The Self Consumed Rich Man, The Very Poor Lazarus and Us

This week we hear the story of “The Indifferent-Man-Who-Could-Have-Listened-to-Moses-and-the-Prophets-and-Followed-God's-Way-of-Life-and-Been-Welcomed-Into-Paradise-by-Father-Abraham-But-Chose-Not-To and Lazarus”[1] The rich man is not necessarily bad, just astoundingly self-consumed. His love for self prevents him from care for others. He does not see Lazarus until it is too late.

Please note, this is not a story about what happens after we die. This is a story, in a line of other stories in Luke, about the importance of living the commandments and the law in the way Jesus teaches and lives them now. We are the brothers and sisters in this story, and we still have time to see the poor at our gate.

·       What are the “gates” that separate us from those in more need around us?

·       Who is at our gate, and how are we seeing and responding to them?

[1] https://www.holytextures.com/2010/09/luke-16-19-31-year-c-pentecost-september-25-october-1-proper-21-ordinary-time-26-sermon.html

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