By Msgr. Joseph Prior • Posted September 26, 2025

(See the readings for the 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time)

While in high school I came across a poster from a home missionary community that portrayed a small child who looked somewhat desolate. He was a young child of 5 or 6 years old. His clothing was old and worn. He was standing on a dirt road in front of a run-down shack that was his Appalachian home. In his hand was a bowl of food which looked like gruel. At the bottom of the poster is the saying “God doesn’t make junk.”

More recently I saw another photograph. This was a photograph of Pope Francis holding up a drawing that was made by a little girl. She drew herself. She was in a large boat packed with people. The boat was taking in water and was starting to go under. The girl drew a bubble coming from her mouth like a cartoon to capture her words. The words were: “Help us, help us, help us.”

Perhaps those photographs might give us a “color commentary” on Jesus’ parable in this Sunday’s Gospel. The parable is a poignant call to charity.

The rich man chose to live in blissful ignorance. He chose to ignore not only the plight of poor Lazarus, but Lazarus himself. Jesus powerfully tells us that Lazarus sat by the gate of the rich man’s house. Why there? What is the significance of the location? It seems that Jesus places him there because there is no excuse for the rich man not to see Lazarus. He has every opportunity for every time he goes in or comes out of the house, there is Lazarus.

As the story progresses the now deceased rich man is in torment because of his willful ignorance. He begs that someone should warn his family. Then comes the stark reality: “If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead.”

Jesus is offering this parable to the Pharisees. This group enjoyed a not-so-prestigious reputation for ignoring the plight of the less fortunate. Yet the words Jesus speaks are not just for the Pharisees.

The words remain a challenge to all of us. Who are the Lazaruses in our day? Are they the homeless? Are they the sick who have no one to care for them? Are they the undocumented immigrant or their children? Are they the unemployed? Are they the lonely? Are they the hungry? Are they the uneducated? Are they the refugees? Are they the starving?

With the advent of modern communications, our world is getting smaller and smaller. Are they the starving in Gaza? Are they the occupied in Ukraine? Are they the victims of gang violence in Haiti?

The concern for the poor and needy find an earlier voice in Israel through the prophets. Amos minces no words when he confronts the rich men of his day: “Woe to the complacent in Zion! Lying upon beds of ivory, stretched comfortably on their couches, they eat lambs taken from the flock, and calves from the stall! Improvising to the music of the harp, like David, they devise their own accompaniment. They drink wine from bowls and anoint themselves with the best oils; yet they are not made ill by the collapse of Joseph! Therefore, now they shall be the first to go into exile, and their wanton revelry shall be done away with.”

While some people heeded the prophetic voice, others did not. It is the same in Jesus’ day. In the parable Jesus uses, the rich man begs Abraham to let him go and warn his brothers. Abraham replies, “They have Moses and the prophets. Let them listen to them.”

The rich man then says, “Oh no, father Abraham, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.” Abraham replies, “If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead.” The interchange is an alert for us. Not everyone will heed the call, but we should.

In the parable Jesus points ahead to the cross with a reference to rising from the dead. In his passion, he became the poorest of the poor. He gives completely of himself. He surrenders his freedom when arrested. He hands over his body when tortured. He hands over his pride when ridiculed. He hands over his dignity when stripped naked. He hands over his life when he breathes his last.

Jesus identifies with the poor and calls us to see himself in them, for “God doesn’t make junk.”

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Msgr. Joseph Prior is pastor of Our Lady of Grace Parish, Penndel, and a former professor of Sacred Scripture and rector of St. Charles Borromeo Seminary. Read more reflections by Msgr. Joseph Prior here.