March 11, 2004 - Thursday, 2nd Week of Lent

People Suffer. See Their Needs

Readings:
Jer 17:5-10; Ps 1:1-2, 3, 4 and 6; Lk 16:19-31

Introduction

Those who place their faith in themselves and in the means they possess are not open to God or God’s kingdom. They make themselves their own gods and adore what they have made. They adore the golden calf. They fail to see the needs of others, especially of the poor. Those who have more are not condemned because they have more, but because they don’s see the needs of those who have less. We must learn to see also the unspoken needs of the poor, especially of the humble, of those who dare not voice their poverty and distress.

Opening Prayer

Lord our God,
many of us never had it so good
and so we have become smug and self-satisfied,
happy in our own little world.
God, may our ears remain open to your word
and our hearts to you
and to our brothers and sisters.
Do not allow us to forget you,
or to place our trust in ourselves.
Make us restless for you
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Scripture Readings

First Reading: Jer 17:5-10

Thus says the LORD:
Cursed is the man who trusts in human beings,
who seeks his strength in flesh,
whose heart turns away from the LORD.
He is like a barren bush in the desert
that enjoys no change of season,
But stands in a lava waste,
a salt and empty earth.
Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD,
whose hope is the LORD.
He is like a tree planted beside the waters
that stretches out its roots to the stream:
It fears not the heat when it comes,
its leaves stay green;
In the year of drought it shows no distress,
but still bears fruit.
More tortuous than all else is the human heart,
beyond remedy; who can understand it?
I, the LORD, alone probe the mind
and test the heart,
To reward everyone according to his ways,
according to the merit of his deeds.

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 1:1-2, 3, 4 and 6

R (40:5a) Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.

Blessed the man who follows not
the counsel of the wicked
Nor walks in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the company of the insolent,
But delights in the law of the LORD
and meditates on his law day and night.
R Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.

He is like a tree
planted near running water,
That yields its fruit in due season,
and whose leaves never fade.
Whatever he does, prospers.
R Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.

Not so, the wicked, not so;
they are like chaff which the wind drives away.
For the LORD watches over the way of the just,
but the way of the wicked vanishes.
R Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.

Gospel Reading: Lk 16:19-31

Jesus said to his disciples, "Once there was a rich man who dressed in purple and fine linen and feasted every day. At his gate lay Lazarus, a poor man covered with sores, who longed to eat just the scraps falling from the rich man's table. Even dogs used to come and lick his sores. It happened that the poor man died and angels carried him to take his place with Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. From hell where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham afar off, and with him Lazarus at rest.

"He called out: 'Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus with the tip of his finger dipped in water to cool my tongue, for I suffer so much in this fire.'

"Abraham replied: 'My son, remember that in your lifetime you were well-off while the lot of Lazarus was misfortune. Now he is in comfort and you are in agony. But that is not all. Between your place and ours a great chasm has been fixed, so that no one can cross over from here to you or from your side to us.'

"The rich man implored once more: 'Then I beg you, Father Abraham, to send Lazarus to my father's house where my five brothers live. Let him warn them so that they may not end up in this place of torment.' Abraham replied: 'They have Moses and the prophets. Let them listen to them.' But the rich man said: 'No, Father Abraham. But if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.'

"Abraham said: 'If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the grave.'"

Commentary

THIS story is about the rich man, not about Lazarus. If it were about Lazarus, it would end with a recommendation to the poor to be patient in their poverty because a great reward was waiting for them "in Abraham's bosom" (that is, at his right hand). Luke is the most socially aware of the gospel-writers, and this story is definitely about the rich man. He composed this story especially for the Pharisees "who loved money." The story had even more punch in its original context: for many centuries in the Old Testament the belief was that riches were a sign of God's favor and poverty a sign of disfavor. The story is therefore one of the most revolutionary in the Bible.

Traditionally the rich man in the story has been called Dives. But this is just the Latin word for "rich"; in the story he has no name. This is true to life. Rich people tend to find their identity in their possessions and in their ranking among the rich. They are seen (and often they see themselves) just as owners. This makes their very existence depend on the stock-market: a shaky basis. "The only truly free man lives under the bridge!"

The rich man was not overtly cruel to Lazarus: he didn't have him chased away from his door. His sin was that he didn't see him at all: Lazarus was invisible to him. that's the problem: wealth is bad for your sight!

General Intercession

–   For the poor and the destitute, for those who live at the margin of society, we pray:

–   For those whose hearts are hardened and who no longer see the needs and the cravings of the poor, we pray:

–   For poor countries of the third or the fourth world, that they may have due access to the riches of the world, we pray:

Prayer over the Gifts

Lord God, you know what is in us
and where our treasure is.
Give us faith not in ourselves
or in what our hands have made,
but in what we can build up
together with you and with your Son,
so that what we are and do
may be both a gift from your goodness
and the fruit of our work,
in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Prayer after Communion

Open our ears, Lord God,
to the words that Jesus speaks to us,
that we may believe in your future
and build up a better world.
Open our eyes to the needs of those who suffer,
that we may care for you in them;
Open our hearts to you,
that we may love and praise you
for ever and ever.

Blessing

Eyes to see the needs of people, ears to hear their cries for justice, mercy, a fair share in the goods of the earth, material and spiritual, that is what we all need very much. May almighty God be good to you and give you these. May he bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

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