26th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Luke 16:19-31
Sunday Gospel Reflections by Sister Maureen Lomax

Reflecting on this very familiar parable, I was struck by the wide gulf that separated the rich man (Dives – Latin for ‘rich man’) from Lazarus (no other parable identifies participants by name). Dives could have bridged the gap by sharing his wealth, but he did not. Lazarus could only beg for scraps fit for the dogs and eventually die in poverty. Socially they lived ‘worlds apart’ although Lazarus remains dependent on Dives. After death the gulf widens and seems unchangeable, but this time it is Dives who is dependent. Neither Dives nor Lazarus is able to cross the gulf and alter the situation. Both are judged for eternity: Dives to eternal damnation in Hades and Lazarus to Abraham’s bosom (heaven?).

The Pharisees, to whom this parable was addressed, would have been horrified. ‘After all, wasn’t Dives a good man who did not turn the poor away from his gate? Didn’t his riches show that he was already blessed by God? Surely the poor man, Lazarus, is the one who should be in Hades! It is obvious that his poverty is God’s punishment for former or present sinfulness!’ The Deuteronomic law, narrowly interpreted by the Pharisees, ignored the Messianic hope proclaimed by Moses and the Prophets.

In the parable of Dives (rich man) and Lazarus, I see three scenes of invitation and judgement: 1) the earthly daily feast enjoyed by the rich man, to which Lazarus is not invited; 2) the bosom of Abraham (heavenly banquet) to which both Dives and Lazarus are invited, but only Lazarus is admitted; 3) by implication, the heavenly banquet hosted by God who invites all who listen to the Law and the Prophets and believe in Christ, the ‘someone’ who rose from the dead.

In the first scene, at the rich man’s feast, the poor are not totally neglected. They are allowed to gather at the gate (daily?) and have access to the scraps of bread which were used as napkins to wipe hands clean during the meal, before being thrown to the dogs. But there is no sharing of wealth, no invitation to a plentiful table, except for the rich. Though the rich man has the means to solve the hunger of the poor, no effective action is taken. The rich man, who is not judged to be a wicked man, believes that he is blessed by God because he is successful in life, and that Lazarus is poor because he is a sinner. That is the ‘status quo’ and it is unchangeable. It is likely that Lazarus too held the same views about their respective destinies. Whether rich or poor, many of Jesus’ listeners would have accepted these somewhat fatalistic beliefs. What a shock and surprise for both Lazarus and the rich man (the Pharisees too!) after death when their roles are reversed.

The second scene, in the bosom of Abraham (heavenly banquet?), is unexpected. Dives should have been saved and welcomed into paradise, not Lazarus! Dives pleads with Abraham to no avail. He had his chance in life, but Lazarus did not. The Pharisees would have been incredulous. What they heard was contrary to their beliefs and expectations. Nothing would convince them – no one could rise from the dead! (Is the choice of the name ‘Lazarus’ for the poor man an intentional link with the raising of Lazarus from the dead, pre-figuring Christ?)

In a sense the Pharisees have already judged themselves. By refusing the invitation to listen and act on the teachings of Moses, the Prophets and Jesus, they condemn themselves to Hades, just as Dives did. The ‘poor man’ could represent those who have not yet ‘heard’ God’s word and yet are saved, while the ‘rich’ are those who know the Law and the Prophets and have the option of following God’s word but don’t act. In the minds of the Pharisees, the judgement by God is made in life and cannot be altered; in the case of Abraham the judgement after death (seemingly based on life’s choices?), is also unchangeable. In both cases there is apparently no hope of redemption, even with repentance. The rich man’s final plea goes unheeded, just as he ignored the needs of the poor. He made his choice in life. Lazarus is rewarded.

The third scene of invitation and judgment is implied in the parable. The invitation of God, given through Christ, is open to us all. Like Dives, God welcomes us all to his banquet, but he does not reject the poor who are invited too. We are offered the riches of grace, love, compassion, forgiveness, healing, strength... but we are not forced to use them or to share them. God could also be seen as ‘the rich man’ who has the means and power to change things – and God does. Unlike Dives of the parable, God invites us to share in the divine wealth, and bridges the ‘impassable gulf’ between God and his people. Without God’s redeeming action, humankind, like Lazarus, would have remained outside the banquet, powerless and unable to cross the gap. God in Christ reconciled us to the Father. A new hope and belief replaces the desperation of Lazarus, who suffered in life, and the helplessness of Dives, experienced after death. All of us have the hope of salvation.

Martin Luther King Jr., in a sermon given on 2 October 1955 at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church (Montgomery, Alabama), calls this a ‘dramatic’ parable which illustrates the ‘impassable gulf’ that can exist between people and social groups, even religious ones such as the Pharisees. Sometimes unjust social barriers are perceived as right and just by good-living individuals and communities. King also reminds us that this parable ‘served as the spark setting off the humanitarian flame in the life of Albert Schweitzer’, causing him to give up his passion for playing Bach organ music and resigning his university professorship so that he could open and run a hospital in Africa. King saw the rich man as the white man refusing ‘to cross the gulf of segregation’, while Schweitzer viewed Europe as the rich man that had ‘exploited and crushed’ the people of Africa. Both gave their lives to bringing about a ‘new Jerusalem’ where social structures that bound the ‘poor’ to ‘eternal poverty’ (‘Hades’) and the ‘rich’ to ‘eternal wealth/mammon’ (‘Abraham’s bosom’/heaven), were to be replaced by God’s world of loving kindness, forgiveness, justice and truth. [Full text of the sermon is on the internet: “The Impassable Gulf” (The Parable of Dives and Lazarus). It is worth reading.]

