Are We Separated By A Thin Membrane Or A Wide Chasm?

Today’s post is from Sr. Donna McGartland, a regular contributor to Bondings 2.0 and one of the authors in Love Tenderly: Sacred Stories of Lesbian and Queer Religious published by New Ways Ministry.

Today’s liturgical readings for the Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time can be found here.

A few years ago, my sister and a very close friend passed away within days of each other.  I remember journaling during that time, trying to make sense of my world without them. I soon discovered they were and always would be very present to me. It felt like there was a very thin membrane that separated this world and then next, a layer that became thinner as I connected with those who had gone before.  Some days, this layer feels almost non-existent knowing the presence of so many continues to be with me. 

I think of this image of a thin membrane as I reflect on the gospel for today.  It centers around two very different persons:  an unnamed “rich man” and a poor person named Lazarus which means ‘God has helped.’ A gate divides them into two very distinct economic and social classes. 

I invite you to reflect on how you are represented in this parable. I suspect we are both the Rich Man and Lazarus. It is easy to see myself, as an LGBTQ+ person, as longing to be accepted and fed at the table of others.  It is much harder to accept myself as one who has failed to see and reach out to another. 

There are several distinct divisions described by Luke that could’ve been bridged in this life.

 After death, the separation of the two worlds can be a thin membrane with those we have loved in life.  But for those we have ignored, scorned, and hated, the gate that could have been so easily opened in this world to invite a relationship with the other becomes a chasm that cannot be crossed.

Here in the U.S., I fear that gates are being replaced by impermeable walls as the tolerance of others is transformed into hatred and violence. After Charlie Kirk was killed, the New York Times headline read, “After Kirk Killing, Americans Agree on One Thing: Something is Seriously Wrong.” This parable speaks to that reality. 

In a blog post in July 2024, I reflected about “Living on the Edge of the Inside.” I challenged all of us as LGBTQ+ persons and allies to recognize how important our perspective is from the edge so that we can effect change of the whole and widen our acceptance of each other. 

I still believe that we are called to challenge the status quo and to invite others to recognize and celebrate the value of every person regardless of their race, creed, sexual orientation, gender identity, etc.  However, I’m becoming increasingly concerned that, as gates become walls and tolerance of others is transformed into elimination of diversity, we are creating chasms in this world that can no longer be crossed. 

In today’s parable, Jesus is not demanding a utopian society where all are equal.  Instead, he is inviting us, through the presence of the rich person, to recognize the needs and presence of the other, to see them and invite them into our lives. Lazarus was not asking to be an equal.  He was asking for table scraps. He was asking simply to be seen and to have his basic needs met.  

I don’t think that the message of this parable is that God’s justice will be done in the next world.  I believe that the experience of the next world is reflected in our current reality.  We make choices now that can bridge our divisions.  We can open our eyes to see others who are different from us and we can choose to celebrate or at least acknowledge our diversity. The membrane between me and others can be as thin as I desire or it can be an uncrossable chasm.   

–Donna McGartland, OSF, September 27, 2025