There was a man who was born in the province of Alsace-Lorraine, then a part of the German empire, way back in 1875. As he grew up as a youth and a young man, he developed many gifts and talents that had been given to him by God. He became an accomplished musician and organist. In fact, he wrote a book entitled "The Art of Organ Building and Organ Playing in Germany and France”. This book greatly influenced an organ reform movement in the 20th century. He earned three doctoral degrees - in the philosophy, theology, and medicine. His book on theology entitled The Quest of the Historical Jesus, became very influential in Christianity in the United States and influenced the historical Jesus movement which is still very popular today. He became acclaimed and accomplished in so many different fields. At the age of 37, while working as a professor in a university in Austria, he read the Gospel reading that we hear today, of the rich man and Lazarus, the beggar. He felt that the rich content of Europe needed to share its riches and treasures with the poor continent of Africa, and he felt the call to be a big part of that benevolence and altruism. An accomplished organist, he went to a place where there were no organs to be played; a brilliant scholar and professor, he went to a place where there were no universities where he could teach. This man was Dr Albert Schweitzer, who would be awarded the Noble Peace prize in 1952 for his missionary work and his medical work in Gabon, West Africa.
As we reflect upon today's Gospel reading, we realize that even though we know Lazarus’ name, even though we know that Lazarus was hungry, homeless and living on the streets, there is a lot we don’t know about Lazarus. Was he an alcoholic or a drug addict? Was he injured or too sick to work? Was he just down on his luck or had he been laid off from his job? Had Lazarus been recently released from prison? Or was he just not able to pull himself up by his bootstraps to find a better place in life? We don't know those facts about Lazarus because they don't matter to the moral of the story. We know that Lazarus was poor, that he lived right outside the gate of a rich man who had wealth in abundance - actually, an overabundance of wealth. This rich man dined as if every day were a banquet. He wore elegant clothing colored with a expensive purple dye. He lived in a grand estate enclosed by a gate that was meant to keep certain people out. Lazarus was always at that gate – he was part of the rich man's daily scenery. But Lazarus was invisible to the rich man who had more important, pressing matters on his agenda. While this rich man in the parable had an overabundance of material wealth, he was lacking in mercy and compassion.
By their nature, Jesus parables can take very shocking twists and turns. They're designed to wake us up out of our complacency, to show us how God's kingdom is so different from the ways of our world. In today's parable, the tables have turned in eternal life, as it is Lazarus who lives in comfort and security, safe next to Abraham, the patriarch of the Jewish people. The rich man, now in agony and torment, still expects a servant to wait on him and to provide for his needs. He wants Lazarus to bring him some water to cool him off, even those he never helped Lazarus back on earth when he was in such desperate need right outside his gate. The rich man could have thrown Lazarus the scraps from his meals, but the thought probably never even crossed his mind.
We might think to ourselves as we reflect upon today's Gopsel: Well, I am not as wealthy as the rich man in the parable. I am trying to save up to help my children go to college, to give them a good start in life. I am trying to pay off my mortgage, to pay my bills, to get ahead in life as best I can. But all of us are rich enough to share our blessings with others. God has blessed each one of us with talents or health or family or intelligence. And compared to a lot of the world, most of us are very wealthy in material possessions. If we sat down and thought about it, we could think of the many blessings we have in our lives, even in the midst of the troubles or sufferings or hardships that we might have as well. As we reflect upon the parable of Lazarus and the rich man as disciples of Christ, we think about the invitation that God gives each one of us to share the blessings that we have with others, rather than than using what we have only for our own self interests or selfish gains.
When John Paul II paid a visit to the United States as pope for the first time, he said the following words to an audience at Yankee stadium in 1979: "The parable of the rich man and Lazarus must always be present in our memory; it must form our conscience. Christ demands openness to our brothers and sisters in need – openness from the rich, the affluent, the economically advanced; openness to the poor, the underdeveloped and the disadvantaged. Christ demands an openness that is more than benign attention, more than token actions or halfhearted efforts that leave the poor as destitute as before ...We cannot stand idly by, enjoying our own riches and (our own) freedom, if, in any place, the Lazarus of the 20th century stands at our doors.”
We reach out to Lazarus when we stand up for the rights of the unborn who cannot speak for themselves, for the victims of violence and terrorism, for those being discriminated against or those being persecuted for their religion, for those who are unjustly denied access to employment or health care or an education.
Pope Francis established the Jubilee Year of Mercy to instill in us the call to be merciful like the Father, to heal wounds and to bring forgiveness and reconciliation and healing to others. There are many who are in need of God’s mercy in our world - let us heed their cry. Let us be messengers of that mercy.
