I see you. I know your face.

Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time September 24 & 25, 2022

Am 6:1a, 4-7 Ps 146:7, 8-9, 9-10 1 Tm 6:11-16 Lk 16:19-31

In our Gospel reading today, why does Jesus give us the name of the poor person, Lazarus, but not of the Rich man? And why is it that Jesus chose to use the name of Lazarus for the poor person in his parable? I don’t believe either of these is by chance.

To help us uncover the answer to these questions, I want to share with you two phrases from a coupe of my favorite movies, as well as a story about Saint Mother Teresa.

In the movie Avatar the Na’vi greet each other with the words “I see you.” This greeting goes beyond a simple hello and the meaning is more than I physically see you. The words mean I truly see who you are, all of you, your essence, the goodness inside of your soul, and I understand that we are connected. It is very personal and relational.

In the Lord of the Rings, King Theoden says “I know your face” to his niece Eowyn, and with these words he expresses all the love he has for her and acknowledges their relationship and bond that they shared.

As part of our human dignity, it is important to be seen, to be known. Yet in this parable about the rich man and Lazarus, the rich man does not even acknowledge the existence of Lazarus until it is too late. But it is not just Lazarus that he does not see or acknowledge.

We are all created in the image and likeness of God, and with that we posses his divine nature in us. We are a part of him, and he is a part of us. Jesus even exclaims that whatever we do to least of these we do to him.

When I share about being made in the image and likeness of God, I often like to refer to two key dimensions. First that God is love, and we are created by love for love, to love and to be loved. Second that God is communal, three persons Father, Son, and Holy Spirit living in a communion of love with each other, and a such we too are meant to be in community with each other.

Now many years ago I was at a Confirmation Retreat Rally at Our Lady of the Snows, and one of the presenters shared a story about a friend of his who dreamed of being able to work with Mother Teresa. So he decided to save up his money and plan a trip to India. On the day he arrived at the Convent he was told Mother Teresa had left for a trip to the US. He was disappointed, but he chose to stay in the guest house do volunteer work while he was there. On his last day there was a knock at the door of the guest house and when he went to answer it, there was Mother Teresa looking up at him, and she said, so I heard you came to visit because you wished to work with me. Come let’s go, and they went out into the streets of Calcutta and in one of the alleys they came across a skinny elderly person laying in his own filth. She told him to pick him up, so he stretched out his arms and pulled down his sleeves, got down and picked up the man carefully, and then carried him back with arms extended trying not to get himself dirty. On their return they entered a bathing room and Mother Teresa asked him to bath the man. So he filled the tub with water. As he was undressing the man, he realized he could not avoid getting dirty. Then he gently place the man in the water and it quickly turn black, and he had to draw a fresh bath. As he began to gently bath the man, he no longer saw the same filthy person he picked up from the alley, but instead he saw the face of Christ. When he was finished, Mother Teresa looked up at him and said: “you saw Him didn’t you?” And he nodded yes.

How awesome would it be if we were to great each other with these words “I see you, I know your face” and truly recognize that we are encountering Christ himself. And not just with the people we know, our family and friends, but with all we encounter.

The rich man in the parable dressed in purple garments and fine linen did not want to get himself dirty or defile himself and simply chose to ignore poor Lazarus lying at his door. It is all too easy to turn our eyes and pretend we do not see the needs of those around us. And by doing so, we deny ourselves the opportunity to encounter Christ in a profound way.

The name Lazarus is a Greek name derived from the Hebrew Eleazar, which means God will help, God has helped, God is my help.

In neglecting to see, to know, and to acknowledge Lazarus, the rich man ignored God himself and denied himself the very help he needed to enter the very place where Lazarus went.

Let us not be like the rich man in the Gospel, nor like the complacent in Zion in the first reading from Amos. Rather let us pursue righteousness, devotion, faith, love, patience and gentleness as Paul exclaims in his letter to Timothy. Let us give honor and glory to our Lord Jesus Christ, by recognizing him in the Lazarus of our time. Let us look at them, and at one another, with love and compassion and say: I see you, I know your face!