To all, In Sunday’s first reading from Amos (6:1a, 4-7), the prophet (as he usually does) speaks some tough words to the people: “Thus says the Lord God of hosts: Woe to the complacent in Zion! … They drink wine from bowls and anoint themselves with the best oils; yet they are not made ill by the collapse of Joseph! Therefore, now they shall be the first to go into exile, and their wanton revelry shall be done away with.” I have to admit that when I hear these words of Amos I feel that they need to be directed at those whose greed helped wreck our economy five years ago. I know that we can have an endless political debate about that, but I’m not sure that is what the Scriptures today are demanding of us. It is that one word – “complacent” - in Amos’ message that helps us understand the parable that Jesus tells in Sunday’s Gospel reading from Luke (16:19-31). The parable that Jesus tells the Pharisees is about a rich man who lived very well, and a poor man named Lazarus. The rich man would pass Lazarus by every day, and would not give him anything – no food nor clothing – not a thing. When they both die, the rich man goes to the netherworld (Hell), while Lazarus goes to the bosom of Abraham (Heaven). Then there is an exchange between the rich man and Abraham. When Abraham tells the rich man that it is impossible for Lazarus to come and help ease his torment, the rich man begs that Lazarus be sent to his brothers to warn them. But Abraham answers,”They have Moses and the prophets. Let them listen to them.” But the rich man replies, “Oh no, father Abraham, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.” And Abraham says, “If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead.” Is the rich man in hell because he was rich? I don’t think so. I think the rich man is in hell because his complacency blinded him to the presence and the needs of Lazarus. Jesus’ parable was meant to shake the Pharisees, and us, out of complacency. The parable went contrary to the perceptions of many who heard it. It goes contrary to a lot of people’s perceptions today. Take for instance, the naming of the characters in the parable. Some people throughout the centuries decided to give the rich man some generic name (Dismas?) in order to be able to refer to him in reflecting on the parable, but I’m not sure that is what we should do. In giving the poor man a name and leaving the rich man nameless, Jesus turns conventional wisdom on its head. Even today, do we not know many of the names of the rich, while many poor people remain nameless in our society? And then, to have Lazarus in heaven while the rich man is sent to hell would have shocked a lot of people who thought riches were a sign of being blessed by God. This, too, is a perception shared by many today. So we are warned against complacency. If we are just content with how things are for us, we can be like the rich man and be blind and deaf to those who are still oppressed by poverty, injustice, or violence. But perhaps there are some who are saying to themselves, “Fr. Phil, I’m not complacent. I can’t afford to be. Things are still tough out there. It’s all I can do to keep my head above water, so I may not have time to think about the sufferings of someone else.” So maybe we need to go a little deeper. Perhaps the rich man needed to see that not only was Lazarus in great need, but that somehow he was connected to Lazarus (Something he realized in hell?). And so we cannot be complacent with our blessings, and we cannot be complacent with our prejudices and divisions and isolation. The One who rose from the dead died for us all. Try as we might, we cannot separate ourselves from each other, and say, “What happens to them has nothing to do with me,” and then consider ourselves faithful to the Gospel. That could be the worst kind of complacency! As St. Paul tells Timothy in our second reading (1 Timothy 6:11-16), we are to “pursue righteousness, devotion, faith, love, patience, and gentleness.” We are to “compete well for the faith.” To “pursue” and “compete” does not allow for complacency. May we not be complacent, but compassionate. May we not be blind or deaf or hard-hearted when it comes to the needs of others. And may we find ourselves in heaven. I welcome any comments or questions. Thank you for your time. In Christ, Phil, CP
Posted on: Wed, 25 Sep 2013 02:28:37 +0000