Reflections on Luke 16:1-13

How different is Jesus' narration than what we read in our daily papers. There the rich and famous, the so-called 'beautiful paper' see their names printed daily. In Jesus' story the rich man is called only that while the poor man gets a name, Lazarus. We can assume that Jesus is not criticizing the rich man simply for his wealth but more for the fact that he doesn't even take note of the poor man begging at his doorstep. There are several points to the parable that could be explored, but a BBC News broadcast put the thought of EXCESS wealth into sharp focus. In the same broadcast we learned that there are people who have women's purses, handbags, that are so valuable that they can be used in Hong Kong as collateral for loans of tens of thousands of dollars. The scene shifts to the Bakar valley in Lebanon where thousands (did the commentator really say hundred thousand?) of children do heavy work daily in the fields picking crops for a very low wage. The heartbroken parents, refugees from the violence in Syria, must allow and watch this because it is the onnly source of income for the family. Lazarus tells the rich man that his brothers would not listen even to someone returning from the dead if their conscience wasn't moved by the Sacred Scriptures. What can we do? We can allow ourselves to be appalled by the injustices we see and then begin by looking carefully for the Lazaruses at our doorstep