COMING CLOSE
Poor Lazarus is right there, dying of hunger «next to the gate», but the rich man avoids all contact and keeps living «splendidly» far from his suffering. He doesn’t go through that «gate» that would bring him close to the beggar. At the end he discovers in horror that there has opened between them an «immense chasm». This parable is Jesus’ most relentless criticism of our indifference in the face of human suffering.
Near us there are each day more and more immigrants. They aren’t «characters» in a parable. They are men and women of flesh and bone. They are here with their anguish, needs and hopes. They serve in our houses, walk through our streets. Are we learning to welcome them or do we keep living in our small wellbeing, indifferent to the suffering of those who turn out to be strangers to us? This indifference only disappears when we take steps that bring us closer to them.
We can begin by taking advantage of any occasion to treat some of them in a friendly and relaxed manner, and get to know close up their world of problems and aspirations. How easy it is to discover that all of us are sons and daughters of the same Earth and the same God.
It’s elemental to not laugh at their customs or make fun of their beliefs. These things are part of the depth of their being. Many of them have a meaning of life, of solidarity, of celebration or of welcome that would surprise us.
We must avoid all discriminatory language in order to not put down any color, race, belief or culture. It makes us more human to experience vitally the richness of diversity. The time has come to learn to live in the world as a «global village» or the «common home» of all.
They have defects, since they’re just like us. We must demand that they respect our culture, but we need to recognize their rights to documentation, work, housing or family reunion. And even more fight to break that «chasm» that today separates the rich peoples from the poor. There will be more and more strangers coming to live with us. It’s an occasion to learn to be more tolerant, more just and definitively more human.
José Antonio Pagola
Translator: Fr. Jay VonHandorf
