Riches Without Conscience!

 (Homily 26^th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Yr. C)

     Once again, the liturgy of the word this Sunday is traversed by the theme of riches or the possession of earthly wealth, and their devastating deceptive character. As such, it is illusory to put one’s trust and security in them. The seduction of wealth and the avidity of possession are the root and cause of all evil (cf. 1Tm. 6:10). As a matter fact, economic well-being which is not necessarily a sign of divine blessing, can become an occasion or cause of sin, thus, a motive of reproach by God. Indeed, time and eternity are like the two poles that will help us to grasp the density of the liturgical readings. It is evident in the Gospel passage, where the rich man and Lazarus were first situated into the context of this world, and later into that of eternity. Implicitly, in the first reading, we see Prophet Amos’ reproach of the rich who live in dissipation and luxury, forgetting the future judgment of God. In the second reading, St. Paul assured us that in order to live fittingly in time and attain eternity with God; we need a living faith that gives us a double assurance. Life after death is not an anesthetic to kill the pains of injustice and inequality in this present world, rather eternity is real. Riches without conscience lead to Hades!

     The first reading (Am. 6:1a. 4-7) like the passage of the previous Sunday that dealt with the question of social injustice, denounces private luxury at the negligence of the poor and the weak. In his prophecy last Sunday, Prophet Amos condemned the attitude of those rich that exploit the poor. Today he directs his attack on the political leaders who live in palaces. Prophet Amos attacks vehemently and condemns the hope of salvation that the heads of Samaria and the kingdom of Judah are placing in their places of cult, while they spend their lives in orgies and debauchery. With irony and sarcasm Prophet Amos stigmatized their thoughtlessness and the shameless display and flaunting of their riches: “lying on ivory beds and sprawling on their divans, they dine on lambs from the flock, and stall-fattened veal; they bawl to the sound of the lyre and, like David, they invent musical instruments; they drink wine by the bowlful, and lard themselves with the finest oils, but for the ruin of Joseph they care nothing” (vv.4-6).

     They were unconcerned about the plight and destruction of the people. And for this, here is the threat and the punishment that looms over them and that will be the end of their arrogant security and thoughtlessness, “That is why they will be the first to go into exile and their feasts and banquets will come to an end” (v.7). The reading ends with a threat, that their enemies will come and burn down their palaces, for they used their wealth to indulge in laziness, easy life and self-aggrandizement. This denunciation links the first reading with the passage of the Gospel on the rich man and Lazarus. On the other hand, the responsorial psalm (Ps. 146) serves as a bridge between the first reading and the Gospel, for in verses 9-10 the Psalmist says: “Yahweh protects the stranger, he sustains the orphan and the widow. Yahweh loves the upright, but he frustrates the wicked. Yahweh reigns forever”. The psalmist echoes the denunciation of the rich as in the prophecy of Amos and God’s concern for the poor, the weak and the oppressed; as such it opens a window to the passage of the Gospel.

     In the Gospel passage (Lk. 16:19-31) we read the first part of the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, which is a representation of the reversal of fortunes in the next world. The beggar's name gives us a hint as to his inner attitude. He is called Lazarus, or Eliezer, God will help. The beggar is the man who puts his trust in the Lord and longs for him. The rich man is nameless, his riches took away his identity. He is everyone who closes his heart in the face of the human misery that confronts us daily. One of the interesting parts of the parable is the dialogue that issued between the rich man and Abraham at the end. This is the hit track of this parable. The rich man requested that Lazarus be allowed to come and convey a special warning to his five brothers who are still alive (Who are those five brothers?). However, to his request he was told that the word of the scripture is sufficient for them. Those who do not believe in the word of the Scripture will not be convinced by a miracle of a resurrection of the dead either. This indeed, is one of the salient points for narrating this parable.

