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:
Imagine that you are the rich man in the gospel and you also saw the poor
man Lazarus at your door. How would you react? Will you do the same as the rich
man did in the gospel? Or you will give food to the poor man Lazarus?
You would surely answer that you will give food because this is the right
action to do. And your decision to give food would also be influenced by the
misfortune of the rich man after he died for he ended in hell. But is this who
we really are? Do we really help the poor most especially when nobody is
watching us?
Often times we do good because we are influenced by the circumstances
that surrounds us. For example, in the gospel we read the rich man ended up in
hell. Of course this is the circumstance that will influence us to do good for
we don’t want to be in hell after we die.
The gospel is an invitation for all of us to reflect on how we take care
of the poor. For example, you may have a poor relative or a poor neighbor. How
do you treat them? Do you treat them like a third class citizen or you treat
them with respect and love? – Marino J. Dasmarinas
