Sunday Reflections

The Rich Man “Still” Does Not See!

The Resurrectionist Mission Statement calls for us to “join in solidarity with people diminished by unjust structures.” Attempts to do this would find support from the prophet Amos who, in the first reading, chastises the rich for taking care of themselves in luxurious ways, while neglecting the poor. Similarly, our Gospel presents the challenging story of the rich man Dives, who seems to enjoy all the luxuries of the world, and the poor man Lazarus who is covered with sores and would have gladly eaten his fill of the scraps that fell from the rich man’s table.

Even in the afterlife, the rich man does not seem to change his perspective on the poor man. He did not ever “see” him as a person worthy of respect and dignity in this life and he still does not “see” him as a person worthy of respect and dignity in the after-life. Interestingly, he still “sees” the poor man as someone who can make his life easier. “Send Lazarus,” cries the rich man when he needs someone to fetch him something to drink. “Send Lazarus,” he calls again when he needs someone to send in order to warn his brothers. The rich man still does “see” that Lazarus is a person and should be treated as such. His perspective has been clouded by the luxuries of his life and since he is “blind” to those who are less fortunate, it would never cross his mind to try to help them. Over time, the rich man has become a certain kind of person: one that does not “see” and so is truly blind to the plight of the poor.