Wow, Jesus tells us a sobering story in today’s gospel. 

A rich man we hear dressed in fine linen 

Lives in luxury while poor Lazarus lies at his gate, 

Hungry, covered in sores, and longing for the scraps. 

But when they both die, the roles are reversed. 

The rich man finds himself in torment 

While Lazarus finds himself comforted 

At the side of Abraham. 

There’s a line in the gospel that stands out for me clearly. 

‘Between us and you, a great chasm has been put into place.’ 

Now Jesus isn’t trying to scare us in the story, 

But he wants to make sure that we are awake and aware. 

St. John Chrysostom once said, “the rich man is not condemned 

For being rich, but for not being merciful.” 

And that’s at the heart of today’s gospel. 

The sin is not luxury. 

It is indifference. Indifference. 

The chasm did not appear after death. 

You see, the rich man built it while he lived every day 

When he walked by Lazarus and chose to do nothing. 

Today, that chasm still exists. 

It’s between the housed and the unhoused, 

The comfortable and the forgotten. 

And we build a bridge or build a chasm every day 

By how we will respond to the suffering around us. 

So how do we build that bridge? 

Well, it starts with seeing, with listening, with caring, 

Because every Lazarus we pass is not just human. 

They are a child of God. 

And so today, these readings challenge us to ask: 

Who lies at our gates? 

Who do we pass without seeing? 

We don’t have to save the world, 

But we cannot ignore the person that is right in front of us. 

Mercy is not optional. 

It’s the measure by which we are judged. 

And as st. Teresa of calcutta once said, 

“If we have no peace, 

It’s because that we have forgotten 

We belong to each other.” 

We belong to each other. 

So let’s not wait for the chasm to become permanent. 

Let’s look around us. 

What are you seeing? 

Is there some chasm that you might bridge today 

With love, with compassion, with care? 

Even the smallest gesture, a simple prayer for the other, 

Does make a difference. 

Because, friends, Jesus is still walking among us 

In the face of every Lazarus 

That we might be tempted to overlook.