![]() If we scrutinise this parable in depth, we grasp the richness of its details. He seeks only what is essential, and the result of his effort is to participate in the fullness of Life and Love forever. Lazarus, on the other hand, whose name means “God helps” is almost forced to confront and clash with the seriousness of life. However, on the Day of Judgment, the day when everything and everyone is unmasked and the truth emerges, his life turns out to be a radical failure, which can no longer be remedied. Tradition calls him Epulone/Dives that is, dedicated to banquets: his identity coincides with his illusory vice. The rich man is poor in love and deludes himself to fill the emptiness from within himself, devouring everything that falls under his gaze, living carefree, without taking life seriously. This Gospel parable is a vivid representation of this. This is the lifestyle of a serious person, a style that is a harbinger of joy, full of good for oneself and for others, even if marked by commitment, fatigue and, sometimes, adversity. The Pope reminds us: “Wherever he went, he sowed seeds of peace and walked alongside the poor, the abandoned, the infirm and the outcast, the least of his brothers and sisters” ( Fratelli Tutti, 2). The Apostle Paul echoes Amos in inviting those who belong to God to “strive for justice, piety, faith, charity, patience, meekness”. Only a clear awareness of what is true and good allows us to make right and life-enriching choices. The warning of the prophet Amos today is unequivocal: “woe to the carefree!” The fate of those who think they can take everything lightly is doomed to failure. ![]() Joy and seriousness, however, are not in opposition to each other on the contrary, one is generated by the other. One of the many contradictions of which we are unaware is that we often demand seriousness in others, but then we go on to believe we can abandon ourselves to superficiality and lightheartedness we do so with great gusto. Yet when we decide to entrust ourselves to a doctor or a teacher, when we have to pay a professional, when we are called to express our vote, one of the first qualities we look for in our interlocutor is his or her seriousness, that is, his or her reliability: after all something precious is at stake, if not our very life! We often go in search of jollity and lightheartedness. The idea that seriousness means sadness is quite widespread, and that any form of seriousness adds a heavy weight to our lives.
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