Amos 6:1, 4-7 / 1 Timothy 6:11-16 / Luke 16:19-31
It is not too presumptuous to say that everybody likes to hear stories because stories are very appealing.
A story can be anything from a fairy tale to a real life story.
It also can be a happy or sad story, an inspiring or depressing story, a funny story or one that ends with this line, “the moral of the story is … “ which is a teaching story.
Stories capture the attention and the imagination, and the characters become alive in our minds as the story unfolds.
In a sense, it can be said that the Bible is like a book with many stories.
For the past few weeks, we heard of one story after another. For example there is the story of the dishonest but astute servant, the story of the prodigal son, the story of the shepherd who left the 99 in the wilderness to look for the lost sheep.
But it is not likely that we will hear of any “ghost stories” in the Bible, although these will capture more attention and generate more imagination, and maybe more interest in reading the Bible.
And the best time to tell ghost stories is at night and during funeral wakes. But most probably the purpose is to keep the children quiet and from running around.
So it is not likely that we will find any “ghost stories” in the Bible, although the Bible has many stories of angels and devils.
The parable that Jesus told in the gospel is certainly not a ghost story, but it does capture the attention and the imagination. After all, more than half the story is about the afterlife and about salvation and punishment.
And since it is Jesus who is telling the story, then we need to pay attention to it, because it gives us a glimpse of what our afterlife could be.
The story begins with the lives of two men on earth. One was a rich man, and he had all the luxuries of life - good food, good clothing, good housing and even good health and he was enjoying himself.
Then at the gate of his house, lay a man called Lazarus who was as down as the ground on which he laid. He was hungry, dirty and sickly. Dogs came to lick his sores not because he got some comfort from them but because he just couldn’t chase them away.
Then death came in for both of them and subsequently a reversal of fortunes in the afterlife.
Lazarus was carried by the angels to the bosom of Abraham, while that rich man was crying out in agony in flames. He was burning in pain and in a fire that does not go out.
Although it was a reversal of fortunes, the story is not saying that the poor will go to heaven and that the rich will go to hell. That is certainly not the point of the story.
Whether rich or poor, the question is about where is God in their lives.
For the rich man, luxury was his god. He loved his luxury and he used his luxury only for himself. He knows that Lazarus was at his gate, but there was nothing for him. The luxury was all for himself. His life on earth is about “me, myself and I”, and so in the afterlife he suffers and he suffers alone.
Lazarus may be among the poorest of the poor, but his name gives us an indication of where God is in his life.
His name, Lazarus, means “God-is-my-helper”. So that tells us that despite his poverty, he still looks to God for his help. And he is finally comforted and it was an everlasting comfort.
So the point is not about where the rich and the poor will go after death. The question is where God is in our lives.
If God is our helper, we would certainly want to help others in need. So if we are rich we will love God and use our riches to help those in need, and not to love our riches and use God for our needs.
And if we are poor, but if God is our helper, then we will still put our faith and our trust in God, and live according to His way, and not to resort to cheating and lying and dishonesty as a way out of poverty.
So the question is where is God in our lives? Is God our helper?
One of the evils of the world today is to tempt us to love our riches and use God for our needs, instead of loving God and using our riches to help those in need.
Today, 29th September, is the Feast of the Archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael. There is this prayer to Saint Michael the Archangel composed by Pope Leo XIII in 1884:
St. Michael the Archangel,
defend us in battle.
Be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the Devil.
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray,
and do thou,
O Prince of the heavenly hosts,
by the power of God,
thrust into hell Satan,
and all the evil spirits,
who prowl about the world
seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.
There are a couple of stories of why he composed that prayer.
One story is that he had a vision of a legion of demons attacking the church. Another was that he heard a conversation between the devil and God.
The devil said that he could destroy the Church if given enough power and time, and God permitted the devil to do so and even let him pick his time, and the devil chose the 20th century.
But whether 20th century or 21st century, in every age and time, the devil is going all out to make us love our riches and use God for our needs.
But like Lazarus, may God be our helper, and let us pray to Saint Michael the Archangel to be our protector against the devil.
Let us remember that what we do now will have a bearing on our eternity.