Jesus said to
the Pharisees: “There was a rich man who dressed in purple garments and fine
linen and dined sumptuously each day. And lying at his door was a poor man
named Lazarus, covered with sores, who would gladly have eaten his fill of
the scraps that fell from the rich man's table. Dogs even used to come and lick
his sores. When the poor man died, he was carried away by angels to the bosom
of Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried, and from the netherworld,
where he was in torment, he raised his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus
at his side. And he cried out, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me. Send Lazarus
to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am suffering
torment in these flames.' Abraham replied, ‘My child, remember that you
received what was good during your lifetime while Lazarus likewise received
what was bad; but now he is comforted here, whereas you are tormented.
Moreover, between us and you a great chasm is established to prevent anyone
from crossing who might wish to go from our side to yours or from your side to
ours.’ He said, ‘Then I beg you, father, send him to my father’s house, for I
have five brothers, so that he may warn them, lest they too come to this place
of torment.' But Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the prophets. Let them
listen to them.’ He said, ‘Oh no, father Abraham, but if someone from the dead
goes to them, they will repent. ’Then Abraham said, ‘If they will not listen to
Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone should rise
from the dead.’
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Reflection:
A man who did
not believe in God and in the afterlife wantonly wasted his life by living a
life of sinful pleasures. It was always a life of immoral
satisfaction for him: drugs, sex, and other sinful things, in other words he
had no time for God. This became his life because he did not believe in the
existence of the afterlife much less God.
Is there
really an afterlife or a life which will immediately replace our present life
after our life in this world is over and done with already? The answer is a resounding
yes! The gospel shows us that there is an afterlife which is very different
from the life that we have today. There in the afterlife exist two kingdoms:
the kingdom of God and the kingdom of satan where he and his minions dwell.
In the gospel,
we see the characters of the unnamed rich and indifferent man and the poor man
named Lazarus. The rich man perhaps did not believe in the afterlife or was not
aware that there is an afterlife that’s why he did not mind the poor man
Lazarus who was in dire need of his help. He nonchalantly ignored Lazarus as if
the poor man did not exist.
When both of
them died there was a reversal of places: The poor man Lazarus who endured a
difficult life when he was still alive was in the kingdom of God and the rich
man who savored earthly life was in the dark kingdom of the devil.
Why was there
a reversal of places? Because the rich man was indifferent to the crying need
of the poor man Lazarus. If he only knew that Lazarus was very close to God. If
he only knew that Lazarus could have been God in disguise. The lesson for us is
very simple, we should not ignore the crying need of the poor and we should
always be sensitive to their plight.
Do we ignore
the poor when we encounter them? – Marino J. Dasmarinas
