Readings: Amos 6:1, 4-7; Psalm 146; 1 Timothy 6:11-16; Luke 16:19-31
Grace and peace to you dear friends in the Lord. Today is the 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C.
The readings of today are so rich and instructive. The First Reading is a warning to those who are comfortable and affluent but remain unconcerned about those suffering around them.
The Gospel of today is the very familiar parable of the rich man and Lazarus. I don’t need to repeat the parable for us. In this parable, we have much to learn. Jesus uses it to teach us that there is life after death and that the belief that everyone will eventually go to heaven is false. Where we shall go after death is being decided by the choices we make now. We learn that an elaborate funeral does not guarantee eternal joy. We also learn the need to be sensitive to the poor and those suffering around us, and of the danger of obstinacy in sin and refusing to heed the call to repentance. This parable also reminds us that sin is not only what we commit (commission) but also the good we fail to do (omission).
Today, however, I want us to focus on Lazarus. Normally, names are not given in parables, but in this one, Jesus gave the poor man a name – Lazarus. Some scholars argue this was not just a parable but a real story. The name Lazarus is the Hellenised form of the Hebrew Eleazar, which means ‘In God I trust’ or ‘God is my helper.’
So Lazarus was a man who trusted God, yet he was poor, sick, and covered with sores, eating scraps. Today’s homily is for someone who trusts God and yet is going through hard times.
Lazarus endured seeing a man who had no faith in God enjoying the pleasures of life while he himself was wasting away. Do you know the feeling of watching someone who does not believe in God living better than you?
Lazarus endured the pain of being mocked because of his faith: If your God is kind and loving, why are you in a mess? He was a godly man in a miserable state.
Yet, in the midst of this, Lazarus trusted God and accepted his suffering without cursing Him or losing faith. Like Job, he could say, Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him (Job 13:15).
In the end, Lazarus’ fate was reversed. He suffered for a while in this life, but then he was healed, comforted, and made happy forever in the bosom of Abraham. He died in misery, but angels carried him away. The rich man, on the other hand, died in luxury, was buried with pomp, eulogies, food, and wine, yet his soul was in torment begging for a fingertip of water.
Lazarus did not get to heaven because he was poor; he got there because of his attitude to suffering. He accepted it graciously, without losing faith in God, and hoped for eternal consolation.
There is much to say about the mystery of suffering, but let us keep it simple:
A. Your sickness, suffering, or hardship is not because God has forsaken you or does not care. God’s love does not free us from suffering; His love strengthens us in suffering.
B. There is a purpose and a plan in your pain. God is doing something through your suffering. It may not make sense now, but it will eventually.
C. Every suffering of a child of God is short-lived and will one day come to an end, giving way to eternal comfort. It is better to endure suffering in this life and know eternal joy in the next. Many of us will get to heaven only through purifying suffering (Acts 14:22).
D. Let us not allow our suffering to come between us and God. No matter what life throws at us, we must fight the good fight, pursue righteousness, and keep the faith (Second Reading). If we lose our faith, we have lost the battle. When we stop trusting God because of suffering, our pain loses its eternal value. That is why in suffering, the devil’s greatest target is our faith. Faith in hardship, trust in pain, and praise in trials are what give eternal meaning to our suffering.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, through the power of the Holy Spirit, strengthen us in whatever we are going through now. And as You comfort us in our trials, may we also comfort others with the same strength we have received from You. Amen.
Sermon preached by Fr Emmanuel Baraka-Gukena Okami on September 28, 2025