The Poor Shall be Our Teachers and Patron to Avoid Inherent Problem with Wealth - Reflection of the 26th Sunday Year C Gospel Narrative

In regard to the Gospel story for the 26^th Sunday Year C, Jesus’ parable of the rich man and the poor Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31), quite a number of people have asked me if being rich is a sin.

Of course not!  Jesus is not a communist!  

Being rich can be considered as a blessing. It is not be condemned to be rich, as long as your wealth is built upon honest money through your hard work. But, as the 25^th Sunday Gospel story, the parable of the dishonest steward (Luke 16:1-13), and the 26^th Sunday’s first reading suggest, you deserve to God’s severe punishment if your wealth is built upon depriving from the poor. 

The parable of the rich man and poor Lazarus in the 26^th Sunday Gospel reading comes in sequence to the parable of the dishonest steward in the 25^th Sunday Gospel reading to remind us that being ignorant about and taking no compassionate acts with your wealth for the poor can entitle you to God’s punishment as the rich man in the parable did.

Thus, the point to be remembered from the parable of the rich man and poor Lazarus is that the wealth kept to yourself but not to be shared prudently with the poor among your neighbors can cost you salvation.  Because Christ does not want you to lose your salvation because of your mismanagement of your wealth, he spoke the parable. 

And, this teaching is also applied to everything we are blessed with, not limited to material wealth, such as money. It means that our own unique abilities, which Paul calls “gifts of the Holy Spirit” in 1 Corinthians 12:4-11, are not to be kept to ourselves  but to be shared with each other, especially to take care of greater needs among our neighbors. 

When I was speaking of this biblical message of “not be kept to yourself but to be shared and be actively utilized” from the parable of the rich man and poor Lazarus to a group of faithful Catholics on Sunday night, a gentleman asked me if the message goes along with the message from Jesus’ parable of the talents in Matthew 25:14-30. And, yes, it does, because the parable of the talents (minas) is about the master, who is a metaphor of God, praises his servants, who took risks, traded, and multiplied the talents (minas) he gave. 

With this insightful gentleman’s pointed-question to connect the parable of the rich man and poor Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31) to the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30),  I further explained that Jesus was really teaching the importance of non-attachment, just as Shakamuni Buddha did in his teaching of Buddhism.  Both Jesus and Shakamuni have taught us to strive for non-attachment, especially in regard to material things, including money. 

The parable of the rich man and poor Lazarus is not to criticize being rich but being ignorant about the poor because of excessive wealth.  As Pope Francis, in his September 20, 2013, homily, suggested that our attachment to money corrupts us, reflecting  1Timothy 6:2c-12. Pope  further indicated that attachment to money also is a form of idolatry, making us behave like addicts, as those who are attached to money would do everything in their power to get money.  And, I must add that those who are attached to or “addicted to” money, practicing “money idolatry”, tend to have no regard to the poor and the last persons to share their moneys with their poor neighbors with love.  It is because their attachment to money makes them blind to and ignorant about the poor. And, it was exactly the problem of the rich man in the parable. Furthermore, his ignorance about the poor and indifferent attitude to Lazarus cost him his salvation!  In other words, the rich man in the parable kept all his wealth at any cost and never shared any with the poor like Lazarus, at the expense of his salvation!

Here is the transcript of the Pope’s homily (from Vatican Radio) on a problem with attachment to money:

Money sickens our minds, poisons our thoughts, even poisons our faith, leading us down the path of jealousy, quarrels, suspicion and conflict. It drives to idle words and pointless discussions. It also corrupts the mind of some people that see religion as a source of profit. 'I am Catholic, I go to Mass, everyone thinks well of me... But underneath I have my businesses. I worship money'. And here we have the word we usually find in newspapers: 'Men of corrupted minds'. Money corrupts us! There's no way out.”

“We can never serve God and money at the same time. It is not possible: either one or the other. This is not Communism. It is the true Gospel! They are the Lord's words. While money begins by offering a sense of well being. Then you feel important and vanity comes. We read in the Psalm. This vanity is useless, but still you think you are important. And after vanity comes pride. Those are the three steps: wealth, vanity and pride.”

