Sometimes we simply get used to the unthinkable. Familiarity
makes the unimaginable seem normal. The movie Schindler’s List
presents us with a very stark contrast. On the one hand, there is the
life of the Jews imprisoned in a concentration camp. It is a life of
hunger, cruelty, deprivation and sheer inhumanity! Yet, in the midst
of this horror, there is the Commandant’s sumptuous house, a house
where there is feasting, merry-making, parties and fun. It is as if the
house and the camp around it were a million miles away from each
other. Two lives exist side by side, the one oblivious of the other.
This week’s Gospel presents us with a similar contrast. A rich
man enjoys every comfort and luxury life has to offer, while at his
very gates lies Lazarus, suffering, hungry, degraded, dehumanized -
and unnoticed! The rich man did not directly abuse Lazarus
physically; in fact, he did not even drive the beggar away from his
gates. However, because he did not actively seek to alleviate Lazarus’
suffering, he was damned to eternal torment. In other words, the rich
man found himself in hell, not through his cruelty, but through his
indifference and blind selfishness! He was there, not because he was
rich, but because he thought only of himself!
Not only was he blind, unable to see Lazarus, he was also deaf as
well, just like his brothers, unable to hear the Word of God in
Scripture. The rich man’s selfishness and wealth had blinded and
deafened him both to the cries of the poor and the voice of God. He
simply had not heeded the message of the prophets like Amos, as
they condemned the rich for being so engrossed in their own
pleasures that they neglected and ignored the poor.
When we hear all of this, we might well feel guilty about our
own lifestyles, for in comparison to most of the rest of the world, we
are indeed the rich! Faced with the complex problems of world debt,
hunger and under-development, we often feel unable to do much
except maybe give a little to some charity. However, we must not
ignore the basic fact that there is real need even at our own gates!
We might not be able to do everything, but if we choose to do
nothing, and refuse to get involved, then we risk sharing the fate of
the rich man!
Furthermore, once we see the needs of the people close by, so we
will become more sensitive to poverty beyond our immediate St.
Mary’s community. This week, ask for the Grace to recognize
situations in which you have the power to alleviate suffering! Think
about it!!