Twenty-Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time

There is probably no more chilling Gospel story about the lack of awareness of those in need than the story of the rich man and Lazarus. Wooed by the glitter and glitz of life, we can easily be distracted. In fact, we can even forget that we came from God and we are returning to God sooner than we think. The suggestion in the story is that in the end God will even things out if we don't make the efforts on our own. The rich man had plenty of comforts in life and took little notice of Lazarus' suffering. And so in the end, it was Lazarus who enjoys paradise while the rich man was in torment. The parable is a stark warning that our abundant blessings do not assure us of heaven.