Reflection Questions
1) The Pharisees would have judged Dives to be blessed by God because he was rich and successful and they would have assumed that he would go to heaven. Jesus rejects these views and condemns the rich man to Hades. What do you think about this?
2) The ‘successful rich’ man in life becomes the ‘powerless poor’ man in death and the ‘sinful poor’ man in life becomes the ‘rewarded rich’ man in death. The Pharisees would have condemned Lazarus to Hades because they saw him as a sinner being punished by God. Jesus rewards Lazarus. How do you feel about this?
3) Who then do I think are the truly rich/poor?
4) Is there some poor Lazarus ‘at my gate’ (community/parish/neighbour?) who is unable to share my ‘riches’ (compassion/friendship/knowledge/skills etc)?
5) Do I genuinely believe that Christ has removed all barriers so that everyone is invited to share in God’s eternal life.

Prayer/Response
The second verse from Gerald Manley Hopkins’ ‘As kingfishers catch fire’ provided me with an appropriate prayer/response:

I say more: the just man justices;
Keeps grace: that keeps all his goings graces;
Acts in Gods eye what in God’s eye he is –
Christ – for Christ plays in ten thousand places,
Lovely in limbs, and lovely in eyes not his
To the Father through the features of man’s faces.

Jesus said to the Pharisees: "There was a rich man who dressed in purple garments and fine linen and dined sumptuously each day. And lying at his door was a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who would gladly have eaten his fill of the scraps that fell from the rich man's table. Dogs even used to come and lick his sores. When the poor man died, he was carried away by angels to the bosom of Abraham.

The rich man also died and was buried, and from the netherworld, where he was in torment, he raised his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. And he cried out, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me. Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am suffering torment in these flames.'

Abraham replied, 'My child, remember that you received what was good during your lifetime while Lazarus likewise received what was bad; but now he is comforted here, whereas you are tormented. Moreover, between us and you a great chasm is established to prevent anyone from crossing who might wish to go from our side to yours or from your side to ours.'

He said, 'Then I beg you, father, send him to my father's house, for I have five brothers, so that he may warn them, lest they too come to this place of torment.'

But Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the prophets. Let them listen to them.' He said, 'Oh no, father Abraham, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.' Then Abraham said, 'If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead.'"

            This is the Gospel of the Lord.

 

Sister Maureen Lomax

Maureen Lomax was born in Lancashire, England, on September 1st 1942, the third living child of four, two girls and two boys. Like most families who raised children during the Second World War, her family coped with food rationing, second-hand clothes/furniture, running into the bomb shelter at night during air raids, borrowing and lending sugar/tea/etc., and father away in the Army. Although everything was in short supply, and everyone was encouraged not to waste anything, her mother managed to feed the children, clothe them and see that they were well educated. The children all passed the scholarship and so could attend a Grammar or Technical School from the age of eleven onwards without having to pay school fees. They were very fortunate.

That was when Maureen first met the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur. From 1953 (the year all war rationing ended), she attended Notre Dame High School in St Helens, Merseyside. She entered the Ashdown Novitiate in 1959, made first vows in 1962 and final vows in 1967. Meanwhile, Sr. Maureen trained as a secondary teacher of English, Music and Religious Education, attending Notre Dame College of Education, Liverpool. She did a degree in Philosophy/Religious Studies at Leeds University in 1974.

Over the years she taught mainly in non-selective secondary schools, teaching English, Religious Education, Music, Special Needs and some general subjects to boys and girls from 11 to 18 years of age. Sr. Maureen has worked in various parts of England: Wigan and St Helens in the North West, Norwich in East Anglia, Upminster in East London and Plymouth, Devon, in the South West. Unfortunately, just before she retired from the headship of Notre Dame RC School in Plymouth in 2002, she suffered a High Blood Pressure haemorrhage in her left eye which caused blindness.

After her retirement, Sr. Maureen had time to recover her health and then had the privilege of visiting our Sisters in Nicaragua (2007), Peru and California (2008) and Zimbabwe (2009). In each place, she was able to give some practical help and also learn first-hand about the customs and conditions in which people survive. She has always had an interest in the work of our Sisters in these deprived parts of the world, and had a lot of theoretical knowledge about them, but being there and meeting the people still remains for her a living memory.

Since then, Sr. Maureen has been involved in helping and supporting asylum seekers in Barnsley, North Yorkshire, together with a small Parish Group. She became Chair of Governors at a Roman Catholic and Anglican Secondary School and was able to use her recent experience of school leadership for the benefit of a school in difficulties. As a sideline, she planned and provided music for a parish together with a small group.

Recently she was appointed as the General Secretary of the Sisters of Notre Dame. Officially she started this ministry on 1st September 2010 in Rome after having spent earlier some weeks there being inducted into the post. She knows that this will be an enriching international experience for her.