     To understand this parable very well, it is necessary to discover its focal point or the key actor or personage of the parable. The key actor is neither Lazarus nor the five brothers. If the central personage was Lazarus, the parable would have been an invitation to the poor to bear with patience and hope their situation as Lazarus did, in view of the glorious fortune that awaits them in the hereafter. If the pivot revolves around the five brothers, the parable would have been a kind of a re-proposal of the theme of the eschatological urgency and there will be more emphasis on the danger of living without the hereafter in view. But if the true central personage of the parable is the rich man, then there is no doubt that the parable aims at a specific theme: the equal use of riches. It is not about the fact of being rich, but the way one uses his riches or wealth. He did not use his riches to make friends for himself in heaven. “And so I tell you this: use money, tainted as it is, to win you friends, and thus make sure that when it fails you, they will welcome you into eternal dwellings” (Lk.16:9). Indeed, this parable is not just a proclamation of blessedness on the poor, but it is a comment on “alas for you who are rich”, it is a comment on all the three “woes” pronounced by Jesus on his sermon on the Mountain: “But alas for you who are rich: you are having your consolation now. Alas for you who have plenty to eat now: you shall go hungry. Alas for you who are laughing now: you shall mourn and weep” (Lk. 6:24-25), in connection with the two “woes” pronounced by Amos in the first reading.

     As a matter fact, placing this parable after the sayings on the right use of wealth, which follows the parable of the unjust steward, makes it probably high that St. Luke intends to lay emphasis on the point of the reversal of fortune of the rich and the poor in the next world. With regards to the parable of the anonymous rich man and Lazarus, we can give two different interpretations. The parable can be divided into two parts. In the first part the two protagonists are duly presented, their ordeal during the earthly existence and after death; the rich man was clothed in purple and fine linen and feasted sumptuously every day (eating, drinking and dancing from Kukere, Asonto, Buga o), and at his gate lay the poor beggar, Lazarus, full of sores, who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man’s table. But on the other hand, when they both died, there was a reversal of order, their situations turned around. Lazarus was raised close to Abraham in beatitudes, while the rich man was down, in the place of torment.

     This is indeed a symbolic narrative; therefore, let us not draw conclusions more than what is given in the passage, especially about heaven and hell. However, upon consideration, few points are clear: ●The rich man was not condemned simply because of his riches, but because he was egoistic and insensible to the necessities of the poor. Riches and wealth on their own, are not sin, rather they become sinful when the rich are indifferent to the plight of the poor and when there is lack of solidarity, for it brings division among men and makes it possible for some to swim in abundance while others perish in the world of hunger and misery. In the same vein, the poor was not saved just because he was poor, but because he opened up to God and allowed himself to be led by the power of His love. If the poor man allowed himself to be taken by envy or avidity and the craving for riches, he too would not have been saved. But deliverance is at hand for the poor, who for a short while share in Christ's sufferings so as to share in his glory. For, as St Paul tells us, “What we suffer in this life can never be compared to the glory as yet unrevealed, which is awaiting us” (Rom. 8:18).

●The rich man begs Abraham to send Lazarus to him, to dip the end of his finger in water and come and cool his tongue, but Abraham explained to him that it was not possible: “Between us and you a great gulf has been fixed, to prevent those who want to cross from our side to yours or from your side to ours” (v.26). Indeed, one can deduce from these words that at death one faces the situation of reward or punishment. One cannot change after death, it has to be done before, and conversion has to take place during our earthly life. In the words of St Paul: “because the world as we know it is passing away” (1 Cor. 7:31).

●Afterwards, the rich man pleaded Abraham once again to send Lazarus to warn his five brothers so that they will not end up like him. And Abraham responded him saying: “They have Moses and the prophets, let them listen to them” (v.29). And the rich man replied: “Ah no, father Abraham, but if someone comes to them from the dead, they will repent” (v.30). And finally Abraham closes the discussion with the following words: “if they will not listen either to Moses or to the prophets, they will not be convinced even is someone should rise from the dead” (v.31). Behold, the conclusion of the parable is very bitter and strong, but very realistic, who is not disposed to listen to those who speak in the name of God (Moses and prophets and in fact Christ himself), he who does not pay attention and take to heart the teachings of the Scriptures and particularly the Gospel, all the same, will not be disposed to accept the admonitions of one who resurrects from the dead.