“But, Father, I read the Ten Commandments and they say nothing about the evils of money. Against which Commandment do you sin when you do something for money? Against the first one! You worship a false idol. And this is the reason: because money becomes an idol and you worship it. And that's why Jesus tells us that you cannot serve money and the living God: either one or the other. The early Fathers of the Church, in the 3rd Century, around the year 200 or 300, put it in a very blunt way, calling money 'the dung of the devil'. An so it is. Because turns us into idolatrous, fills our thoughts with pride and leads us away from our faith.”

Pope Francis takes a really hard shot at issues with money, citing a sharp word of the early Church Fathers that money is “dung of the devil”. 

In the last sentence of the 25^th Sunday Gospel reading, the parable of the dishonest steward (Luke 16:1-13), money was called “mammon”, which has the connotation of idol with evil influence. In Luke 16: 13, Jesus made it clear that we cannot serve both God and mammon. In other words, if we become attached to money, not only we become morally corrupt, as with the case of the dishonest steward in Luke 16:1-13 but also  blind to the poor, as with the case of the rich man with no compassion for the poor in Luke 16: 19-31. This is a problem of “mammon worship”, an idolatry, which Pope Francis is sharply warning us against. 

The above Pope’s teaching on a problem of attachment to money goes along with these words of Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta:

“The more you have, the more you are occupied, the less you give. But the less you have the more free you are. Poverty for us is a freedom. It is not mortification, a penance”.

In other words, Bl. Mother Teresa points out the inherent risk of having more material wealth – the increased risk of becoming attached to the wealth, reminding that the attachment robs us of our freedom. On the other hand, poverty, as compared to material wealth, means non-attachment. And, non-attachment means freedom. 

Well, see what attachment can do to us! We must take a critical lesson from the rich man in the parable so that we won’t lose our salvation! 

****

There are several things that this parable invokes.

One thing is this song:   Magic Penny by Malvina Reynolds.

This song is about non-attachment to what God bless us with – whether it is love or money. If we became attached, then, it would be difficult for us to share, because attachment makes us more and more self-centered and even narcissistic. In such a psychological state, sharing is the last thing we’d want to do because we would be so afraid of losing what we have – just like the servant who buried the talent, which his master gave, in the parable of the talent (Matthew 25:14-30). If the rich man in Luke 16: 19-31 had deliberately ignored Lazarus, who was lying at his mansion’s door, because he was afraid of “losing” his wealth, rather than being ignorant, then, the rich man’s punishment is like the punishment of the servant who buried the talent out of fear of losing and lost everything in Matthew 14:30. If that’s the case, then, both the rich man in Luke 16:19-31 and the servant in Matthew 25:14-30 should have sung this song! 

Love is something if you give it away,
Give it away, give it away.
Love is something if you give it away,
You end up having more.

It's just like a magic penny,
Hold it tight and you won't have any.
Lend it, spend it, and you'll have so many
They'll roll all over the floor.

For love is something if you give it away,
Give it away, give it away.
Love is something if you give it away,
You end up having more.

Money's dandy and we like to use it,
But love is better if you don't refuse it.
It's a treasure and you'll never lose it
Unless you lock up your door.

For love is something if you give it away,
Give it away, give it away.
Love is something if you give it away,
You end up having more.

So let's go dancing till the break of day,
And if there's a piper, we can pay.
For love is something if you give it away,
You end up having more.

For love is something if you give it away,
Give it away, give it away.
Love is something if you give it away,
You end up having more.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FB5Z_30xSe8

Another thing that the parable of the rich man and poor Lazarus remind me of is Cardinal Rosales’ “Pond ng Pinoy”, which is a social justice campaign to help our neighbors in need with love through little things we can share – like the bread crumbs. 

You see, the rich man did not even share the scraps fallen out of his table with Lazarus! Imagine, if the rich man had given these food scraps fallen out of his table to Lazarus, though he could have been much more generous, he could not end up in torment upon his death. Even a dog showed compassion to Lazarus by licking his sores. But, the rich man did not even spare crumbs of his wealth for Lazarus. 

