Selection of the sermons of Father Ezekiel Oko
At the rich man's door lay a poor man
“Once upon a time there was a rich man, clothed in purple and fine linen, and lived gloriously and joyfully day by day” is how Jesus’ story begins in today’s Gospel. The man clothed himself in purple and fine linen! Purple is the color of royalty; fine linen a symbol of his eminent status in society. That he lived gloriously and happily every day shows how prosperous he was and that he lived in a comfort zone. This man lived in prosperity and had everything he needed to live on.
But what did he do wrong? What was his mistake that made him go to hell after he died? Is it reprehensible to be wealthy? No! Because there is nothing wrong when our hard work and endeavors are rewarded with wealth. There would have been nothing reprehensible about this rich man's story if it had only been about living in wealth. He was also not reported to get in anyone's way. Then what crime did he commit?
At his door lay a poor, sick man who sought his help. But he did nothing to help the unfortunate and miserable Lazarus! Instead, he responded to Lazarus' plight with contempt and indifference. His inaction in this case is a big mistake. When a rich man lives in such incomprehensible abundance without noticing the plight of the poor around him, that is bad.
Whenever I read this story, I ask myself: Why didn't the rich man help poor Lazarus? Why didn't he see the plight of this man? Why didn't he feel sorry for him? How could that even happen?
He was so shut up in himself, in his wealth, that he could see nothing beyond himself and his earthly wealth. Even the dogs had noticed the plight of the suffering Lazarus and were able to help him; they were his hosts, while his fellow men showed him no hospitality.
Dear sisters and brothers, this story describes the great gap between the poor and the rich. There have always been rich people who live in incomprehensibly great luxury. Even at the time of the prophet Amos in the 8th century BC, the gap between rich and poor widened. Amos takes the option for the poor and downtrodden. He openly accuses the rich, as we heard at first reading.
Even today there are still so many Lazarus in the millions wandering in this world and we are called to share with them and help them with what we have.
The United Nations once released a statistic according to which we have $37 billion in food for more or less nearly 6 billion people around the world. So we have so much food. Yet a third of the entire world population is homeless and without food. 500 million are malnourished; 14,000 die every day because they have nothing to eat. Why, why is it happening this way? Is that the will of God?
Dear sisters and brothers, this disturbing parable exhorts us to pay attention and open our eyes to the needs of those around us. All those who are materially and spiritually poor seek our attention. The rich man's sin could also be our sin if we don't lift a finger to help all the Lazarus around us.
Mother Teresa said, "They have nothing to eat...they are homeless, not because they have no home, but because they are rejected."
Sometimes we become blind from allowing personal interests to overshadow charity. It should be the other way around. Charity should bring us out of ourselves. Even if we can't save the whole world, there are things we can do to alleviate some of the suffering of others. Dear sisters, dear brothers, where we are there for the needy, there we find true joy.
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