March 20, 2025
Thursday of the Second Week of Lent
Lectionary: 233
Reading 1
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
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.
Verse Before the Gospel
Blessed are they who have kept the word with a generous
heart
and yield a harvest through perseverance.
Gospel
Jesus said to the Pharisees:
"There was a rich man who 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.
When the poor man died,
he was carried away by angels to the bosom of Abraham.
The rich man also died and was buried,
and from the netherworld, where he was in torment,
he raised his eyes and saw Abraham far off
and Lazarus at his side.
And he cried out, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me.
Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue,
for I am suffering torment in these flames.'
Abraham replied, '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.'
He said, 'Then I beg you, father, send him
to my father's house,
for I have five brothers, so that he may warn them,
lest they too come to this place of torment.'
But Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the prophets.
Let them listen to them.'
He said, 'Oh no, father Abraham,
but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.'
Then Abraham said,
'If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets,
neither will they be persuaded
if someone should rise from the dead.'"
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/032025.cfm
Commentary on
Jeremiah 17:5-10
The theme of today’s Mass concerns priorities and is about
our responsibilities to those around us. It deals with Cain’s question: “Am I
my brother’s keeper?” and the story of the beggar (Lazarus) and the rich man.
In the First Reading, Jeremiah makes a strong contrast
between two kinds of people:
those who think
they are self-sufficient; who are immersed in the material world and ignore the
place of God in their lives. They feel they ‘have it made’; and
those who put all
their trust in God and in the way of life that God suggests.
The lives of the first type are basically arid and empty:
They shall be like a shrub in the desert…
They have no eye for what is really good. Surrounded by
luxuries and pleasures, they unwittingly live in a desert. They measure their
lives by what they have—not by what they themselves are, and even less by what
they are in their relationships with others.
The second group of people are:
…like a tree planted by water,
sending out its roots by the stream.
It shall not fear when heat comes,
and its leaves shall stay green;
in the year of drought it is not anxious,
and it does not cease to bear fruit.
Such people may lead lives of great material simplicity, but
are in touch with a deeper source of wealth: God’s truth, wisdom and love.
Finally, there is the warning about our ‘gift’ for
self-deception. Verse 11, not quoted (for some reason) in today’s reading, is
very appropriate:
Like the partridge hatching what it did not lay,
so are all who amass wealth unjustly;
in midlife it will leave them,
and at their end they will prove to be fools.
You can’t take it with you and, while you have it, you need
to share it with those who are genuinely deprived. This is clearly the message
of today’s Gospel as well.
It is very easy to be persuaded that happiness lies in
having things, having status, having power. But God is not interested in things
that impress externally; he only judges what goes on in the depths of the
heart. Where do I stand in all this? Where do I put my trust? In what are my
values?
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Commentary on Luke
16:19-31
In today’s Gospel, we have illustrated in parable form, two
of Luke’s beatitudes:
Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be
filled. (Luke 6:21)
and
…woe to you who are rich, for you have received your
consolation. (Luke 6:24)
The linkage with the First Reading is obvious.
On the one hand, you have a rich man dressed in purple and
fine linen, both signs of great wealth. He also has a good table and enjoys the
choicest of foods every day. While the rich man is sometimes called Dives,
this is simply the Latin word for ‘rich’. In reality, the rich man is nameless.
In spite of all his money, he is a nobody.
At the same time you have a poor man called Lazarus. He was
hungry and longed, like the dogs, to pick up the scraps that might fall from
the dining table. The dogs even licked his sores. Dogs were abhorrent to Jews,
so this was a particularly degrading thing to happen.
What is striking about this scene is that nothing seems to
be happening. The rich man is eating, the poor man is sitting and waiting.
There are no words between them. The poor man is not abused or chased away, he
is simply ignored—as if he did not exist.
Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least
of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did it to me. (Matt 25:40)
Then both men die. Lazarus is brought by angels to the bosom
of Abraham. But the rich man is condemned to an existence of great suffering in
Hades, the place of the dead. The rich man now begs for even the slightest
relief from the man he ignored in his lifetime. But it is now too late.
