Gospel Lk 16:19-31 Jesus said to the Pharisees: “There was a rich man who dressed in purple garments and fine linen and dined sumptuously each day. And lying at his door was a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who would gladly have eaten his fill of the scraps that fell from the rich man’s table. Dogs even used to come and lick his sores. When the poor man died, he was carried away by angels to the bosom of Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried, and from the netherworld, where he was in torment, he raised his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. And he cried out, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me. Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am suffering torment in these flames.’ Abraham replied, ‘My child, remember that you received what was good during your lifetime while Lazarus likewise received what was bad; but now he is comforted here, whereas you are tormented. Moreover, between us and you a great chasm is established to prevent anyone from crossing who might wish to go from our side to yours or from your side to ours.’ He said, ‘Then I beg you, father, send him to my father’s house, for I have five brothers, so that he may warn them, lest they too come to this place of torment.’ But Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the prophets. Let them listen to them.’ He said, ‘Oh no, father Abraham, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’ Then Abraham said, ‘If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead.’“ REFLECTION DIGGING THE GRAND CANYON Between you and us there is fixed a great abyss... Luke 16:26 Note that the rich mans dialogue with Father Abraham shows that he knew Lazarus by name (see Lk 16:24). This indicates that the rich man (traditionally called Dives) likely knew the poor man lying at his very door. Twice Dives asks Father Abraham to dispatch Lazarus to perform tasks that a servant boy would typically perform (Lk 16:24, 27). Possibly Dives regarded Lazarus as no more than a servant. Perhaps Dives occasionally sent Lazarus to run errands for him. If that is the case, he certainly took advantage of Lazarus as an occasional worker, but one without health care benefits. Eventually Lazarus stopped being healthy enough to be useful to Dives. At that point, the dogs paid more attention to Lazarus than did Dives. More tortuous than all else is the human heart (Jer 17:9). We men and women can become so hardened of heart that we think only of our needs and not of the needs of others. Is there anyone in our lives to whom we only pay heed if they can be of assistance to us? The great chasm separating Dives from Lazarus in Jesus parable did not just appear in the afterlife (Lk 16:26); Dives dug that abyss each day that he disregarded his fellow human beings during his lifetime. Though Lazarus lay at Dives door, it was as though he was on the other side of the Grand Canyon. If today you hear His voice, harden not your hearts (see Heb 3:7, 15). Prayer: Jesus, open my eyes to see all the times when I fail to pay attention to the needy and therefore to You (Mt 25:41-45). May charity be the root and foundation of my life (Eph 3:17). Promise: Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose hope is the Lord. Jer 17:7
Posted on: Thu, 20 Mar 2014 06:27:49 +0000
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