Word to the Wise
Thursday, March 9, 2023 - 2nd Week of Lent - Thurs
[Jer 17:5-10 and Luke 16:19-31]"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." [Luke]
These words are spoken by Abraham to the rich man (Dives) who either ignored Lazarus sitting at his doorstep, or else was completely unaware because of his (Dives') own lifestyle! Either way, Lazarus lived in misery and Dives in luxury. At death, the tables were turned and Dives is crying out in torment to Abraham who is comforting Lazarus.
I remember vividly the words of my Dominican brother, Thomas Kelly, O.P., (r.i.p.) who became Archbishop of Louisville. The rectory of the cathedral downtown had a door at the back to which those who lived on the streets - the poor, the homeless - could come to receive food and other assistance. The principal reason for having that assistance at the back door was complaints from some people about the line that, at one time, had formed on the sidewalk out front. Archbishop Kelly moved the venue back to the front. When he told me about this, he said, "Nobody wanted to see the faces of the poor!"
Dives was so busy living well in his present life that he failed to see the misery of Lazarus. In effect, Dives was digging the chasm that would divide him from Abraham (and Lazarus) in the next life. The fate of Dives is not simply that of one insensitive individual. There are entire communities that do not want "to see the faces of the poor." I admire groups like the St. Vincent de Paul Society (for whom I have been serving as chaplain here at our university parish) in dioceses and parishes who respond to requests for help or projects like Christ in the City up in Denver who reach out directly to the homeless on the streets of that city. Our Catholic students attend that project on spring break and then come back and initiate a similar action here in Lubbock. I am aware of the great efforts of the diocesan office of Catholic Charities here. They do "see the faces of the poor."
In Lent, in many parishes, there are those little cardboard boxes called "rice bowls" that enable food assistance for the poor. All these efforts are commendable, but they are not the same as "seeing the faces of the poor." Perhaps a fruitful Lent might mean leaving our "comfort zones" and joining in the efforts to take care of Lazarus instead of digging chasms of division. AMEN
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