As former cardinal of Manila, His eminence Gaudencio Rosales, said, these little crumbs we tend to find not much value are very powerful in building God’s Kingdom.  Thus, these are not to be wasted but put to good use, especially to help the poor among us. 

The Cardinal Rosales’ “Pond ng Pinoy” also reflects these words of Blessed Mother Teresa:

"Yes my dear children, be faithful in little practices of love, of little sacrifices --of the little interior mortification --of little fidelities to Rule, which will build in you the life of holiness -make you Christ-like."

"Don't look for big things, just do small things with great love. . . . The smaller the thing, the greater must be our love."

*As quoted by Elizabeth Tenety in the Washington Post’s “Under God” column on August 26, 2010

It is, indeed, a practice of this proverb: “May a little makes a mickle”, amazing power of “poco a poco” with persistence, to make it become like the mustard seed in Matthew 13:31-32. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ie8icW5fZo

So, the parable of the rich man and poor Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31) really calls our attention to the poor among us.  And, it is our way of salvation…not to end up being in torment as the rich man did.

This helps us rectify the focus of our faith on the poor in light of these words of Jesus:

For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me,  naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.’ Then the righteous - will answer him and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?’ And the king will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’ Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.  For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,  a stranger and you gave me no welcome, naked and you gave me no clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.’  Then they will answer and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister to your needs?’ He will answer them, ‘Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.’  And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”  (Matthew 25: 35-46)

And, these words of Jesus on the Corporal Works of Mercy is further echoed in this hymn:

Whatsoever you do,
for the least of My people
That you do unto Me.

When I was hungry, you gave me to eat;
When I was thirsty, you gave me to drink.
Now enter into the home of my Father.

When I was homeless, you opened your door;
When I was naked, you gave me your coat.
Now enter into the home of my Father.

When I was weary, you helped me find rest.
When I was anxious, you calmed all my fears.
Now enter into the home of my Father.

When in a prison, you came to my cell;
When on a sickbed, you cared for my needs.
Now enter into the home of my Father.

When I was laughed at, you stood by my side.
When I was happy, you shared in my joy.
Now enter into the home of my Father.   ("Whatsoever You Do" By Willard F. Jabusch )

It is quite evident why the poor among us are so important to our Christian faith.

The poor teaches us to keep ourselves from a possibility of corruption because poverty helps us become free from attachment to mammon. 

It does not mean that we have to become poor. But, we must manage our material wealth prudently with our focused compassion toward the poor among us, talking a lesson from the 25^th Sunday’s Gospel reading parable of the dishonest steward (Luke 16:1-13). 

God favor  prioritizes the poor, and they are called “God’s poor”, anawin.

Throughout the entire Bible, from Genesis all the way to Revelation, it is always the poor, who are closer to God, who recognize God first, and whom God reach out first.  On the other hand, the rich are likely to be ignorant about God because their eyes are blinded by their attachment to mammon.  The rich really must work hard to overcome their greater risks of becoming attached to mammon and falling into mammon worship or idolatry.

 And, what the parable of the rich man and poor Lazarus in the 26^th Sunday reading (Luke 16:19-31) teaches is that we must manage our wealth with compassionate consideration of the least among us,  our neighbors in need.  In order for us to prevent us from becoming like the rich man in the parable, we must manage our wealth prudently with the compassionate spirit of Good Samaritan, whom Jesus spoke about as an example of loving our neighbor. 

There is another reason why the poor can be our great teacher to keep our faith in God but not in mammon. It is because we find Christ in poverty, as God became a poor peasant of Nazareth, named Jesus, born out of a poor peasant woman, Mary, having a poor working-class peasant carpenter man, Joseph, as his earthly father.  And, Jesus chose to practice the Works of Mercy for the poor, while challenging the self-righteous rich, such as mammon worshiping religious hypocrites in the Temple (i.e. Matthew 21:12-17). And, the parable of the dishonest steward (Luke 16:1-13) for the 25^th Sunday and the parable of the rich man and poor Lazarus (Luke 19:19-31) were addressed to the Pharisees, who were hypocrite as they had attachment problem, especially with laws, if not necessarily with money. The Pharisees’ attachment problem made them blind to the essential factor of faith: love, especially love of our neighbors in need, the poor. 

