Sep 28 Sun
What is wealth for?
In the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus, the problem with the rich man was not his wealth. The parable does not say he became rich dishonestly (although he may have). His problem was that he didn’t “listen to,” that is, obey, and do the Will of God. He made wealth the goal of his life.
He did not repent of his sins, obey the law, and love God above all and his neighbor as himself. One example of this is the way he ignored his fellow Jew and therefore his neighbor, Lazarus, who sat at his door begging.
The rich man did nothing for those in need around him. God penalized him with torment.
Lazarus received during his life what was materially bad—poverty and illness. God rewarded Lazarus with happiness in the “bosom of Abraham,” not for being poor, but for his patience in accepting his suffering on earth.
If we won’t love God and neighbor, we won’t listen to Christ, even if He did something astonishing, like raising men from the dead or rising from the dead himself.
Christ showed a special love for people who were poor, oppressed, and outcast in any way.
In Luke 4:18, Christ quoted Isaiah in saying He had come specifically to “preach good news to the poor … to bring release to captives … recovering of sight to the blind … and liberty to those who are oppressed.”
This does not mean that Christ condemns wealth.
How could He? Christ possesses every gift, and his intellect and will were perfect.
Even during his public ministry, He had wealthy and generous friends whom He loved.
Rather, He condemns the hoarding of wealth, making wealth the purpose of one’s existence, and neglect of the poor.
The misery that human beings experience can pertain to either the body or the soul. This is the reason for the traditional enumeration of two kinds of works of mercy, corporal and spiritual. These are acts of charity to help everyone because of their dignity as persons.
The corporal works of mercy are:
To feed the hungry;
To give drink to the thirsty;
To clothe the naked;
To shelter the homeless;
To visit the sick;
To ransom the captive. Some ‘captives’ are prisoners of addiction.
To bury the dead.
The spiritual works of mercy are:
To instruct the ignorant;
To counsel the doubtful;
To admonish sinners;
To bear wrongs patiently;
To forgive offenses willingly;
To comfort the afflicted;
To pray for the living and the dead.
Among the spiritual works of mercy, perhaps the most critical today is the first, to instruct the ignorant. Perhaps the most difficult, because we are most afraid of it, is to admonish, that is, correct, sinners.
What is my attitude toward all the material and spiritual goods I hold in my hands? Are my hands open or closed when it comes to helping others?