Lazarus, Dives, and the Universal Destination of Goods - Sept 28, 2025

[As in prior homilies, I gratefully acknowledge the influence that Bishop Barron and his homilies have had on this one.]

Good morning, brothers and sisters.

We’ve just heard one of Jesus’ most striking parables. Even as a child, I remember hearing this Gospel and being bothered by it. Why is Abraham so harsh with this rich man after he dies, not even allowing a drop of water to touch his burning tongue? Why does Abraham refuse his reasonable request to send Lazarus to warn his 5 brothers?

We should first recall that Jesus is telling this parable not to describe exactly what Heaven and Hell are like, but to make a point. For example, the final statement -- that the 5 brothers would not be persuaded even if a person should rise from the dead -- is aimed at the first century audience – and us today. Jesus rose from the dead, yet many of us still do not listen to him.

Before we question Abraham and pity the rich man (also known as Dives, which is simply Latin for ‘rich man’), let’s recall what Dives did. Every day that Dives walked out of his house, he literally had to step over the dying Lazarus and shoo away the dogs licking his sores. He treated poor Lazarus as invisible, like he didn’t actually exist. And now, after his death, the rich man still acts condescendingly – rather than address Lazarus directly as an equal, he speaks only to Abraham, asking him to send Lazarus like a slave first to drop water in his mouth, and then to leave Heaven to appear to his brothers. Dives still cannot love Lazarus as an equal. He cannot grasp that he should love him not just as an equal, but as a superior favored by God. We hear in our Psalm how God favors the underdog, the window, the orphan, and the poor.

When you hear these words from Scripture, perhaps you’re like me – squirming a little bit.

If you’re living in the USA today, most likely you’re relatively privileged – especially compared to most of humans for most of human history – whether that be 1^st century Judea or 21^st century Gaza or Southern Sudan. Most of us have wardrobes that are pretty full – not just with a couple of purple robes like Dives, but of all sorts of clothes, coats, and shoes. Many of us have pantries and refrigerators full of food and spices from around the world, and we are ‘dining sumptuously every day’, at least by the standards of much of human history. How many princes would have killed for the curry powder or ginger or cold ice cream or orange juice or chocolate that we take for granted?

Many of us are like the people in the first reading:

‘Lying upon beds of ivory, stretched comfortably on their couches’ [eating] lambs from the flock, and ‘improvising to the music of the harp, they devise their own accompaniment.’  How many of us – myself included – like to stretch out on our comfortable couches at home, under the fan or air conditioner, and watch reels or Youtube videos?  This is even worse than playing a harp – at least that requires some creativity. Many of us are just wasting our time, with click after click trying to be entertained, blissfully ignoring so many suffering in the world around us.

The prophet Amos continues: ‘Woe to the complacent in Zion… they drink wine from bowls, and anoint themselves with the best oils, yet they are not made ill by the collapse of Joseph!”

The ‘collapse of Joseph’ here refers to the conquest of the northern tribes by Assyria. In other words, these comfortable people are not bothered by the profound suffering of their neighbors. Instead, they spend their time and attention on their own luxuries.

How many of us spend more on fine drink or restaurants than on the poor?

Or how many among us spend more on expensive cosmetics – similar to anointing ourselves with the ‘best oils’ –than on the poor and suffering?  If your annual expenses on clothing, cosmetics, haircuts, and mani/pedis far exceeds how much you spend on the poor – there will be a reckoning.

Amos warns that such people will be conquered by the enemy “and their wanton revelry shall be done away with.”

So this Old Testament reading, along with the Gospel, should make us squirm a bit. We have a lot in common with the rich people that were condemned first by Amos, and then by Abraham and Jesus.

Most of us here probably live in excess.  The consistent social teaching of the Church has been that our wealth is not our own. Everything that we have is a gift from God: we are only stewards of God’s gifts. Pope Leo XIII, the great pope who inspired our own Pope Leo XIV’s choice of a name, quotes St Thomas Aquinas:

“Man should not consider his material possessions as his own, but as common to all, so as to share them without hesitation when others are in need.”

This is the Church’s teaching of the ‘universal destination of goods.’ If God allowed you to become rich, it is for the benefit of the poor. It belongs to them.

St Basil the Great writes:

“The bread which you hold back belongs to the hungry; the coat, which you guard in your locked storage-chests, belongs to the naked; …The silver that you keep hidden in a safe place belongs to the one in need.”

 I know that I stand convicted by these words: I have plenty of extra food in my pantry and clothes in my closet.

Pope Leo XIII taught that “Once the demands of necessity and propriety have been met, the rest that one owns belongs to the poor.”

