Lk 16:19-31 Lazarus and Peggy

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Jesus said to the Pharisees:  “There was a rich man who dressed in purple garments and fine linen and dined sumptuously each day.  And lying at his door was a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who would gladly have eaten his fill of the scraps…When the poor man died, he was carried away…to the bosom of Abraham.  The rich man also died and was buried, and from the netherworld, where he was in torment, he raised his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side…”

When someone starts to concentrate on just their body, they typically end up being a jerk.  It’s as if the protein enzymes responsible for muscle growth are the same that makes one’s head explode!

A looong time ago, back in the 1970’s, there was a little girl in 6^th grade named Peggy (that’s not her real name).  She was a sweet little girl that happened to be a bit overweight.  Many boys in my class would call her names, like "Piggy".  I’m sure I was one of them.  Like all immature boys often do, we focused our attention on one thing only:  her body.  We never paid much attention to the fact that Peggy was extremely intelligent, extremely funny and always seemed to be very happy.  Now, I don’t know about you, but it seems to me that those who are slightly plump tend to have the characteristic of being able to laugh at themselves and with others, and to do it all with ease!  (What a gift to one’s character!)

Anyways, this all changed in 7^th grade. 

When we came back to school after summer recess, our jaws fell to the ground and we could hardly believe our eyes.  Peggy was four inches taller and slim!  I have to say, she was stunningly beautiful.  She had grown in height and that’s all she needed to do.  Her weight was now perfect for her body.  Her height was perfect.  Her body was perfect, at least in the eyes of all the boys in 7^th grade.   

But unfortunately, her body affected her brain! 

Teens:  Do you allow your body to affect your attitude?  Do you allow your body to affect your brains?  Do you change when your body begins to change?  Have you noticed your morals, your values and your ideas changing as you get more and more stares?

Unfortunately, Peggy was no longer a straight A student.  Looking back at it, I am convinced she faked being so stupid so as to stand side by side with the rest of the girls (and most of us boys).  She was no longer funny.  She was very serious.  She was very serious on getting a reputation for herself and casting aside her past to create a dark new future.  She had more boyfriends in one year than I could count on my hands and feet.  She went through boys like she went through the corridors.  And of course, the boys enjoyed every minute of it.  Now, instead of calling her Piggy, they just called her a "pig".

By the time we all entered High School, Peggy was already one lost soul. 

As there is a strange correlataion between one’s body and one’s attitude, there's also a strange relationship between wealth and sight.  It seems as though the wealthier we are the blinder we get.  And I don’t mean “blind” with regards to others miseries.  I mean blind to one’s own misery!  Wealthy people tend to be miserable people, and yet we never think of them as being miserable because we never talk about anything other than their wealth!  And if we don't measure anything other than their wealth, then wealthy people must be successful people, right?   How convenient!  How wrong! 

We talk a lot about how much longer we - Americans - are living.  But we never talk about how miserable we are!  And I don’t think we want to, because if we did, then we would need to talk about the collapse of the family, and most of us don’t really want to go there.  We don’t want to examine how the “Modern Family” typically abandons (or does not even know) their elderly parents and grandparents; or how broken marriages, multiple wives and a bunch of half-brothers and sisters weaken family bonds.  We do not want to talk about how our elderly and children feel alone, abandoned and betrayed; and we definitely don’t want to talk about how the rate of STD’s has nearly doubled in recent years among them (Yes, among the elderly as well!).

Yes, we enjoy pounding our chests and reminding the world of our average income.  But what we don’t want to do is talk about how millions of us are getting sick by spending our young lives sitting down; or even how our pets, let alone our children, are getting more and more obese.  (I'm afraid height will not change this serious problem!) 

We prefer to look in the direction of Africa, give a big sigh of anguish, and roll up our sleves to help them.  But what we don't want to do is see how maybe they can help us…before it's too late for us!  Let's start looking in their direction, not just for food, music and athletes, but for so much more (like honoring and respecting the elderly and family).

The rich man said to Abraham, “I beg you, father, send him to my father’s house, for I have five brothers, so that he may warn them, lest they too come to this place of torment.  But Abraham replied, “They have Moses and the prophets.  Let them listen to them.”  He said, “Oh no, father Abraham, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.”  Then Abraham said, “If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead.”

We read a lot of newspapers.  We watch a lot of news.  We enjoy a lot of TV programs.  We collect a lot of data and listen to what so-called experts have to say.  But have our families gotten better?  Have our children become mentally stronger?  Have people become wiser and more honest? 

Will we ever listen to what God has to say?

Resolution:  I will trust in God's Word, God's Commandments and God's love more than in human beings.