“On Listening to the Cry of the Poor”
26th Sunday in Ordinary Time – C
Every quarter of the year St. Aloysius gives a donation to the “Fellowship of Concern.” This organization is a combined effort of all the churches in Shepherdsville so we can give to those who may be down on their luck, just starting a new job, going through a divorce, and many other reasons why they need the assistance from our Christian Communities here is Shepherdsville. And every month our Parish Council gets a report of how many people have been assisted, and how much money was given out to support those individuals needing our help. Thank you for donating to this worthy cause.
Every first Sunday of the month, in both parishes, we donate food, with the efforts of our “Blue Bag” project to help those who may not be able to afford to buy food due to their income or lack thereof.
Every year on Christmas Day, a group of our parishioners at St. A, led by Jose Cubero, get up early and prepare a meal so that needy members of our community can have a nice Christmas Dinner.
Every year during Advent, we donate items of clothing for our brothers and sisters at Colonial House Residential Center here in Shepherdsville, and for residents here in LJ. Some who have no family to care for them, and some who have no financial means to buy clothing for themselves. Jennifer Curtsinger and Allie Phillips, leads this endeavor every year respectively, so that these men, women, and children will have a nice Christmas.
Our gospel story is a simple story about a poor man named Lazarus, who needs so little. The other is a rich man, in a position to help Lazarus in his need. The needs of the poor man are small, and it would take very little for the rich man to help him.
The sin for which the rich man suffers after he dies is not that he ordered Lazarus off his property. The sin for which the rich man suffers is simply that he paid no attention to Lazarus – he refused to acknowledge the needs of Lazarus. It is not a sin of “commission” – doing something he should not do. It is a sin of “omission” – not doing something he should have done. The sin for which the rich man suffers is the sin of not lifting a finger to help someone he could have helped with very little effort on his part.
Each one of us sees the story of Lazarus being repeated in our world every day. And each one of us sees it repeated at every level of society. And each one of us is concerned about what this is saying about our society. It is saying that there is a growing tendency to place our priorities on things rather than on people, especially those in need.
What then will be our personal response to the poor among us? We can respond to it in one of three ways. First, we can do what the rich man in the gospel did – nothing! Second, we can do what many good people are doing today. They don’t close their eyes to the situation; they speak out against it. But that’s all they do. Finally, instead of closing our eyes to the situation or cursing the darkness produced by the situation, we can be a light in the darkness, and do something about it.
We can become a part of the solution to helping the needy in our midst, instead of being part of the problem. This is the challenge Jesus sets before us in today’s gospel. It is the challenge to take to heart the point of Jesus’ parable about Lazarus. It is the challenge to take what we receive at this Altar and enrich the world around us.
May we all be bold enough to take what we receive at this table and share it with those who are hungry at the doors of society.