The chasms and indifferences: a deep scar on humanity

Amos 6:1, 4-7, Psalm 145, 1Timothy 6:11-16, Luke 16:19-31

After listening to all the readings today; I will like to draw our attention to two words and concepts that play out in the readings. Concepts we are already familiar with but which the readings invite us to take some concrete steps. The words/concepts include: chasm and indifference.

The Chasm: We live in a world where there are so many man-made chasms and gaps. The chasm the exist between Heaven and Hell in the gospel story of the Rich man and Lazarus, reminds us of the chasms that exist now that we don’t see, the great valleys that separate people. It’s a story of distance between two people who aren’t so far apart, the rich man who doesn’t even see the poor person right next to him. We are invited to reflect and confront the great distances in life that are so familiar such that they are hard to notice, the distance between the poor side of town and the rich, the imprisoned and the free, the sick and the healthy, the black and white, the person who belongs and the one who is the outsider. And if the gospel today is about anything, it’s about the fact that all these chasms are not meant to be there. The great distances between the people who count and those who don’t, the people who get noticed and the people who don’t, those valleys are human creations. We are not meant to feel as if other people, despite how poor they are, or how suspicious looking, or how much failure surrounds them, we’re not supposed to see them as so separate, so foreign, so far from us. Whether we like it or not, in God’s eyes, the great differences we are sure that we see are not important. Between us and people like that there is usually a chasm, but it is a chasm of our making.

The Indifference: The first reading and the Gospel try to teach us to care about what happens to others. It is a teaching that all of us need to hear from time to time. We want to follow Jesus Christ and we want to learn to live as He lived. Jesus Himself teaches us that the greatest commandment is to love God and to love our neighbor as ourselves. These readings are explaining this to us a little more. Today’s first reading is part of the Prophet Amos’ speech that is full of woes to the political leaders of the northern kingdom of Israel. Amos is basically calling out the luxurious lives of the political elite whilst the working poor are suffering and becoming restless. In the Gospel, the rich man is not described as having done anything evil. He simply did not care. He failed to do good. He failed to notice the poor man Lazarus who was at his gates. He was not sensitive to the presence of Lazarus. Unfortunately, even among us today, when we see the awful things that happen in our world via the media, we often find ourselves not caring much about what happens to others. In so far as, it does not affect us directly. We just do not care. We should not allow ourselves to become like the Rich Man in the Gospel who failed to do good, or the political elite at the time of Amos who enjoy good things, living lavishly ignoring the suffering on others.

Sensitivity: How do we allow ourselves to notice, become aware, understand, appreciate and affirm the people around us?  How do we deepen our sensitivity to and for each other? Lazarus went almost unnoticed by the Rich Man, who even in death felt there was a chasm between him and Lazarus. Misery and poverty most times can tempt some people to retreat into themselves or to create a chasm, or buffer-zone that places a distance between us. Let us this week try to notice, acknowledge and appreciate the presence of others in our lives – especially those who are actually in our lives, whom we have to walk past and interact with. It could just be with a smile, or a nod, or even, learning a name. It could be by recognizing our comfort-zones and taking just a small, single-step beyond them. It is important to consider cultivating our sensitivity for and of others. Let us never discount someone because of their race or job-status, or their being different to us.

Yes, it is true that “we do good works already.” We give to charity. We relate to people. We acknowledge people. But we can always ask ourselves if we can do more. The Rich man was punished not for his riches, but for not acknowledging, even in death, the plight of the poor around him. All these chasms/gaps are a scar on the world; God did not create them. Our indifference makes the chasm grow wider. Works of mercy are required to close the distance. The gaps between the privileged and the poor, between the insider and the outside, are a sign that humanity has work to do, and that Christians have more to do, because we are followers of a God who came to earth to show us that there were no divisions between God and us, and that the fortunate and the unfortunate are not meant to be apart.

We can begin from our parish community. Are you sensitive to others in this community? Do you say hi, hello to others? Or you just come attend Mass and you are off. Do you have time to participate in the various parish events? Do you sign up to the various ministries and volunteer services? Do you even have time to exchange pleasantries? Do we attempt to know how someone is doing or why someone didn’t show up in Church? Let us be brothers and sisters to each other; so that when we pray to God saying “Our Father” it makes some sense.