In this weekend’s Gospel Jesus tells the parable of Lazarus and the rich man. What is very interesting to me is that this is the only parable in which the main character is actually named. Usually in parables the characters remain unnamed, which allows us to more easily insert ourselves into the story. But Jesus breaks with the tradition and calls the principle character by name: Lazarus.

Jesus speaks of a real person…someone who mattered…someone who mattered to God…even though he seemed not to matter to those around him.

The parable of Lazarus is yet again a statement of how much the poor and vulnerable are loved and valued by God even though they are not by those around them.

Throughout Scripture prophets call attention to the poor as the “blessed ones” of God. The people of Israel were continually warned against mistreating the poor, the marginalized and the alien. So often we hear people speak of the poor and the homeless as some kind of blight or an inconvenience that they can’t be bothered with…and erroneously believe they are not responsible to offer them aid or compassion.

In our nation today bigotry, racism and bias put black and brown lives at risk and threaten members of the LGBTQ community as well as women, immigrants and refugees and ultimately, marginalizes them all. These attitudes ignore and
devalue their God given human dignity!

In today’s Gospel Jesus clearly warns us of the consequences of just such attitudes! As we reflect on the Gospel this week, let’s reflect on how we respond to the “Lazarus” we encounter in our lives.

How do we as individuals, as a nation, and as a faith community show that we value and care for the poor and marginalized of our country and our community? What are the social and political ramifications of this Gospel for us today? In the midst of widespread gun violence, racism, misogyny, bigotry, anti-immigrant and anti-refugee sentiments, what is the “Gospel response” we are being called to respond with to these situations? And, how do we make our voices heard
by our politicians?
​
Blessings on the journey,
Fr. Tim

Today we hear a few words from our old friend Amos…the prophet Amos was outraged and ashamed of how the poor and the needy and the foreigners were being treated by the people of Israel. He condemned them for what we would call human trafficking and cruelty, hardhearted-ness and neglect of the poor.

The Book of the Prophet Amos warns that God would punish the people for their selfishness and obsession with becoming rich. A few chapters before the reading we hear today, Amos proclaims; “Hate evil and love good, and establish justice in the gate; then it may be that the Lord, the God of hosts, will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.”

Jesus also took up the topic of being obsessed with the accumulation of wealth…particularly when others were in such great need. Jesus warns us that we need to be “whole-heartedly” devoted to God and if we divide our heart between God and money we will lose out in the end.

Now the reality is that we all have to be concerned with making a living and providing for ourselves and our families. But how much is enough? At what point does “making a living” become focused on “getting rich” and then begin to take over all our time and thoughts and become the only measure of the success of our lives?

Being rich is not a sin…it is what we do or don’t do with what we have that can be sinful. Keeping God at the center of our lives will help us decide how to use what we have and with whom to share our wealth.

It seems the Gospel is calling us to reflect on our relationship to our “stuff” and our relationship to God and our relationships with others. To reflect on our relationship with the people of Ukraine, Gaza, South Sudan and Venezuela. To reflect on how we view the people who live in these distant places.

As individuals and as a nation we need to seriously reflect and reassess how we view and treat the unhoused and immigrants and refugees and those who are marginalized in our society because of their race, their gender, who they love or because of their social or economic status.

Christians throughout this nation need to reflect deeply on how our relationships to all of the afore mentioned peoples reflects our relationship with God and our living out our discipleship of Jesus Christ. And how that reality is being reflected in our political processes and policies and decision making at all levels of government!

What does my conversation with God sound like when I talk to God about how I truly, deep in my heart, view “the other”…those who are different than me? Am I open to God’s tender, transformative touch to keep my heart centered on the journey of becoming ever more fully the mercy of God, present in this wounded and suffering world?

Blessings on the journey,
Fr. Tim

A real deal breaker…In today’s Gospel we hear Jesus utter the words that no doubt sent a flood of people walking away from him -- walking away from their following of Jesus! Not only did he tell them that they had to renounce their family and all their possessions but that they would have to suffer as well and carry their cross!

How this must have stung their ears because in their culture family was everything. Family gave you your “identity.” You
knew your place in society and how to act and interact with others based on your identity, which was rooted in your family. So, to renounce your family would be tantamount to renouncing your identity. Which, it seems, is exactly what Jesus was attempting to do -- to help his disciples let go of their old identity and develop a new identity as his disciples, as members of a new family. The family of disciples of Jesus Christ.

To do this Jesus wanted them to leave behind their old life and all its trappings and to be willing to walk with him, knowing that it would be a difficult journey. It was all about living their discipleship and putting it into action each and
every day…full on, all the way!

Membership in this “new family” would now be the source of their new identity, the source of knowing how to act and
interact with others, and to come to know what their new mission in life now was.

And during this “Season of Creation” as we examine our relationship with Jesus Christ, we need to examine our relationship with the earth as well! We need to examine how we live on the earth and how we “use” the earth; how we consume things and what we consume.

Our consumption impacts not only the earth itself, but it impacts our sisters and brothers, especially those living in developing countries. Many of the items we buy and use have their source in the developing world and are made by poor workers living and working in inhumane conditions. Far too often children are exploited and abused while making the products that we in the West buy and wear or items we use in our homes or businesses. The pollution created by the making of so many of the items we buy and use on a daily basis is one of the driving forces of the climate change crisis.

And, as we have seen here in North and South America and in Europe, India, Pakistan, Africa, China and around the world, severe droughts and historic flooding and raging wildfires are destroying, not only people’s homes and towns, but taking their lives as well. Climate change is very real, and we need to act now!

As we begin the Season of Creation there are many things for us to reflect on, to find actions that we can begin to take or continue taking that become “our active caring for creation.”

We all need to take a hard look at our own carbon footprint and spend time researching how we can reduce our carbon
footprint as part of our active caring for creation. At the same time, we need to be engaged on a larger level actively working for policies that will help reduce our nation’s role in this man- made climate crisis.

Being good disciples means being good stewards of “our common home”.

How does my membership in “the family of disciples of Jesus” inform my daily consumption of “things” and my care for the earth? How does my discipleship shape and inform my identity and how I inhabit the world around me and interact
with all those I encounter in my daily life? How does that identity shape my world view and what I am willing to risk standing up for and speaking out for, based on who I am as a disciple of Jesus Christ?

​May God’s most abundant grace be upon you. Amen.
Fr. Tim