     Furthermore, there is also the second way of interpreting this parable, according to this interpretation this parable aims at the Pharisees and the Sadducees. Jesus contests the opinion of the Pharisees that material well-being and riches is a sign of divine benevolence and poverty is a sign of curse. For them whoever that comports himself well according to the prescriptions of the law, has a recompense already in this world (material well-being) and who does not comport himself well will be punished (poverty). By means of this parable, Jesus intends to explain that things are not the way the Pharisees and the Sadducees see them. What matters is life after death, the hereafter that is where the true state of things for a person is revealed, especially for the Sadducees that do not believe in the hereafter and the Pharisees that believe faintly. As demonstrated in the parable, in the hereafter, the rich man who believed that he was blessed by God was in torment, while the poor who supposedly was punished by God, was welcomed in happiness at the bosom of Abraham. Be that as it may, riches are neither a sign of divine approval nor poverty a sign of divine punishment. In God’s parlance, what matters is the state of one’s interiority, the situation of one’s conscience, which no one but God can judge. Even in this present time, this mentality of the Pharisees is wild spread, for according to common opinion a rich person is considered to be fortunate, but this is not the case before God. If a rich man is driven by the consciousness of and attachment to his riches, he runs the risk of losing the true wealth and his last and ultimate end: Eternal Life.

     In the passage of the second reading (1Tm. 6:11-16) we see St. Paul’s invitation to Timothy: “O man of God, avoid all that” (v.11). What are the things he has to avoid? He said in the few lines preceding this passage: “unending dispute by people who are depraved in mind and depraved of truth, and imagine that religion is a way of making a profit. Religion, of course, does bring large profits, but only to those who are content with what they have. We brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it” (vv.5-7). That is the attitude of those who have made religious practice or service a means of income and gain. And he advanced his reproach in verses 9 & 10, against the people who long to be rich, and as such they fall prey to trials, for the love of money is the root of all evil. St. Paul advised Timothy the Bishop of Ephesus to avoid the false teachers and go after justice, piety, faith, charity, patience and gentleness. Every Christian must reflect this list of virtues, bet especially a community leader. St. Paul spoke of the problem that has been giving him sleepless nights, that is, the activity of the false teachers, thus he admonished Timothy and the community to hold firm to the faith they have received until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, he charged him to work out his eternity in time, by means of the virtues enlisted above and by avoiding the vices aforementioned in the previous verses. Faith is like a dwelling in which a Christian lives and has a foretaste of eternity already in time. And for the fact that he has a foretaste of eternity in time, he ought to “aim at righteousness, faith, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness and gentleness” (v.11).

     Above all, at this point, we may ask a pertinent question: what does Jesus intend to teach us through that parable: that the poor will go to heaven and the rich to hell? Far be it! Jesus teaches us that wealth as such is not perverse and evil, it can only be when it is acquired by hook and crook, through a dishonest way or when riches become “thorns and thistles” that suffocate the Word in our lives. On the other hand, poverty is not a good thing or better a value to be celebrated, it is not a title of merit or a condition for happiness, but it can only become all of the above if the heart is disposed to open up to God and to those around, to put one’s trust in God and not on earthly riches. Therefore, the rich is not to be condemned because he is rich, but only when it renders him closed, egoistic and insensible to the needs of others and if it becomes for him the source of safety and pride, as exemplified in the first reading. In all, the parable Jesus teaches us that truly there is “hereafter” and that in the hereafter, there is a two-fold prospective: of reward for the good and punishment for the wicked. Indeed, in-between time and eternity, we need to hold on to the Faith, as St. Paul insisted in the second reading. And again, the essential thing is to believe in the Word of God (Moses and the prophets), the teachings of Jesus (the Gospel). Little wonder, the parable ended with particular attention on the five brothers. We are in a certain sense those five brothers of the rich man; to us God has sent Someone who rose from the dead. Let us not forget that Someone has actually risen from the dead: Jesus Christ, and our faith is founded and solidified on his resurrection. We may well say that the resurrection of Jesus is the rich man’s prayer answered, therefore, today if we hear his words let us not harden our hearts (cf. Ps. 95:7b-8a). Let us not act like those who jeer at Jesus and his message: “The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and jeered at him” (Lk. 16:14). The message at the heart of this parable is the invitation to share the good things God has given to us with the poor and the needy. Do not count your blessings, share your blessings. We need to have a heart that sees in order to do this effectively. Till date, the poor continues to knock at our door, how do we respond to them? Do we respond to them at all or we close our doors at them? Riches and wealth have been given to us in order to serve others and not to dominate them. Share and be enriched the more!

 (Fr. Vitus M.C. Unegbu, SC)