the altar he found himself saying, Lord did you not say that you are a loving God. Did you not say that you will not leave your people unattended? Then what Lord did you do for those people who live in dire poverty, with no food and no homes to live in? What did you do for these innocent children who live in the streets? What did you do to stop the murders and the wars, and the graft and corruption that go unabated making our country poorer still? If you are such a loving God, what did you do to us and what are you doing for us?
When he was finished praying, the man went to sleep and that night he had a dream. He dreamt God talking to him, answering him saying: do not say that I have not done anything. I have done something. I made you.
The rich man did nothing wrong to Lazarus. He did not drive him away. He did not remove him from his house. He did not kick him or even speak to him as to insult him. He did not even object when Lazarus was picking up bits and pieces of bread that fell from his table. The rich man did not lay a finger on Lazarus. But that is precisely the problem - he did nothing for Lazarus.
The gospel today and our first reading have nothing to do with being rich. But it has something to do about insensitivity; it has something to do with becoming insensitive to what is happening around us.
For the rich man in the gospel, Lazarus, the poor man who could not eat, and who had sores all over him became very much part of the natural day to day scenery, he was no longer disturbed by his sight, he was not affected by his destituteness, he was unmoved by his misery, he did not feel pity for his situation, he did not feel remorse that somebody so hungry was sitting nearby while he ate heartily. He did not even feel shame. He was simply insensitive to what is happening around him, no longer affected by what he saw and probably he did not see him at all. Insensitivity is the height of selfishness.
The same thing happened in our first reading, this time during the time of the prophet Amos. The notables would lounge on their couches, and eat lambs from the flock, and calves from the stall; they would sing idle songs to the sound of the harp, drink wine from bowls, and anoint themselves with the finest oils, but as our reading says, they are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph! - the ruins of Joseph, meaning the many victims of war in their midst. There was hunger all around them, people have no homes, people were sick, people around them suffer and yet they could still afford to lie down on their beds of ivory listening to idle songs. Now what is that - insensitivity. Like Lazarus they did nothing wrong to this people. But that is precisely the problem - they did nothing for these people.
This is not about the rich. This is not about the poor. This is about insensitivity whether one is rich or poor. Insensitivity is the height of selfishness.
This is the problem when human tragedy becomes too common. Hunger is everywhere, homelessness is everywhere, children becoming beggars and even snatchers and thieves, becoming a natural part of the environment, an ugly scenery perhaps but almost normal and common for many of us.
This is the problem when sin becomes too common. Graft and corruption anywhere, gambling at just about every corner, throwing babies anywhere, pornography wherever, murders for whatever reason, all becoming a natural part of our day to day life, an ugly scenery perhaps but almost normal for many of us.
And so we may no longer feel disturbed, we have become immune, we are no longer moved, we no longer feel disgust, we do not feel repugnance, we do not even feel guilty. The common becomes banal, ordinary and sooner or later it become trivial.
The sin of the rich man is not that he did wrong things, but that he did nothing. Do we feel the same at the sight of so many people living in squalor and in dire poverty - people we meet almost everyday? Are we affected when we see children begging and even living in the streets instead of going to school? Are we disturbed still by what we see as needless suffering cause by neglect?
A religious person once complained to the Lord in prayer about the many tragedies he has seen on the streets, disturbing news he read in the newspapers, dreadful news he came to know about. Before the altar he found himself saying, Lord did you not say that you are a loving God. Did you not say that you will not leave your people unattended? Then what Lord did you do for those people who live in dire poverty, with no food and no homes to live in? What did you do for these innocent children who live in the streets? What did you do to stop the murders and the wars, and the graft and corruption that go unabated making our country poorer still? If you are such a loving God, what did you do to us and what are you doing for us?
When he was finished praying, the man went to sleep and that night he had a dream. He dreamt God talking to him, answering him saying: do not say that I have not done anything. I have done something. I made you.
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