Homily Notes: 27th Sunday/ “ Sins of Omission and a Man of Courage” 2019
27th Sunday/ “ Sins of Omission and a Man of Courage”
When we think of sin, we think of an evil act we choose to commit. We steal something. We lie. We curse. We engage in sexual activity outside of marriage. We think of sin in those terms. But there is another type of sin that is just as harmful.
In the parable we read today, we hear about two men who are very passive. Lazarus never seems to move. He lays at the gate of a rich man. He has an interesting name which probably says it all. Lazarus means, “He whom God helps.” Lazarus does not ask for help. He is so inert that the stray dogs on the street come to lick at his wounds.
When he dies, he goes from lying in the street to lying on the bosom of Abraham. Even as enjoys eternal life, he doesn’t say a word. He simply lets Abraham do the talking. His poverty leads to his salvation. Was he a good man in his life? Was he an evil man in his life? We are left to wonder. All we know is that he was a man who was the poorest of the poor. The religious people of Jesus’ time would have believed that he must be a sinner because only sinners ended up sick and poor. Afflictions were divine punishment.
The other man is the rich man. He also doesn’t really do anything either. He doesn’t go out of his way to hurt Lazarus. He probably walks by him every day. He simply ignores him. He shuts Lazarus out, closing his gate to him. Even in death the rich man is passive. He begs Abraham to send Lazarus with water. He asks that his brothers be warned so that they don’t end up in the same place as he has. He doesn’t try to help himself.
What we notice is, that the rich man’s sin isn’t one he commits. No, it is a sin of omission. Some of the biggest sins in the history of the world were and are sins of omission. People can be cowards in the face of evil.
After WWII a German Lutheran pastor named Martin Niemoller wrote a poem reflecting on the sins of omission he committed in Nazi Germany in the 1930’s and 40’s. He, along with most of the religious establishment didn’t confront the evil of the Third Reich. Most of them just hoped that it wasn’t as bad as they suspected. Niemoller wrote the following about the Nazis:
First, they came for the Communists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Communist
Then they came for the Socialists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Socialist
Then they came for the trade unionists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a trade unionist
Then then they came for the Jews
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Jew
Then then came for me
And there was no one left
To speak out for me
Of course, the Nazis came and took the gypsies, the homosexuals, the mentally challenged, religious leaders and others murdering them in concentration camps. The silence in the face of these atrocities by the general population led to millions of deaths.
On October 20th we will remember a different type of war hero at Sacred Heart. We will remember a brave man named Cardinal Desire’ Mercier, who did speak out during the WWI. We don’t normally hear of the atrocities of WWI. When Germany invaded Belgium in 1914 thousands of Belgium civilians were slaughtered. 700,000 were deported to slave labor in Germany. Most people were allowed to starve. The intent of the Germans was to annex Belgium making it part of Germany. We would label this ethnic cleansing today. Cardinal Mercier wrote a letter called Patriotism and Endurance that he ordered read from all the pulpits of Catholic Churches in Belgium. His words strengthened his people in the face of the horrors of modern war. He also wrote to foreign governments demanding they act. He has been said to be the Dali Lama of his time. He might have been executed for his actions. He spoke out anyway. His appealed to the people to hold on to their faith in God. The people did. After the War, he came to the US on tour. He came to Moline because of the large Belgium population. He was greeted by thousands of people as he blessed the cornerstone of this church.
In a way, we can say that Sacred Heart is a monument to those who resist oppression and the abuse of power. Sins of omission are not more virtuous than sins of commission. We have many Lazarus’ laying at the gates of our lives. We remember today how we choose to act toward them determines what kind of nation we are and what kind of Christians we are.
Please note: rought draft...grammar may not be perfect.