The rich man had his chance and he blew it. He had his life
of ‘good things’ and he now knows just how ‘good’ they really were. It is now
Lazarus’ turn to have the really good thing, the companionship of his God.
The rich man begs on behalf of his brothers that they be
warned. Abraham replies to him:
They have Moses and the prophets [i.e. the whole
Jewish religious tradition]; they should listen to them.
The rich man responds:
…but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will
repent.
To which Abraham replies:
If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither
will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.
This is surely a reference to Jesus himself, and to the many
Jews who refused to believe in him even after his resurrection. There are
people today who want some special signs from God in order to believe. We have
the Good News of the New Testament and the living, experienced presence of
Jesus among us. We do not need any more. We have all the guidance we need to
lead the kind of life which will ensure we spend our future existence in the
company of Lazarus.
And that life is measured not by wealth, status or power,
but in a life of caring and sharing relationships. In a world of extreme
consumerism, hedonism and individualism, today’s readings have a very important
message. Those who are truly rich are those who enrich the lives of others.
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https://livingspace.sacredspace.ie/l1025g/
Thursday, March 20, 2025
Season of Lent
Opening Prayer
Lord our God,
many of us never had it so good, and
so we have become smug and selfsatisfied, 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.
Gospel Reading - Luke 16: 19-31
Jesus said to the Pharisees: "There
was a rich man who 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. When
the poor man died, he was carried away by angels to the bosom of Abraham. The
rich man also died and was buried, and from the netherworld, where he was in
torment, he raised his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side.
And he cried out, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me. Send Lazarus to dip the tip
of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am suffering torment in these
flames.' Abraham replied, '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.' He said, 'Then I beg you,
father, send him to my father's house, for I have five brothers, so that he may
warn them, lest they too come to this place of torment.' But Abraham replied,
'They have Moses and the prophets. Let them listen to them.' He said, 'Oh no,
Father Abraham, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.'
Then Abraham said, 'If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither
will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead.'"
Reflection
Every time that Jesus has something
important to communicate, He creates a story and tells a parable. In this way,
through reflection on an invisible reality, He leads those who listen to Him to
discover the invisible call of God, who is present in life. A parable is meant
to make us think and reflect. For this reason it is important to pay attention
to even the smallest details. In the parable in today’s Gospel there are three
persons: the poor Lazarus, the rich man without a name, and Father Abraham. In
the parable, Abraham represents the thought of God.
The rich man without a name represents the dominating
ideology of that time.
Lazarus represents the silent cry of
the poor in the time of Jesus and in all times.
•
Luke 16: 19-21: The situation of the rich man
and the poor man. The two extremes of society. On the one side, aggressive
richness; on the other, the poor man without resources, without rights, covered
with wounds, without anybody to accept him, to receive him, except the dogs
which came to lick his wounds. What separates both of them is the closed door
of the rich man’s house. For the rich man, there is no acceptance nor pity
concerning the poor man at his door. But the poor man has a name; the rich man
does not. That
is, the poor man has his name
written in the book of life, not the rich one. The poor man’s name is Lazarus.
It means God helps. And through the poor man, God helps the rich man who could
have a name in the book of life. But the rich man does not allow himself to be
helped by the poor man, because he keeps his door closed. The beginning of this
parable is a faithful mirror of what was happening during the time of Jesus and
the time of Luke. It is a mirror of everything that is happening today in the
world!
•
Luke 16:22: The change which reveals the hidden
truth. The poor man died and was carried away by the angels into Abraham’s
embrace. The rich man also died and was buried. In the parable the poor man
dies before the rich one. This is a warning for the rich. During the time when
the poor man is alive and at the door, there is still the possibility of
salvation for the rich man. But when the poor man dies, the only instrument of
salvation for the rich man also dies. Now, the poor man is in Abraham’s
embrace. The embrace of Abraham is the source of life, where the people of God
were born. Lazarus, the poor man, is part of the people of Abraham, from which
he was excluded when he was before the rich man’s door. The rich man, who
believes that he is a son of Abraham, does not go toward Abraham’s embrace! The
introduction to the parable ends here. Now its significance begins to be
revealed, through the three conversations between the rich man and Father Abraham.
