Sunday 26 C (2022)

Looking across the world,

we know many live in poverty, without adequate medical care.

‘Lazarus’, in his hunger and his ill-health, is a contemporary figure.

For me, living in a developed Western country,

hearing today’s gospel is deeply uncomfortable;

and I am sure it should be.

The story is an indictment of six brothers who seem to share a lifestyle.

How are the brothers found wanting?

Their focus is on to their own comfort, without any wider concern.

Their lives, despite their riches, are empty.

They are deaf to God’s teaching through scripture:

illustrated by our first reading from the prophet Amos,

which speaks directly of the indifferent rich.

They do not see as God sees, and, because of this,

they are blind to the poor and the poorly, represented in Lazarus.

The rich man doesn’t really accept his failings,

so he argues with Abraham.

He found it easy to be absorbed in his material possessions

and he knows his brothers are the same:

God’s teaching passes them by.

However, he claims, if Lazarus were to appear to his brothers

that would really make a difference; they would repent...

…but he is wrong.

'Lazarus' points to Jesus, who died cruelly outside the walls.

Jesus, who did rise from the dead and appear.

The love of God for every person revealed in Jesus’ death

can only be understood and accepted through scripture,

and Jesus’ resurrection cannot be seen separately from this.

Jesus’ resurrection appearance on the road to Emmaus illustrates this.

How do we take today’s gospel to heart?

By listening carefully to scripture, and letting it shape us.

By accepting the breadth and depth of God’s love for all shown in Jesus.

By paying attention to the poor and the poorly.