“…our brothers in God, whether you like it or not…” -St. Gregory of Nazianzus

“May choirs of angels welcome you…where Lazarus is poor no longer.” At the funerals of all faithful Catholics, this is what we sing, that the poor man of Luke’s gospel will welcome us (Lk 16:19-31). Because we’ve not been so damnably foolish like the rich man Jesus said would never enter heaven.

But, of course, we should be clear: it’s not because he was rich that he went to hell. It’s not his wealth which damned him. Rather, it’s that in his life he never even saw Lazarus; it’s that in his life he never recognized the poor. Instead, he ignored them. He refused to make the poor his friends. Jesus said, “make friends for yourselves with dishonest wealth, so that when it fails, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings” (Lk 16:9). This is precisely what the rich man in Luke’s gospel didn’t do, and it’s why Jesus says he’s in hell and can’t get out. Because since he didn’t want to be friends with the poor in this life, he shouldn’t be friends with them in the next. It’s a dire warning, frightening, but Jesus meant what he said.

And so, the lesson is simple: we must make friends with the poor, our brothers and sisters in God whether we like it or not, to echo St. Gregory of Nazianzus. It’s not possessing wealth that’s the problem; it’s what we do with our wealth that’s the challenge. Jesus bids us to use our wealth to make friends with the poor. He insists that our ethics on earth will have consequences beyond it, that how we live on earth will be ratified in heaven—or hell as the case may be, as this haunting parable suggests.

But don’t be afraid. Don’t feel judged. Instead, rejoice in your friendships; rejoice in the good you’ve done with the blessings you’ve received. If you need to do better, then do better. But always rejoice in what God’s given you to do, and that’s to make friends with the poor and to begin heaven today simply by seeing those in need around you and loving them as friends.

Be friends with everyone you see.