Thursday of the Second Week of Lent
Intention: For a spirit of compassion and generosity among all who are able to share what they have with others, especially with those who are most in need.
Today’s Gospel | 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
We live in a hectic world. The hurried pace of modern life rarely slows for us. Most of our days are spent in frenetic activity, rushing to keep up with a seemingly non-stop barrage of professional and personal demands on our time and energy. In order to survive, we sometimes choose to focus intensely on key responsibilities or interests, while shutting out whatever does not present the same importance or urgency. This high-pressure triage on the tasks of daily living might get us through our to-do lists, but the success may be coming at a very high cost.
Buddhist monk Thích Nhất Hạnh once said, “Life is available only in the present moment. If you abandon the present moment you cannot live the moments of your daily life deeply.” The greatest danger of dashing through the now is loss of the now. Our anxiety over where we need to be next pulls us away from the richness of where we are. As the tormented souls in Luke’s Gospel learned too late, it is only through the now that God can come to us. When we miss it, we miss the presence of God in the voices to which we did not listen, the faces at which we did not look, the wonders in which we did not share.
In the season of Lent, we are invited to deepen our awareness of our dependence on the grace of God. Such awareness comes only with an attentiveness to God’s presence and activity here and now. There is a reason why Jesus chided those who “have eyes but fail to see and ears but fail to hear.” By being awake to the signs of God’s blessing, whether they are blessings of affirmation or blessings of challenge, we can receive and celebrate God’s many gifts in our lives, instead of being too busy to open them.
Prayer
Eternal Father, your son went willingly to the cross to pay the price for our sinfulness. In this time of Lent, help us to repent and let you make our lives whole again. Teach us to seek your will in all things, to make wise decisions and to live as good people. Above all, help us to open our eyes and our hearts to life. May we come to know and be instruments of the fullness of your presence. We ask this of you who lives and reigns with your Son and the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever. Amen.