Church of the
Annunciation

A law professor at the University of Chicago, where President Obama once taught, recently complained on his blog about how letting the Bush tax cuts expire would be difficult for his family. His wife is a doctor and their income is over $250,000. He mentioned he has to pay for taxes, student loans, a mortgage, 2 cars, a nanny and lawn service. His blog went viral in the blogosphere without endearing much sympathy. He seemed clueless to the plight of the common man. In our Gospel Jesus tells the story of Lazarus, a poor beggar, and a rich man who feasts splendidly without ever noticing Lazarus. When they both die, Lazarus rests in the bosom of Abraham and the rich man is in a place of torment in the netherworld. Between the two there is such a chasm – so great that they could only see and talk across. The rich man, even in death, does not recognize the dignity of Lazarus. The unnamed rich man (only in the Latin Vulgate is he given the name "Dives" meaning "wealth") pleads with Abraham to use Lazarus as a water boy and then as a messenger to warn his brothers. Dignity for both comes not from what they possess or do not possess but is God given – inherent in them as human beings. While in death there is a great divide, in life we can reach across the abyss by living with empathetic awareness and compassion for others. Eucharist is the place where we meet as equals before God and as brothers and sisters in Christ. Bound in covenant love, the gap is bridgeable.