Have you ever had a moment when you felt yourself to be the underdog, and wished that there were some champion who would come and defend your cause? Today, we see God described in those terms. Our psalm tells us that the Lord “raises up those who are bowed down,” that he “protects strangers,” and “the fatherless and the widow he sustains.” But God doesn’t stop there. He wants us to become champions for the poor. Notice that our Gospel reading depicts the poor man named Lazarus in such a way that we cannot help but feel compassion for him.

As Catholics we understand that none of our actions are truly isolated. Every virtue we practice or sin we commit affects others because we are all members of the body of Christ. Today’s readings from the Old and New Testaments highlight our interconnectedness and offer guidance for how to order the life of the community according to God’s will. The key to tranquil communal life is to consider the needs of others as important as our own. In the first reading, the prophet Amos decries those who exploit the poor for personal gain, putting profit over the common good.

Although God had freed our ancestors in faith from their slavery in Egypt, today we find them grumbling against the Lord as they wander in the desert. Even after we’ve glimpsed so much of God’s goodness, we, too, can begin to grumble in challenging moments of our lives. It’s precisely then that we need to cling to faith. After serpents appeared and began to bite those who had grumbled against God, those who had been bitten only had to look at the serpent mounted on a pole and put their faith in God once again to be healed.

I am particularly struck by this line from Solomon’s prayer in today’s first reading from the Book of Wisdom: “Or who ever knew your counsel, except you had given wisdom and sent your holy spirit from on high?” Solomon doesn’t seem to be seeking direct answers to the questions he presents today, but rather, uses them as a sort of poem of praise to honor God in all his glory. In modern language, we could rephrase his questions: What do we know that God has not instilled into our minds? What wisdom do we have that was not infused by the Holy Spirit? There are many things that we cannot understand without the wisdom God gives us. May we, like Solomon, praise and thank God for this gift. Let us trust that where our feeble, corruptible humanity falters, our heavenly Father is our refuge in every age.