Welcome to St. John the Baptist Church

In the time of the prophet Amos a few people enjoyed a superabundance of material goods. But it wasn’t the wealth itself that the prophet saw as problematic. Amos preached against the complacency that deafened the wealthy to the cries of the poor and prevented them from alleviating their suffering. Even worse, complacency blinded them to the ways in which their own habits of doing business, buying, and consuming goods contributed to the oppression of the needy on their doorsteps. 

In our own time Americans consume several times their share of the world’s natural resources, while millions of people cannot obtain basic necessities. On a global scale, as the rich get richer the poor get poorer. The high standard of living in one country, region, or social class almost always seems to come at the expense of extreme poverty in other countries, regions, or social classes. The scriptures for today urge us to change all that before it is too late. The letter to Timothy calls us to live in readiness for the “appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Timothy 6:14), when all will be judged and rewarded according to their deeds. No clearer illustration could be drawn than the parable Jesus tells us in today’s Gospel. Lazarus, the poorest of the poor, is rewarded with eternal comfort, while the complacent rich man finds himself in eternal torment. 

Those of us who live in comfort can’t afford to be complacent about the chasm between the rich and the poor. It was bad enough that the people of Amos’ time were deaf to the cries of the oppressed. We Christians have the added benefit of hearing the message from someone who rose from the dead. Today’s scriptures warn us to listen and repent. If we don’t ease Lazarus’ torment now, we must be prepared to suffer the consequences

Blessings, Fr. Sergio Lopez