The Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Cycle C

In the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, we see a man who had an overabundance of every good thing and a man who didn’t even have the basic things needed to live. When they died the rich man went to hell and the poor man went to the Bosom of Abraham, which was the closest place to heaven before Jesus’s crucifixion. Between them was a chasm so great that only God could cross it. They were as far apart from one another as they could possibly be.

As followers of Christ, we are called to care for our fellow man. This means more than just throwing some cash at a homeless guy holding a cardboard sign on a street corner. As a society, we have forgotten the difference between duty and charity. Duty is something we are obligated to do. Charity is something we do out of love. Suffering is the currency of love. You only love someone as much as you are willing to suffer for them. True charity involves suffering and sacrifice. We have the duty to care for someone when we are able. For example –

You see a homeless man shivering in the cold without a coat. You remember that you have a spare coat that you are not using in your closet at home. You go home, get the coat, and give it to the man. Although you may be feeling charitable for doing this, this is not charity. This is a duty we are obliged to do. We have something extra that someone who needs it does not have. We are giving from our abundance. The devil wants us to feel charitable because the more charitable we feel the less charitable we are willing to be. God does not want us to feel charitable. He wants us to be charitable.

True charity involves suffering and sacrifice. Charity does not rely on a feeling or look for anything in return. Charity is only concerned about the good of another. It is charitable when you give a homeless man the coat off your back, knowing that he needs it more than you do. You will have to suffer for a time until you can replace the coat for yourself.

It pleases God when we are willing to suffer for one another. We have been given this life to learn to love how God loves, which is sacrificially. The more we love without limit the more we reclaim the image that we were created in. As Christians, we are called to be both dutiful and charitable with others. It does not matter who they are, where they came from, their orientation, the way they vote, immigration status, or any other reason you can conjure up.

The first reading today should be a stark warning to us. If we revel in our abundance and shirk our duty to care for those in need around us, we too will be exiled to the place where the rich man went and spend eternity in torment, separated from the love of God. Instead, be charitable in all you do. Be willing to suffer and sacrifice for another. In doing so you fulfill both commands to love God and love your neighbor.