As long as we are deeply in touch with the poor, who are our teacher, with compassion, we are with less risk of developing attachment to mammon or mammon worship idolatry – even though we happen to be rich. 

St. Vincent de Paul, who considered  the poor as our masters and patrons, because Christ, the master took the form of the poor, to teach the Good News, said:

Since Christ willed to be born poor, he chose for himself disciples who were poor. He made himself the servant of the poor and shared their poverty. He went so far as to say that he would consider every deed which either helps or harms the poor as done for or against himself....

It is our duty to prefer the service of the poor to everything else and to offer such service as quickly as possible. Charity is certainly greater than any rule. Moreover, all rules must lead to charity. With renewed devotion, then, we must serve the poor, especially outcasts and beggars. They have been given to us as our masters and patrons.

No wonder Jesus said:

Blessed are you who are poor, for the kingdom of God is yours.

Blessed are you who are now hungry, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who are now weeping, for you will laugh.   (Luke 6:20-21)

So, as the poor are our masters and patrons, as St. Vincent de Paul put, how can we afford to separate ourselves from our neighbors in poverty and choose to be ignorant about them, as the rich man in Luke 16:19-31 did?  

Being like the rich man in the parable means keeping ourselves from salvation because the Kingdom cannot be attained without the poor. And, money not managed prudently with our care for the poor keeps us from the Kingdom.

God hear the cries of the poor as imaged in Psalm 34 and sung in this hymn:

The Lord hears the cry of the poor;
Blessed be the Lord.
I will bless the Lord at all times,
His praise ever in my mouth;
Let my soul glory in the Lord,
For He hears the cry of the poor.
Let the lowly hear and be glad:
The Lord listens to their pleas;
And to hearts broken, God is near,
For He hears the cry of the poor.
Every spirit crushed, God will save,
Will be ransom for their lives,
Will be safe shelter for their fears,
And will hear the cry of the poor.
We proclaim you greatness, O God;
Your praise ever in our mouth;
Ev'ry face brightened in your light;
For you hear the cry of the poor. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QI9h7B8L71U

And, as we hear the poor as God hear, we shall find “paradise”, as this song from the Philippines, where “Pond ng Pinoy” campaign has been taking place, pictures:

Return to a land called paraiso,
A place where a dying river ends.
No birds there fly over paraiso,
No space allows them to endure.
The smoke that screens the air,
The grass that's never there.

And if I could see a single bird, what a joy.
I try to write some words and create
A simple song to be heard
By the rest of the world.

I live in this land called paraiso,
In a house made of cardboard floors and walls.
I learned to be free in paraiso,
Free to claim anything I see.
Matching rags for my clothes,
Plastic bags for the cold.

And if empty cans were all I have, what a joy.
I never fight to take someone
Else's coins and live with fear
Like the rest of the boys.

Paraiso, help me make a stand.
Paraiso, take me by the hand
Paraiso, make the world understand
That if I could see a single bird, what a joy.
This tired and hungry land could expect
Some truth and hope and respect
From the rest of the world.

This Lea Salonga’s song, “Paraiso” ,also helps us better appreciate the Jesus’ teaching in the parable. The song shall inspire us to better manage our material wealth to respond to the cries of the poor.

The “Paraiso”(paradise) is to be found where the poor are. 

As Blessed Mother Teresa said, there is freedom in poverty. And, freedom is the “paraiso”. 

Our wealth is not to be kept to ourselves. Rather, as with love, it is like a magic penny , to be spent and shared to find the “paraiso” in where the poor are found.  And, this is what our discipleship is required and this is what is required for our salvation. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kO99xryZVm8

So,  what are we doing with our blessings, whether they are financial wealth, unique abilities, or time? And, most importantly, what are we doing with our caritas? 

Let’s not keep these jut to ourselves as the rich man in the parable did with his wealth. Let’s open our eyes to the poor and ear to hear the cries of the poor. Then, our heart of compassion will guide our actions with our blessings.