Word to the Wise
Tuesday, March 10, 2020 - 2nd Week of Lent - Tues
[Isa 1:10, 16-20 and Matt 23:1-12]Wash yourselves clean! Put away your misdeeds from before my eyes; cease doing evil; learn to do good. Make justice your aim: redress the wronged, hear the orphan's plea, defend the widow. [Isaiah] For they preach but they do not practice. They tie up heavy burdens hard to carry and lay them on people's shoulders, but they will not left a finger to move them. All their works are performed to be seen. [Matthew]
Jesus and Isaiah take dead aim at those who are in positions of power, but their admonitions do not stop there. All of us, especially in Lent, can find food for thought and action in the words from today's scriptures.
Jesus and Isaiah continually attack public religious observances that cloak both public and private injustice and corruption. The term "widows and orphans" referred both to the most vulnerable persons in the society of the time, but can refer to the most vulnerable in the society of our own time. What do we do both individually and collectively for the vulnerable people of our own time? It is very easy to become like the wealthy man in the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus. "Dives" (the name tradition gives the rich man) is simply unaware of the plight of Lazarus who sits at his front door! But when we ARE aware, what do we do as a regular practice?
Lent can offer us an opportunity to develop a regular practice of reaching out to someone whose life and livelihood are marginal and vulnerable. The St. Vincent De Paul society in our parish conducts home visits and assists people with rent, utilities and other resources. I serve as their spiritual advisor and am continually impressed with the experiences they undergo in their ministry to the poor and vulnerable people in Lubbock. The same is true for the office of Catholic Charities of our diocese. These agencies and others like them are constantly in need of new members to help. Lent can be a springboard to becoming involved in addressing the "widows and orphans." This involvement can also mean political actions that are inspired by faith and not by a desire for power.
In short, Lent challenges us to "practice what we preach" and not simply give up chocolate, alcohol, etc. for forty days! AMEN