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I love how honest children are. They have no fear of telling the truth or crying when they’re unhappy.

We’ve all been there. If a parent or teacher tried making us do something we didn’t want to do, we’d protest – and pout.

For example, when I was a kid, if I got a bad grade on a math test, I’d refuse to do it over again, saying, “I’m not going to do that dumb assignment again.” 

As if refusing to learn somehow punished my teacher, my school, and math itself.

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How many kids still behave that way at home? “I’m not eating my vegetables! I’m not doing my homework! I not breathing until I faint!”

When in reality, vegetables keep us healthy…homework makes us smarter…and breathing keeps us alive.

When children pout, we don’t lose out; they do.

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But we adults can do the very same thing; only we pout about bigger issues. 

For example, when our marriage goes awry, our job seems unrewarding, or someone we love is diagnosed with cancer, who gets the blame?

Most often it’s God.

As if he’s the mastermind behind our suffering. “I’m not praying anymore! I’m not going to Church! I refuse to believe!”

In such cases, it’s not God who loses out; we do.

When we clinch our fists and close our hearts, we lose the opportunity for God’s grace and comfort. Just as a parent cannot console a pouting toddler, so God cannot console us if we turn away from him.

It’s a hard thing to accept – God doesn’t prevent us from suffering or making poor choices; but he is willing to console us – and open new doors when we need them most.

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Just consider the prophet Habakkuk in our first reading.

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Habakkuk lived in very dark days. Like the residents in the Bahamas who lost everything in Hurricane Dorian some weeks ago, Habakkuk’s hometown was also destroyed. 

Only it wasn’t a hurricane that caused it; a foreign army invaded Jerusalem, burning many peoples’ homes to the ground. Families were separated – many were killed or sent into slavery.

Seeing such destruction made it tempting to give up the faith – to close up inside and say, “God isn’t here.”

As if God would be the loser when we pout.

But that’s not what Habakkuk does. He pours his heart out to God, saying, “How long, O Lord? How long? I cry for help but you do not listen! I cry to you, ‘Violence!’ But you do not intervene.”

Yes, things look bleak.

But Habakkuk still trusts that God will come to his aid.

Though we don’t hear it today, Habakkuk ends his prayer with the words, “I will rejoice in the Lord and exalt in my saving God. God my Lord is my strength.”

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That’s faith the size of a mustard seed.

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It’s the type of faith that Jesus praises in the Gospels. It’s the one who doesn’t give up when things look bleak; rather, they pray and wait for another door to open.

Like the prophet Habakkuk, where am I being invited to trust? Or where do I need another door to open?

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“Ask and you shall receive,” Jesus says, “seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened to you.”

But we cannot pout. Rather, we need faith the size of a mustard seed, faith that hopes in times of trial and waits for God to do the rest.

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How many of us remember the old tv sitcom, Cheers?

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Hard to believe it’s been 25 years since the show began. Can you visualize Sam, Woody, Carla, Cliff and Diane all gathered around the bar? 

There’s something incredibly comforting about pouring out your troubles with friends – perhaps over a pint or two.

It’s something we seem to do less of today; instead of enjoying friendship face-to-face, we stare at our iPhones.

Yet we know that soothing feeling of being with buddies.

Perhaps that’s why the theme song was so catchy:

“Sometimes you wanna go where everybody knows your name, and they’re always glad you came. You wanna be where you can see the troubles are all the same. You wanna go where everybody knows your name.”

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That song has been playing in my head all week. Sorry if it’s now in yours!

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Speaking of everybody knowing your name, this is the only parable in the Gospels when Jesus mentions a character by name.

Think of the parable of the Prodigal Son, for example. There are no names given; only the father, the older brother, and the younger brother. 

But today Jesus names this man covered in sores, Lazarus. Why?

To show that God knows who he is. The Lord watches him suffer; he feels his hunger; he’s counted every sore on his body. 

Lazarus is the epitome of the poor on earth; in worldly standards, he is the loser.

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How many others in our world could be named Lazarus?

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They’re hungry, cold, stateless – they cry out to God for help – but it seems like nothing happens.

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Remember the other half of the parable.

God hears the cry of Lazarus, but he relies unsuccessfully upon this nameless rich man who’s covered – not with sores – but with silk.

That’s why the rich man is condemned – not because he’s rich but because he’s selfish. He watches Lazarus suffer – and does nothing.

Remember, Jesus never condemns having money; he condemns hoarding it. He condemns selfishness.

Like the nameless rich man, am I ever selfish with money or material things? And more importantly, am I ever selfish with my time?

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Time can be even harder to part with than money.

We live in a society where people find it easier to write a check than get their hands dirty.

It isn’t that we’re indifferent to the poor; often enough, we’re too busy or too distracted with the daily grind to get involved.

Yet we know that money won’t solve every problem. What each person needs – even more than money – is love.

Like the sitcom Cheers, we need to be known by name.

That’s why physical contact with the poor is so important. We’re relational beings; we need human touch. We need to feel loved by someone.

Think of Mother Teresa. 

She dedicated her entire life to bathing the wounds of people like Lazarus and still came to the conclusion that the greatest poverty is not an empty stomach; it’s being unwanted – or feeling unloved.

In that sense, there are far more impoverished than the physically poor in our world. As a recent survey tells us, large numbers of Americans feel increasingly isolated. 

Being lonely is another form of being Lazarus; it’s an epidemic.

How many of us, then, are Lazarus?

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This is where the Gospel challenges us – not only to alleviate physical poverty; but also to be aware of people’s emotional and spiritual needs.

We must care for the mind, the body, and the soul.

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It’s been said to get into heaven, we all need a letter of reference from the poor.

May we find the Lazarus among us – love them, serve them, and know them by name. 

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King Herod has made some horrible choices – the worst being his decision to behead John the Baptist, a decision he made while he was drunk.

But the Gospel tells us that even after John’s death, Herod “kept trying to see him.”

Even though he challenged him, Herod was intrigued by John.

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This back and forth reveals Herod was a deeply conflicted man.

Part of him was rooted in his desire for power and self-survival. Yet another part of him questioned if there might be more to life than the throne.

Even the possibility of rising from the dead.

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That to me is where so many people in our world are at.

They’re drawn to the visible things of this world – money, power, success – yet they’re intrigued by the idea of something more to life.

Our job is to be like John the Baptist – to teach them the truth even at great personal cost.

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But, as Saint Francis of Assisi once said, “Preach always. When necessary use words.”

How, then, can we convert people around us – not through words, but by our actions?