Church of the
Annunciation

Our St. Joseph Workers have installed security/safety lighting in the entrances to church. Now when I open the doors early in the morning my motion turns the lights on! I am at first startled but then comforted because I can find my way. St. Paul writes of Jesus coming in glory in “unapproachable light.” Light manifests God’s glory but light illuminates our lives – what we have done and what we have failed to do. Amos, the prophet, through his voice, sheds light on the luxurious living of landowners, merchants and the royal court as they recline on beds of ivory, listen to music and drink wine but ignore the plight of the poor and the peril facing Israel and Judah. Jesus brings a softer light to focus on the hypocrisy of the Pharisees by telling a parable of the rich man and poor Lazarus. The sin of the rich man is not being rich but his ignoring the suffering and poverty of poor Lazarus at his door. Pope Francis reminds us that we must be a church of and for the poor. Pope John Paul II speaking to affluent nations warned that on the Day of Judgment the "Lazaruses" of the world will stand and point their fingers at us for our failure to help them in their need. When Jesus comes in glory will we recognize him if he comes disguised as a migrant worker, or as a refugee fleeing Syria or as father from the Sudan struggling to settle his family in Western New York. The light of Christ can reveal our selfishness but also highlight our generosity and solidarity with the less fortunate. Afterlife in the parable reverses fortune. We are God’s children, brothers and sisters in Christ now and in the age to come.