May the Lord give you peace and blessings.
It is 17th March 2022. We reflect on Jeremiah 17:5-10 and Luke 16:19-31.
“Being worldly means losing your name and having the eyes of your soul “darkened”, anaesthetized, until you no longer see the people around you. This is the sin,” says Holy Father Pope Francis.
Are we trusting ourselves so much, we end up not trusting God or so little?
Readings invite us to trust in God fully not in ourselves and deal with the indifference we show towards the poor. Believing in God does not exclude believing in ourselves. Longing to go to the Heavens is still in most of us. Mere longing alone is not enough but we need to live a life that qualifies such blessing. Either we trust in God or rust in sins at the end.
“Happy is the man who builds his house upon the rock, he shall stand secure. But unhappy is the man who builds his house upon sand since he lacks a firm foundation.” (Mt.7:25).
Loving our neighbours and feeding the hungry is not a privilege but fundamental behaviour to be a disciple and believer of Jesus.
When we feel contended in our life, we are least bothered about others, especially those who are less fortunate than us. The heart is more devious than any other thing, perverse too: who can pierce its secrets?
We heard the most popular parable only mentioned in the Gospel of Luke. Jesus brings out the vast gap between the poor and the rich during His time.
The nameless rich man and the poor man with his name Lazarus, mentioned in the Scripture teaches clearly that God remembers our names when people choose to forget them unkindly and purposely. The man who trusts in the Lord is Lazarus and the man who trusts in himself, his riches, and the influential friends is the rich man who preferred to forget God and the poor. The poor man was comforted by a dog, surrounded by loneliness, poverty, hunger, and homelessness yet, in the sight of the rich man, Lazarus was nonexistent, useless, and insignificant.
In every way possible, we are richer, blessed and privileged indeed. Life offers opportunities in abundance to be at the service of others to share the best we have, to experience the love of God uninterrupted. How sensitive are we to the needs of the poor and the needy around us? St. Paul reiterates the message of the readings today. “God “will repay each person according to what they have done.” (Rom.2:6)
His Holiness Pope Francis asks a few questions during this Lent in the light of the reading: “Where do I place my trust? Have I placed it in the Lord or am I a pagan who trusts in things, in idols that I have fashioned? Do I still have a name, or have I begun to lose my name and to identify myself only as “I” with all its variations: “me, with me, for me, only me: always egoism, I!”.
In the final analysis, there is always hope for everyone if we are willing to call God like that of the rich man who lost his name, dignity, and connection. God is ready to call us as God’s children no matter what. Our trust in Jesus alone brings us life, joy and peace that is lasting, and all the rest bring pain, drought, war, and death. During this Lent, let us make effort to be generous through our personal sacrifices towards the poor, as the number is ever on the increase in every part of the world. Let us not repeat the story and the mistake of the rich man and may we be humble enough like Lazarus to place our trust in God. May we have the courage to trust in God, not in human strength. May God bless you.