No religion can claim to be rooted in biblical
faith if social justice isn't at the top of its "to-do list."
Jesus didn't go town to town and synagogue to
synagogue, teaching people how to set up an institution, shape an authority
structure or build houses of worship.
He simply stated His belief that God's kingdom
is so close we can put out our hands and touch it.
About-face
To perceive that kingdom, we must change the
way we relate to others and undergo a "metanoia:" a-180 degree
switch in our value system. People and their welfare must become the focus
of our existence.
Only when we begin to relate with the most
insignificant individuals around us will we begin to notice God working
effectively in our lives.
The author of the second reading (I Timothy
6:11-16) had that in mind when he wrote, "Man of God, pursue
righteousness, devotion, faith, love, patience and gentleness." In
Scripture, people are "righteous" who form and maintain the proper
relationship with God and those who intersect their everyday lives.
We know from the prophets that, if our
relationships are domineering, arrogant or controlling, they're not
righteous. Only selfless, giving relationships fall into the righteous
category.
In the first reading (Amos 6:1a,4-7), Amos
leaves no doubt where he and Yahweh stand on the issue. Condemning the
wealthy in both Jerusalem and Samaria, the prophet perfectly describes their
"me-first" mindset: "Lying on beds of ivory, stretched
comfortably on their couches, they eat lambs taken from the flock and calves
from the stall! Improvising to the music of the harp, like David, they
devise their own accompaniment. They drink wine from bowls and anoint
themselves with the best oils."
In themselves, none of those actions is wrong,
but they have a divisive component. Amos zeroes in on this evil in his last
line: "Yet they are not made ill by the collapse of Joseph!" They
don't give a darn about the poverty and devastation destroying almost
everyone in Israel (Joseph). Wealth blinds them to the plight of the less
fortunate.
Jesus gives the identical message in the Gospel
(Luke 16:19-31). Little has changed in the Promised Land in the 750 years
between Amos and the Galilean carpenter. The "rich man" in Jesus'
story isn't condemned for being rich, but for letting his wealth become the
center of his life.
It's possible he doesn't even notice Lazarus
"lying at his door." Instead of using his money to help those,
like Lazarus, who are poor and "covered with sores," the rich man
"dresses in purple garments and fine linen, and dines sumptuously each
day." Only the dogs who "come and lick Lazarus' sores" seem
to notice he exists.
Turning tables
As a good Pharisee, Jesus presumes the tables
will be turned after the beggar and rich man die. The latter, because of his
refusal to be socially just, finds himself in the netherworld "in
torment," while Lazarus is rejoicing "in the bosom of
Abraham."
Though the rich man now wants to set up a
relationship with Lazarus, he can't. Abraham reminds him of the "big
chasm between me and you." Communication is now impossible.
Though many of us do good simply to avoid the
"flames of the netherworld," it makes more sense to avoid the
"internal" punishment of our actions instead of the
"external." Fire is external; the inability to communicate is
internal.
Jesus
believes we'll enter eternity with the same frame of mind we have when we
leave this world. Heavenly joy has little to do with harps, white robes or
angelic choirs. According to our Christian ancestors, it consists in a
terrific opportunity to relate with everyone with whom we share those sacred
precincts.
(9/27/07)