Let that sink in. After you’ve paid for your necessities and propriety – what you need for your position or profession – then the rest of your money belongs to the poor.

These words should make us squirm a bit. 

We’re also probably squirming a bit, when we’re driving and we see a homeless beggar approach our car, when we’re stuck at a stoplight.

The Devil wants us to ignore this beggar, just as Dives did with Lazarus. The Devil wants us to rationalize that we need to watch the stoplight closely for when it turns green, or that if we give money, it will only feed addiction.

Instead, we should recall the words of Jesus in Matthew 25, when Jesus separates the  sheep and goats. The goats are condemned precisely for this: not giving food to the hungry, not giving drink to the thirsty, not caring for the sick or imprisoned… etc.  They protest, that they didn’t know better, they didn’t realize that Jesus was in the least of their brethren. And yet they remain in hell forever.

We cannot profess ignorance like the goats or like Dives: we have heard the warnings of Amos and Jesus. We have ‘seen him risen from the dead’, we know what is required of us and what the consequences are.

So we have a real responsibility here, that we cannot just rationalize away.

So perhaps you’re thinking: ok Deacon, I think I agree… I probably do live in relative excess… but what can I actually do about it? Do you have any concrete advice?  

I have 7 suggestions… these aren’t new, but the 7 Corporal Works of Mercy long recommended by the Church. They are:

First, To feed the hungry. Second, To give drink to the thirsty.

There are concrete ways we can all do this. For example, gift cards you can give to the needy. This way you don’t worry about cash going to buy drugs. Every 6 months or so, I go to the Dunkin Donuts website and order a bunch of $10 gift cards, and put them in my car’s glove compartment. My kids ask to give these out when they see a homeless person panhandling. If you can’t afford to buy gift cards, maybe forgo an unnecessary expense like Starbucks or take-out food, and make coffee at home or eat PB&Js, to save up for the poor.

Alternatively, there are food pantries, like at St Paul’s in Cambridge where you can volunteer. Or you can assist with our Vincent de Paul Society outreach, including for their Thanksgiving outreach.

# 3 is To clothe the naked.

Here’s a concrete suggestion: this week, go through your closet and select some of your ‘excess’ clothes … not just the pieces that don’t wear any more, but perhaps something nice that you like … and you can donate these in the blue St Vincent de Paul bin. This is a great way to help clothe the naked.

# 4 is to Shelter the Homeless

Would you be willing to share your home, for someone without stable housing? There’s an NGO that helps to arrange this, which I would gladly put people in contact with. Whether an immigrant family would stay while you're away on vacation, or in an extra room if you have one-- this is a great way to ‘shelter the homeless’. Another is to volunteer for ‘My Brothers’ Keeper’ – a Catholic NGO that providers furniture for those without.

# 5 is to visit the sick

Do you have friends or relatives who are sick or homebound? Could you visit them, especially over the holidays? Or could you go through the training to volunteer as an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion, at a nearby hospital? What a beautiful ministry: to bring Jesus to those who suffer like Jesus.

Or perhaps you could donate blood – literally giving your lifeblood to someone who is sick.

# 6 is to visit the imprisoned, or ransom the captive

Consider visiting a jail, or supporting groups that combat human trafficking. Or you can fight pornography, which supports sex trafficking.

# 7 Bury the dead

Attend the funerals or burials of others, especially those who might otherwise be forgotten. Pray for the souls in Purgatory.

Ok, so those are the 7 Corporal Works of mercy. As a final concrete suggestion: the church suggests a ‘tithe’, which is 10% of your income, towards the church or some charity. Are you doing that? If not, try to. Remember – none of your income really belongs to you – ask God what he wants you to do with it.

Bishop Barron relates that he was at a fundraiser event with the late Cardinal George. Here the Cardinal addressed a large group of rich donors, saying, “The poor need you to stay out of poverty. But you need the poor to stay out of hell.”

Maybe God had sent Lazarus to Dives, so that he could have lifted him up, and saved him from Hell. Instead, he held onto his gold, and it weighed him down.

When we die, we want to arrive at the gates of Heaven, and hopefully right behind St Peter will be all the poor whom we helped, saying: “We know him, he helped us when we were in need – bring him in to join the heavenly banquet!” This will only happen if we get off our comfortable couches, open our doors, and crouch down to the Lazaruses living next to us.

An excellent way to show concrete charity, to have personal contact with the needy around us, is to participate in our parish St Vincent de Paul program. We celebrated St Vincent’s feast day just yesterday. So I am very happy to invite XXXX to speak about our program, and ways we can all get more involved.

Thank you.