Word to the Wise
Thursday, March 4, 2021 - 2nd Week of Lent - Thurs
[Jer 17:5-10 and Luke 16:19-31]"There was a rich man wh 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." [Luke]
With these words, the evangelist Luke sets the scene for one of the more dramatic parables in his gospel. The contrast between the Rich Man (whom tradition gives the title "Dives," which means "rich") and Lazarus could not be more stark. It amounts to a kind of chasm or gulf that is finalized at the death of both men. The chasm in awareness is contrasted with the proximity of the two men. Lazarus is at the doorstep, and Dives is unaware. The ultimate result is terrible for Dives and consoling for Lazarus.
Jesus preached this parable to the Pharisees, who would presumably know what Moses and the prophets would have said about justice and compassion. Even if they would reject Jesus and any notion of his resurrection, they still knew what they should do. We are beyond that 2000 years later. How do we address the poor at our own doorsteps in our own neighborhoods, communities and nation? Dives lived in a "bubble" of his own creation, which dulled his awareness of Lazarus. The Gospel According to Luke consistently calls our attention to the bubble that material security can create, which can become both a wall or a chasm that seals us off from others in need. Lent offers us a reminder to open whatever doors we have, interior or exterior, and become aware of others in need and do what we can to narrow the gap. AMEN