A dramatic parable.
This is a very expressive parable.
The two characters described in it constitute two extremes: the poor Lázaro and the rich “epulón”.
The lack of love for Lazarus on the part of the rich is a tragedy for the lucky ones.
The story of the parable is dramatic: the injustice suffered by a poor sick man, who is denied the crumbs that fall from the rich man’s table, is an expression of the scandalous inequality that separates one person from another.
But inevitably comes the time for rewards and punishments. The universal law of death puts things in their place and, in this case, people: “The poor man died and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. “(Lk 16, 22). Two unchangeable situations.
Little is thought of them. Rather, it covers them with a deafening crash. We are dismayed witnesses of what happens daily in our society. The scene of the parable is reproduced.
- The evangelical virtue of poverty.
Jesus warns that we cannot neglect justice, which elevates all men and women to dignity.
Luck, and what it gets, doesn’t make its owners more respectable. It requires them to be more supportive and able to share their spiritual, cultural and economic assets with others.
Poverty, which some call “very poor”, is not identified with the evangelical virtue proposed in the Beatitudes: “Happy are those who have a poor soul, because the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to them”. (Matthew 5, 3).
The consequence of that disparity or inequality, if it is not resolved on earth, must sooner or later find its restoration beyond time.
Judgment consists in the comparison between good and evil. Those who have done well get a blessed fate and those who have done wrong, very unfortunate.
The reading of the parable makes you shiver: “In the abode of the dead, in the midst of torments, he (the rich man) raised his eyes and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus with him” (Lk 16, 23).
Christ’s teaching is understandable; the simplicity of the parabolic language facilitates the knowledge of a reality that arises, without waiting.
- Moses and the Prophets.
Another invaluable lesson concerns the authority of the saints and prophets. The Word is irreplaceable, much more than miraculous events.
In his despair, the once rich man tries to save his brothers, as lost as he had been. Unable to ask for help for himself, he expresses fear that his brothers will suffer the same fate. He suggests that Lazarus warn them and promote their conversion: “I beg you, then, father, that you send Lazarus to my father’s house, because I have five brothers, that he warn them, so that they too do not fall into this place of torment” (Luke 16, 27-28). It is not the right path for his family to be warned by Lázaro. Abraham’s response seems to indicate a more cruel and apparently less effective path. However, no one else is available: “They have Moses and the Prophets, let them listen to them”. (ibid. 16, 29).
The response of the poor condemned man did not take long to arrive: «No, Father Abraham, the rich man insisted. But if any of the dead go to see them, he will repent ”(ibid. 16, 30). The Patriarch’s response is instructive: “If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, even if someone rises from the dead, they will not be convinced either” (ibid. 16:31).
- The apostolic word and the holiness of Christians.
The Word pronounced by the Church, and witnessed by the Saints, is the way chosen for the realization of an effective call to conversion.
Today the apostolic Word and the witness of holiness of Christians take the place of Moses and the Prophets.
Today’s world needs to listen to them to be “convinced” of the revealed Truth. It is when Christ makes the Redemption effective.
Those who seek extraordinary facts, to make their faith depend on them, will not reach conversion: “they will not be convinced”.
For this it will be necessary for the apostolic ministry and the witness of holiness of Christians to be expressed publicly. The men and women of our time favor the words of modern prophets over the high-sounding speeches of politicians.
Only in this way will their faith be consistent and will they achieve conversion.
* Homilía del
domingo 25 de septiembre.
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