Is it wrong to be wealthy or rich? Of course not. It is not so much whether you are rich or poor, but it is how you lived your lives; our words and conduct; as well as what sort of attitude and behaviour you have towards others; these are things that matter. One could be an extremely wealthy person, but at the same time one could be humble, unassuming and generous with one’s time and wealth. Also, one could be not too well off, and could pretend to be wealthy, snobbish, rude and aloof.
In today’s Gospel, we come across the parable of Lazarus and the rich man. Lazarus, the poor man, went to heaven, and the rich man went to hell. Did Lazarus go to heaven because he was poor and the rich man ended up in hell because he was rich? Of course not. If that were the case, many rich persons in the world, past and present, would have been condemned to hell already. So why did the rich man end up in hell? The sin of the rich man was not because of his wealth, and not because he was cruel, wicked or selfish. The sin of the rich man was his indifference, his “tidak kisah or tidak peduli” attitude (translated to “don’t care or not my problem” attitude). The rich man did not care about what happened to Lazarus, he did not care about what was happening around him, he did not care about anyone else except himself. By the time he learnt to care for someone, his brothers in this case, it was too late. In fact, while he was still alive, the rich man did not even really care about what happened to his brothers. It is ironic that at least the dogs took notice of Lazarus and his condition, whereas the rich man remained indifferent to all around him.
In our lives, some of us may have been thinking that it is better to mind our own business and not poke our noses into other people’s business. Some of us think that it is not for us to get involved, even though what is happening is obviously wrong or a serious issue, and something should be done and done quickly. Many people choose to be deaf and blind, and pretend that everything is fine as long as our lives and our family life is not affected. But the fact is, complacency or indifference is one of the greatest ills of our society, since by not getting involved, by not helping, by ignoring the situation; nothing will change, the problem remains, and we could be accomplices to the problem or be a part of the problem. In fact, St Paul in the second reading reminds us that it is not enough to just take care of our own affairs and ignore others, since he writes: “As a man dedicated to God, you must aim to be saintly and religious, filled with faith and love, patient and gentle. Fight the good fight of the faith and win for yourself the eternal life to which you were called when you made your profession and spoke up for the truth in front of many witnesses.” This means that we need to do something, we need to take action, we cannot just sit idly and not be bothered. Each of us is called to saintliness and holiness, and we cannot just be mediocre or do the minimum.
Today, let us pray for the grace to be able to see with eyes and hear with ears of compassion. Let us follow Jesus’ example in reaching out and helping all in need. May we not waste our eternal future away with our indifference, and end up like the rich man, while we still have opportunities here on earth to do our part and make a difference.