This Sunday, at the core of Jesus’ parable of the rich man and Lazarus is not only the message of love of God and of neighbor but also a warning about the consequences of our inactions, when we fail to do “for these the least ones, [we] did not do for [Jesus]” (Matthew 25:31-46). When we stand in judgment before the throne of the King of kings and the Lord of lords (1 Timothy 6:11-16), will we find ourselves being comforted by Jesus, as Lazarus is comforted in the bosom of Abraham, or will we be judged and sentenced to eternal torment like the rich man? Will Jesus see each of us as his “good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:23) and bless us: “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” (Luke 6:20-21)? Or will our Lord chastise us: “Woe to the complacent. . .“ (Amos 6:1, 4-7) and “. . .woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. . . .woe to you who are filled now, for you will be hungry” (6:24-25).
This is the “great chasm” that exists between Lazarus and the rich man, the righteous and the damned, the sheep that are on the right and the goats that are on the left (Matthew 25:31-46). Like the “chain-links” that Jacob Marley forged in his life, link by link, we widen the “great chasm” of our life every time we, like the rich man, do not see the face of Christ in the Lazaruses that we encounter in our lives and do not love one another as God loves us, forgives us, and shows us mercy. For us, there is a “great chasm” between the person God created us to be in his image and after his likeness (Genesis 1:26) and who we are presently with all the messiness of our fallen human nature. It is the distance between our head and our heart. God placed his law within us, and wrote it upon our hearts (Jeremiah 31:36). Our hearts know this and, yet, our minds tell us differently when we do not treat one another with the dignity of beloved sons and daughters of our heavenly Father, in all stages of life, from conception to natural death.
It is a “great chasm” that exists between who we are here at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and who we are out there when we live our lives as though nothing happened at Mass, as though the Eucharist did not change us to be more Christ-like. It is the great “chasm of grace,” grace that we receive from God but do not give to others. There is a point in the Liturgy of the Eucharist when we respond, saying, “Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.” For indeed, we are not worthy but God still pours his mercy and grace in us when we receive Him in the Eucharist. The question then is: “Do we respond to one another with grace?” For example, when a couple has marital problems, do husband and wife give each other the grace to fail and fall but, by the grace of the Sacrament they both received, help each other to rise again and be reconciled together?
In the parable, the rich man begs Abraham to send Lazarus to his father’s house to warn his five brothers so they do not come to the “place of torment” that he now finds himself. Thankfully for us, with every breath of life that God grants us, He gives us the opportunity to make changes in our lives to narrow the “chasm.” How? Saint Paul lays it out for us in his letter to Timothy when he tells us to “pursue righteousness, devotion, faith, love, patience, and gentleness. Compete well for the faith. Lay hold of eternal life, to which you were called. . .” In other words, we are called to live a Christocentric life by coming to Mass and receiving our Lord in the Eucharist, by surrendering ourselves to Jesus’ love and merciful healing in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
Moreover, Saint Peter instructs us to ”let your love for one another be intense, because love covers a multitude of sins. Be hospitable to one another without complaining. [And here is the hinge] As each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God’s varied grace” (1 Peter 4:8-10). Good news! This weekend, our beloved parish is offering each one of us the opportunity to serve our fellow parishioners. Here at Saint Albert the Great, we have four English Masses every weekend. We need you to fulfill your Baptism promises to Christ and serve as liturgical ministers, no experience necessary, training included. You can proclaim the word of God as a lector or welcome people into the house of the Lord as a hospitality minister or greeter. You can help us spread the Good News of our Lord Jesus Christ as a livestream technician. Or, you can be like Mary, who sat at the foot of the Cross and offered her Son to the world, by serving as extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion and giving the Eucharist to the faithful people of God.
Sisters and brothers in Christ, at our Baptism, Jesus commissioned each and every one of us and sent us into the world on a mission of mercy to serve others. Let us humbly walk with the Lord in service to God by faithfully serving his Church, because serving others helps us to close the “great chasm” through love of God and love of neighbor. Let us learn from the rich man’s mistake so that when we die, the angels of the Lord carry us away and we find ourselves on the right side of the great chasm. Only then can our hearts finally rest peacefully in the Sacred Heart of Jesus for all eternity and Jesus will say to us, “Well done, my good and faithful servant. . . Come, share your master’s joy.”
Click to listen: https://phucphan.podbean.com/e/homily-for-the-twenty-sixth-sunday-in-ordinary-time-year-c-9282025/
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