This Sermon is prepared by
Rev.Fr.Peter Jayakanthan sss
Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament
Corpus Christi Catholic Church,
Houston, Texas, US
26th Sunday of Ordinary YearWilling to break the widening gap of Lazarus around… ….… ….!Am6:1a, 4-7, 1Tm6:11-16, Lk 16:19-31Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ Jesus, We shall welcome one another as we enter to celebrate the passion, death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus. Yes, His death broke the bonds and chains of differences and divisions. We renew this brotherly and sisterly life of sharing and support every time we come to the Eucharistic banquet. Our thoughts and hearts may reach out to so many brothers and sisters who are left alone in poverty, desolation and helplessness around the world; in war zones, at our borders, and in front of us. May we open our eyes and hearts with Eucharistic love by showing our sincere brotherly affection.The ever growing digital, technological and internet world has brought people around the world closer through faster communication and has made the global world very small with our 4G speed. But, all of this has increased the gap between the rich and the poor. The gap between richer and poorer households has widened since the 1990s,” said Raymond Torres, Director of the International Labor Organization’s (ILO) International Institute for Labor Studies. The following facts will help us to understand it. • The gap between the rich and poor can be illustrated by the fact that the three wealthiest individuals in the world have assets that exceed those of the poorest 10 percent of the world's population combined. • The fact that inequality exists between nations is seen in the fact that the world's wealthiest countries have just 13% of the world's population but 45% of its purchasing power; the poorest nations have 42% of the world's population and 9% of its purchasing power. • We see that poor nations in Africa and Latin America have some of the greatest inequality in the world, but that wealthier nations like the United States and China also have significant inequality. Thus, national prosperity does not always correspond to individual prosperity, due to the inequality in the internal distribution of wealth. • An American needs to save a month's salary to buy a computer; a Bangladeshi must save all his wages for eight years to do so. I had the opportunity to help feed the homeless with a group of volunteers from our parish, St. Paschal Baylon, Cleveland, Ohio. One Wednesday evening we left around 5 pm with all the food prepared by volunteers and various necessities including clothing. We returned home at 11 pm with the empty van. We must have fed at least 65 people on that evening. When we reached the end at 10:30pm about 14 people were still waiting for us for their dinner. So many parishes and communities do this because they see the hungry, deprived and suffering as their brothers and sisters. Our rational (in our minds), prejudiced philosophy that the poor need to work and become independent is merely an excuse for not wanting to share and reach out to. Not willing to see all as brothers and sisters is the only cause for the widening gap between the poor and the rich. Continuing from last week’s reading from the Book of Amos, this week the Prophet points out the inequality of the lifestyle of the people. He points to the words of Yahweh, that the self-indulgence, fraternal indifference, extravagant luxury and religious complacency have created the poor, the hungry and the deprived. The rich had strong stone houses with ivory wood furniture; the poor lived with straw pallets. The rich has banquets with lamb, calves and wine; the poor had only fish, no meat. The rich were playing harp, singing and wore purple garments of luxury; the poor nothing. Israel failed to see Judah as their brothers and sisters, so “you will witness the collapse of your brother Joseph” were the words of Yahweh through Amos to the people of Israel. "Joseph" and "Ephraim" are symbolic titles for the Northern Kingdom of Israel (Am 5:6). It was a prince of Ephraim from the tribe of Joseph who led the civil war against the Davidic king of the United Kingdom of Israel that resulted in the split between two kingdoms: the Northern Kingdom of Israel and the Southern Kingdom of Judah (1 King 11:26; 12:19-32). The people of the Northern Kingdom will be conquered by the Assyrians and will go into exile first. They did so in 721 BC. The Southern Kingdom – Judah with Jerusalem as its capital - was razed to the ground in 587 BC by the army of the Babylonian King, Nebuchadnezzar, and its elite rich were led to a humiliating and punishing exile in Babylon. The Sadducees proclaimed through their comfortable life that material possession is a blessing and poverty is an illness. The rich are called to enjoy to the extreme, as a sign of gratitude to God. There is no life after death, so only today’s banquet is important. There is no need to bother with the poor. Jesus offers this parable of Lazarus, the only person who has a name among all the parables, yet he does not give the rich man a name. Jesus explains that there is no chance to offer last minute relief to those who closed to their eyes to their suffering brothers and sisters. The rich man broadened the gap between himself and Lazarus, which meant broadening the gap between himself and Yahweh. We shall feed, fill and show brotherly affection to the Lazaruses around us! Dr. Albert Schweitzer was a man with three doctoral degrees (one in medicine, one in theology, one in philosophy). He left civilization with all its culture and amenities and departed for the jungles of darkest Africa to serve as a missionary doctor for 47 years. What parable could induce a man, who was recognized as one of the best concert organists in all Europe, to go to a place where there were no organs to play? What parable would so intensely motivate a man that he would give up a teaching position in Vienna, Austria to go to help people who were so deprived that they were still living in the superstitions of the dark ages, for all practical purposes? This man, Dr. Albert Schweitzer, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1952, completely changed his life after reflecting on this parable of rich man and Lazarus. He opted to live the life of those oppressed in Africa. The monk at the monastery asked the disciples, “When does the day begin?” Some said, “When the sun rises.” A few said, “When birds leave the nest with chirping sound,” while others said, “When children leave home to go to school.” The Monk said this is routine life which may not unite humanity. “The day begins with light only when one begins to recognize and reach out to others around as brother and sisters.” Are we ready to break the widening gap around us? Shall we open our hearts and eyes to the poor? Only then can we pray in the Eucharist as brothers and sisters. Pope Francis assumed the name of the great saint Francis of Assisi, to be one with the church for the poor. Amen. 
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