Homily for the Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

Since at least the 1970s, there has been a rise in concern about how we treat the environment, and rightly so, because the earth’s resources are limited.  Much progress has been made, with greater recycling, improved fuel efficiency, the banning of CFCs and so on.  This is all very good.  But at times it has led to an opposite extreme:  before, we had the problem of man thinking he could do what he liked and leave nature to sort out the consequences.  Now, some tend towards the opposite extreme of nature coming first and man being seen only in terms of a threat.  Perhaps we could caricature this as man becoming Pac-man, going around gobbling things up.  Soon all the plants and animals will have been eaten, and when that happens we can’t go onto level 2, so Pac-man must be stopped.  Nobody ever calls us Pac-men, or Pac-women, but often we are labelled “consumers” as if all we ever do is eat.

The fact is, that eating, and consuming the earth’s resources in other ways, are not all we do as human beings, and they don’t totally define us.  Our fundamental purpose is to love and to be loved.  This applies to fellow human beings, the whole of creation, and of course, to God.  And when we look at today’s Gospel, Our Lord really makes the case that the rich man faced severe consequences because he didn’t come to Lazarus’ aid.  Whether he deliberately ignored him, or was just too busy enjoying himself, we don’t know.  Being rich was not the cause of his damnation – rather it was what he did, or didn’t do with his riches, that was the problem.  It’s a bit like the character of Ebenezer Scrooge.  At the beginning of the novel, two men come into his office asking for donations towards the poor at Christmas-time.  Scrooge replies:

“Are there no prisons? … And the Union workhouses?  … Are they still in operation?”

And he refuses flatly to give anything.  If they are poor, why can’t they go there, he asks.  One of the men replies:

“Many can't go there; and many would rather die.”

‘“If they would rather die,” said Scrooge, “they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population.”’

Thankfully, as we know, by the end of the novel, Scrooge has a change of heart.  It took a bit more than just a visit by his deceased co-worker, Jacob Marley, to turn him around.  He had to see the past and how he had gone wrong, how people now had such a low opinion of him, how he had made their lives so difficult, and what faced him after death, if he didn’t change his ways.  It can be good for us to reflect on our own past, present, and potential future, looking at how we have treated others, the environment, and the Lord.  God in His mercy gives us the chance to seriously reflect, to see what might need to change, and also what good we are doing, and whether there are further opportunities for good that we can take further.

Pope St John Paul II, when he visited Yankee Stadium back in 1979, also had a few important insights.  He said, reflecting on today’s Gospel:

“The parable of the rich man and Lazarus must always be present in our memory; it must form our conscience.  Christ demands openness to our brothers and sisters in need. …

“We cannot stand idly by, enjoying our own riches and freedom, if, in any place, the Lazarus of the … [present time] stands at our doors.  In the light of the parable of Christ, riches and freedom mean a special responsibility.  Riches and freedom create a special obligation.  And so, … I again proclaim the dignity of every human person; the rich man and Lazarus are both human beings, both of them equally created in the image and likeness of God, both of them equally redeemed by Christ, at a great price, the price of the ‘precious blood of Christ’ (1 Pet 1:19).”

As he was saying, we are all of immense dignity as human beings; we are not just nuisances or mouths to be fed.

And let’s face it, when we do something good for our fellow human beings, for the Lord and for the environment, it makes us feel good about ourselves as well.  Even better than reaching level 5 on Pac-man.

Curious about exploring things further?  If you would like to ask further questions about the topics raised in these homilies (or maybe think it wasn’t explained too well!), please feel free to e-mail Fr Michael at stjoseph.thame@rcaob.org.uk