Weekly Reflection 092604AD

Sunday September 26, 2004AD

26^th Sunday in Greentime

Lazarus & JC & Alii

Twenty-five years ago, in October, 1979, Pope John Paul made a visit to Ireland and the United States on the first anniversary of his Petrine Ministry. When he came to New York, he gave 3 important sermons: the United Nations General Assembly, the Evening Mass at Yankee Stadium and his meeting with young people at Madison Square Garden (hosted by former parishioner, Maureen Lindgren, a collegian at the time.)

The sermon at Yankee Stadium was promptly dubbed “The Sermon on the Mound.” In it, he addressed today’s Gospel. The significance of the parable of the Rich man and Lazarus was already apparent to JP2 when he made his first stop, in early 1979, on his many trips outside Italy, in Santo Domingo, on his way to Puebla, Mexico.

At Yankee Stadium, he transferred today’s parable to global proportions, viz., the First and (then,) Second World, (the West and the former USSR and its satellites) – the Developed Nations (the Rich man) and the Third World, -- the Undeveloped Nations (Lazarus). The Pope said it was legitimate to critique the political, social and economic world scene in terms of the significance of this parable. And critique, he did!

He stated that the rich man did not end up in hell because he was rich, but because he was willfully blind to the existence of the poor man at his gates. The Pope stated that both the rich man and Lazarus were loved by God, but that the rich man was not responsive, as he should have been, to the needs of the poor man at the gate.

Almost 30 years later, we recall JP’s comment on the parable, “Riches and freedom confer special responsibilities and create special obligations.”

In their Pastoral Letter on the Economy, 1986, the USA Catholic bishops said basically the same thing. In speaking directly on the economy of a nation (any nation), the bishops said that a measure of the morality of an economy is its response to the people within the economic system that are in the lowest social and economic classes. We need to take responsibility for the things that we create in its effects upon the neediest among us.

On Jan 1, 2003 AD, in his annual Day of Prayer for Peace Message, Pope John Paul reminded us that for individuals or groups, there are “no moral free-zones”. In other words, the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the critique which disciples of Jesus should use in evaluating the morality or immorality of our actions. If plans actions do not square with the Gospel of Jesus, adjustments need to be made.

The Federal Budget for 2004 allocates for each dollar collected the following: $.20 on Debt Interest; $.20 on Health; $.05 on Income Security; $.04 on Veterans; $.04 on Education; $.03 on Nutrition; $.02 on Housing; $.29 on Military; $.12 on Other.

Jesus and the prophets, from whom we hear today, viz., Amos of Tekoa, and Bishop John Paul of Rome and others urge us to reflect on all this. 092604AD jfq