Do not ever say: "These beggars annoy me!"

Listening to the Spirit

Psalm 34: 15 – 22 (The Lord hears the cry of the poor)

The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
    and his ears are open to their cry.
The face of the Lord is against evildoers,
    to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.
When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears,
    and rescues them from all their troubles.
The Lord is near to the brokenhearted,
    and saves the crushed in spirit.

Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
    but the Lord rescues them from them all.
He keeps all their bones;
    not one of them will be broken.
Evil brings death to the wicked,
    and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.
The Lord redeems the life of his servants;
    none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.

Listening to the Word

Luke 16:19-31

“There was a rich man, who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, full of sores, who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man’s table; moreover, the dogs came and licked his sores. The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried; and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes, and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus in his bosom. And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy upon me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in anguish in this flame.’ But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’ And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house, for I have five brothers, so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’ But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’ And he said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’”

Reflection

“Do not ever say: ‘These beggars annoy me!’ So many millions of men live on earth and all are beggars before the Lord; emperors, as well as laborers, the wealthy as well as servants, all are beggars before the Lord and the Lord never said: ‘These beggars annoy me!'”

The story of Lazarus and the rich man in today’s gospel bring us to this truth: all of us are beggars before the Lord. At the end of our journey, we will beg, like beggars, asking for God’s mercy. The rich man failed to realize it. He looked at Lazarus as a beggar. Lazarus’ presence was terribly annoying.

And the story continues. Lazarus, who used to be a beggar, now live as a rich man in Abraham’s bosom. And the rich man who once was a boss, now he becomes a beggar, asking for mercy as he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy upon me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in anguish in this flame.’

And the rich man was shocked with Abraham’s answer: ‘Son, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. Do not ever say these beggars annoy me!

Hopefully, this truth can lead us into a deep reflection about how do we live our lives, how do we relate with one another, and how do we respond to the weak and the poor ones. What is the purpose of my life? What is my priority?

As we listen to the story of Lazarus and the rich man today, and as we join the Eucharist, let us ponder this beautiful saying of St. John Chrysostom: “Do you wish to honor the Body of the Savior? Do not despise it when it is naked. Do not honor it in church with silk vestments while outside it is naked and numb with cold. He who said, “This is my body,” and made it so by his word, is the same who said, ‘You saw me hungry and you gave me no food. As you did it not to the least of these, you did it not to me.’ Honor him then by sharing your property with the poor. For what God needs is not golden chalices but golden souls.”