THE MAN WHO NEVER NOTICED “And lying at his door was a poor man…”
“If you cannot have everything, make the best of everything you have” (Anon)
1st reading: Amos 6:1, 4-7
2nd reading 1Tim 6:11-16
Gospel Luke 16:19-31
“When you give something to the poor, you are not giving back to him what is his, since the goods of this earth belong to all, not just the rich” (St. Ambrose- a Bishop of the early Church).
Jesus wants to tell us that the existence of the classes of people, the rich and the poor, is against God’s plan. The goods of this world are for all and must be shared. Whoever has more must give it to the one who has less or nothing, so as to reach equality as much as possible. All must be able to live lives worthy of human beings.
The best definition of poverty which I have heard is this “The poor man is someone in whose home everyone feels at ease”. The poor man knows how to receive. Woe to the rich man: he cuts himself off from God… And he cuts himself off from his brothers because he ignores them. In the parable of Lazarus, what is the rich reproached for? What wrong did the rich man do? He did not see Lazarus! That was all.
“Voltaire said that there are four ways of wasting time: doing nothing, not doing what one ought to do, doing it badly and doing it at the wrong time”. Making music means playing each note at the right moment. There is not life without repression. We cannot be generous without repressing our egoism.
Many people I visit or whom I have the opportunity to meet in my pastoral keep on saying “we Africans are poor, but I keep asking them so what can we do?” Start to steal and be violent with the rich? No, never make the mistake of using violence: this will not solve problems; it will only cause new and worse ones.
The politicians and Christian communities must stand up and denounce to all the world, the injustices committed in their countries and the sufferings imposed on the poor of their country; protest with force, though avoiding violence. Each one of us has to undertake to change his “rich man’s heart” that he carries with him.
If we have a selfish heart, if we don’t have courage to share the little we have with the poorer ones, if we deprive our wife and children of the essential goods in order to satisfy our whims, if we hope one day to be powerful owners and have servants to order around, can we ever build a new world founded on the justice and equality wanted by God. The only source of a firm and sound faith is the world of God, the word that the rich of all times have always failed to understand. Is this word enough for our faith?
PSALM 145
Praise the Lord my soul; while life lasts, I will praise the Lord; of him, my God, shall my songs be while I am here to sing them.
Man made monotony
NOW WHAT could be more monotonous than that? Asks the modern listener- if he’s at all listening;
The real fear is not the fear of boredom or of a sugary mentality. Quite the contrary! He fears the very vigor of God’s demands, the pains of the Christian’s endless battle, and the strain of developing a Christ-like will power. He is like a boy who says he does not like football because it requires no skill, when really he inwardly fears getting hurt, or being humiliated by stronger and more skilful players.
People who are charitable, generous, patient, thoughtful of others, eager to work for Christ, such people have no time for sins. Nor do they have the selfishness that causes sin. To praise the Lord while life lasts, to make Him the subject of all their hopes this is a constant joy to them. They find endless work to be done in praise of God; every creature leads them to Him; every talent is spent for Him; they have no time for boredom.
“When money speaks, the truth is silent” – Russian proverb
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