If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead. - Luke 16:31

In the first part of our Gospel reading for today Jesus talks about a rich man and a poor man named Lazarus. The rich man had everything he could ever wish for. All the material things that a normal person could ever desire for. But these material things blinded him from seeing what are the reason why did he ever had these blessings. One reason might be is that he was given these things to know God and to humble himself. He was given these things to see Him and thank Him for every little thing he received but what happened was he was selfish that he used all these blessings for himself This lead to blindness of seeing the existence of other people. What I mean about the existence of other people is the existence of the poor man, Lazarus. The rich man never saw that Lazarus was there in his doors and that he would only eat those pieces of food that would fell on the rich man’s table. The rich man never saw that Lazarus was sick, weak and dying near him because of the wealth that he has.

Come to think of it, there are so many “rich man” in our society today. Those people who are blinded of the these worldly materials and are never sensitive of poor people around them. One relevant issue that I could connect is the Pork Barrel Scam. Our government officials and some other wealthy people were too greedy even though they have much. They never saw that there are so many Filipino people who are dying because of nothing to eat, no shelter to live in, no medication and others. But more importantly, we ask ourselves, have we become the rich man? Were we not contented with what we have? Did we thank God for the blessings that we received even though we didn’t ask for it? Were we blinded by the earthly possessions that we have?

The second part of the Gospel reading is that when both of them died their positions in life were reversed. The rich man was suffering and Lazarus was sitting beside Abraham. Suffering from eternal flames, the rich man begs Abraham to save him but Abraham just reminded him that back then he was the one who had everything and Lazarus had nothing. The rich man accepted his fortune but tells Abraham to send Lazarus to tell his brothers that they might suffer as well if they continue what they do. Abraham replied that his brothers will be saved only if they listen to Moses and the prophets.

Here in the second part of the Gospel reading, it shows that sooner, in God’s time, if we are selfish of the things He has given us, it will all perish. God tells us that we should not be blinded by what we have because when we die, we can not bring all these earthly possessions with us. What matters is the good things that we are able to do while we are still alive. God also shows that those who are like Lazarus in our society today have a place in His kingdom.

Lastly, the most striking part of the Gospel for me are the words Abraham told the rich man. “If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead.” This line is somehow striking. Why? It is because the first time I read this line, the first thing that entered my mind is the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Come to think of the line, “neither will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead”. It is like the resurrection of our Lord. There are people who do not believe His resurrection. People were questioning how did He rose from the grave. Even his disciple St. Thomas doubted Him. The point is that, even though it was our Savior who rose from the dead, it will not be enough to make us change. What people wanted was concrete steps. People would believe through these definite things and Abraham emphasized them by the means of “Moses and the Prophets”. God knows that people wanted concrete things so He gave us Jesus through the crucifix which we can see, He gave us the Holy Bible for us to understand His word and believe in Him and the “most-est” important is the Holy Eucharist where we receive in our life the Body and Blood of Jesus, our Savior. These are our “Moses and prophets” nowadays and we should grasp every “Moses and the prophets” that God gave us. Let’s not also forget our daily prayer which is our only way to communicate with God.  

Everyday God calls us. He never stops calling us. There might be times that our ears our closed because of the world’s noise or blinded by our earthly belongings but there are these “Moses and prophets” that God has given to equip us. I believe that through taking full advantage of these concrete things that God gave us, we will be a step closer to a change of heart and most especially to Him. And at the end, we will believe and have a total grasp of His resurrection and we will be enriched in His glory.

Also in the first part, the rich man had no name while the poor man was named Lazarus. Come to think of it, the rich man was too general while the poor man was given so much emphasis and was named Lazarus. Who is Lazarus in your life? Ask yourself, did I see the existence of those Lazaruses in my life? Did I ever see the concrete things and have taken full advantage of it or am I still blinded like the rich man?

- Aijay Castro