Lazarus and the Rich Man

Today's gospel was the story of the poor man, Lazarus, and the rich man dressed in purple robes, who stepped over Lazarus every day when he walked outside his home. Lazarus was covered with sores and only the dogs cared enough to tend to him by licking the sores on his body. Lazarus had nothing, and would have been happy to fill himself with even the scraps from the rich man's table. It is a story to remind us of our sins of omission. Jesus said that the poor would always be with us. But, do we see the poor as we go through the daily motions of life?

He is not only speaking of the monetarily poor who need our financial help (more than 56% of the world's population live on less than $2 a day), but He is also referring to the other types of poor we have among us. Do we occasionally take time to talk to the lonely widow down the street? Do we give a ride to the handicapped child who cannot walk all the way to Mass by himself or are we too proud to lower ourselves to do this? Do we teach the faith to someone who does not have access to a catechism?

We will be held accountable one day for the sins of ommission that we commit in our lifetimes. God will remind us that we had the prophets and the Scriptures to teach us these things, yet we chose to make our own rules or let our own comfort get in the way. Are we going to step over Lazarus like the rich man did and one day see Lazarus in heaven from afar as we suffer in eternal fire? Or are we going to serve our brothers here on this earth by stopping at Lazarus' side and assisting him because this is what we heard Jesus say in the gospel? Will we then join Lazarus in eternal bliss with our Lord one day?