SUNDAY REFLECTIONS | 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time
By Social Communications Ministry
Published on September 28, 2025
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 that fell from the rich man’s table. Dogs even used to come and lick his sores. When the poor man died, he was carried away by angels 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. And he cried out, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me. Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am suffering torment in these flames.’ Abraham replied, ‘My child, remember that you received what was good during your lifetime while Lazarus likewise received what was bad; but now he is comforted here, whereas you are tormented. Moreover, between us and you a great chasm is established to prevent anyone from crossing who might wish to go from our side to yours or from your side to ours.’ He said, ‘Then 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.’”
In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells a story that is both vivid and unsettling—the story of a rich man and a poor man named Lazarus. The contrast between them could not be greater: one lives in luxury, the other in misery. Yet, the difference that truly matters is not what they possessed, but how they lived before God and others.
The rich man is not condemned for being wealthy, but for being blind—blind to the suffering lying right outside his door. Lazarus was not far away; he was close enough to be seen, yet ignored. Day after day, the rich man feasted while the poor man starved within sight. His sin was not cruelty, but indifference. It is the sin of closing one’s heart to another’s pain.
When both men die, the situation is reversed. Lazarus is carried by angels to the comfort of Abraham’s bosom, while the rich man finds himself in torment, longing for mercy that he never showed. The “great chasm” that separates them in the afterlife reflects the spiritual chasm the rich man allowed to grow during his life—the distance he built between himself and compassion.
This parable is not simply about heaven and hell; it is about the urgency of conversion now. God continually places “Lazaruses” at our door—people who need our time, attention, and love. They may not always be materially poor; sometimes they are the lonely, the forgotten, the misunderstood. The question is: do we notice them, or have we grown too comfortable to care?
Abraham’s final words are striking: “They have Moses and the prophets; let them listen to them.” The message is clear—God has already given us all we need to live rightly: His Word, His truth, His call to love. We don’t need miracles to convince us, only open hearts willing to act on what we already know.
Today’s Gospel challenges us to reflect: Who is the Lazarus at my gate? Have I ignored someone’s suffering because it was inconvenient or uncomfortable? Am I using what God has given me—my time, resources, and compassion—for the good of others?
