My friends in Christ,
Why did God make us? I think this is a question that many people do not think about, and many more do not know the answer to. The classical answer is that God made us to know him, to love him, and to serve him in this life, so that we can be with him for eternity in heaven in the next. We were made to be in the presence of God in heaven forever. The reason I say that many don’t know this is because so many live a life as if there are no consequences, because of how many people seem to think they are the center of the universe, and no one else matters. Just watching the evening news would prove this.
In our Gospel this morning, we hear a challenging parable from Jesus. He tells us of a rich man who had every luxury that one could think of and a poor man named Lazarus who had to beg for scraps. When Lazarus dies, he goes to heaven, but when the rich man, who spent his life focused on his own fulfillment and ignored the needs of others, dies, he goes to hell where he is in torment. In order for us to love God, we have to love our neighbor. We have to have concern for the poor and the oppressed. We cannot only look after our own needs, especially if we already have more than we need. The rich man asks for help, but it is too late. But it is not too late for us.
In our second reading, St Paul tells us, “pursue righteousness, devotion, faith, love, patience, and gentleness. Compete well for the faith. Lay hold of eternal life, to which you were called.” This is how we make sure we do not have the same fate as the rich man Jesus spoke of. We need to make sure we do not let material things rule us, but rather we have a proper devotion to God and to serving him and others. That we actively take part in the practice of our faith and share it with others. By virtue of our baptism, we all have the duty to share the good news of the Gospel with everyone.
Today’s readings should be challenging for us. It should call us to reflect on how we can best serve the poor. It should ask us to reflect on what we are doing now, and how, if necessary, we should change that. It should also challenge us to think of how we treat and think of those who are downtrodden. This includes those who beg on the streets, immigrants (many of whom currently feel scared about their future), as well as those suffering from war, especially the Palestinian people in Gaza, who are currently facing starvation and a brutal onslaught from the Israeli military. Now I wish I had the answers to how we should respond to all these things, but I don’t. I struggle with what the best response to them is myself. This is why we all need to pray for guidance on how we can best serve those in need according to our individual circumstances.
So my friends let us take inspiration from what Christ has presented us in today’s Gospel. Let us reflect on how we serve those who are in need. Let us think of how we can better respond to what our Lord is calling us to do. Let us wrestle with these challenging issues instead of ignoring them. When we serve the poor and those in need, we will be well on our way to heaven, where we belong.
Hound of the Lord 