•
Luke 16: 23-26: The first conversation. In the
parable, Jesus opens a window on the other side of life, the side of God. It is
not a question of Heaven. It is a question of the life which only faith
generates and which the rich man, who has no faith, cannot see. It is only in
the light of death that this ideology disintegrates; then appears as what the
true value of life is. On the part of God, without the deceptive thinking of
the ideology, things change. The rich man sees Lazarus in the arms of Abraham
and asks to be helped in his suffering. The rich man discovers that Lazarus is
his only possible benefactor. But now it is too late! The nameless rich man is
pious, because he recognizes Abraham and calls him Father. Abraham responds and
calls him son. In reality, this word of Abraham is addressed to all the rich
who are alive. In so far as they are alive, they have the possibility of
becoming sons and daughters of Abraham if they know how to open the door to
Lazarus, the poor man, the only one who in God’s name can help them. Salvation
for the rich man does not consist in Lazarus giving him a drop of fresh water
to refresh his tongue, but rather, that he, the rich man, open the closed door
to the poor man so as fill the great abyss that exists.
•
Luke 16: 27-29: The second conversation. The
rich man insists: “Then, Father, I beg you to send Lazarus to my father’s
house, because I have five brothers!” The rich man does not want his brothers
to end in this place of suffering. Lazarus, the poor man, is the only true
intermediary between God and the rich. He is the only one, because it is only
to the poor that the rich have to return what they had and, thus, re-establish
the justice which has been damaged! The rich man is worried for his brothers,
but was never concerned about the poor! Abraham’s response is clear: “They have
Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them!” They have the Bible! The rich
man had the Bible. He knew it by heart. But he was never aware that the Bible
had something to do with the poor. The rich man’s key to understanding the
Bible is the poor man sitting at his door!
•
Luke 16: 30-31: The third conversation. “No,
Abraham, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent!” The rich
man recognizes that he is wrong, he has committed an error, because he speaks
of repenting, something which he never heard during his life. He wants a
miracle, a resurrection! But this type of resurrection does not exist. The only
resurrection is that of Jesus. Jesus, risen from the dead comes to us in the
person of the poor, of those who have no rights, of those who have no land, of
those who have no food, of those who have no house, of those who have no
health. In his final response, Abraham is clear and convincing: “If they will
not listen either to Moses or to the prophets, they will not be convinced even
if someone should rise from the dead!” The conversation ends this way and is
the end of the parable!
The key to
understanding the sense of the Bible is the poor Lazarus, sitting before the door!
God presents Himself in the person of the poor, sitting at our door, to help us
cross the enormous abyss which the rich have created. Lazarus is also Jesus,
the poor and servant Messiah, who was not accepted, but whose death changed all
things radically. And everything changes in the light of the death of the poor.
The place of torment, of torture, is the situation of the person without God.
Even if the rich man thinks that he has religion and faith, in fact, he is not
with God, because he does not open the door to the poor, as Zacchaeus did (Lk
19: 1-10).
Personal Questions
•
How do we treat the poor? Do they have a name?
In my attitude toward them, am I like Lazarus or like the rich man?
•
When the poor come in contact with me, do they
hear the Good News?
•
Who do I consider are the poor? There are many
kinds of poverty. Identifying these kinds of poverty should cause us to expand
who we help, rather than limit us to “giving a donation” and not becoming
personally involved.
Concluding Prayer
How blessed is anyone who rejects the
advice of the wicked and does not take a stand in the path that sinners tread,
nor a seat in company with cynics, but who delights in the law of Yahweh and
meditates on His law day and night. (Ps 1: 1-2)
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