The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to have courage, calling on the Spirit, as we discern our attachments to privilege.
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| Privilege that blinds |
The passage from the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah urges to seek the true Wisdom of God concerning decisions of trust.
They shall be like a tree planted by water, sending out its roots by the stream.1
The Two Ways title of Psalm 1 previews life as activity, as choosing either the good or the bad.
* [Psalm 1] A preface to the whole Book of Psalms, contrasting with striking similes the destiny of the good and the wicked. The Psalm views life as activity, as choosing either the good or the bad. Each “way” brings its inevitable consequences. The wise through their good actions will experience rootedness and life, and the wicked, rootlessness and death.2
In the Gospel of Luke, the parable of Rich Man and Lazarus warns us of the blindness of privilege.
* [16:19–31] The parable of the rich man and Lazarus again illustrates Luke’s concern with Jesus’ attitude toward the rich and the poor. The reversal of the fates of the rich man and Lazarus (Lk 16:22–23) illustrates the teachings of Jesus in Luke’s “Sermon on the Plain” (Lk 6:20–21, 24–25).3
Vivian Amu is aware of the barrenness and dryness that sometimes accompanies the Lenten season. This dryness, she speaks of, finds its way into our daily lives through our preoccupation with consuming more and more; our preoccupation with our wants; our preoccupation with what we do and with what others may think of us. This dryness reminds us that we thirst for much more than material things……we thirst for wholeness.
The readings highlight what our lives may look like when we close our eyes; when we don’t place our trust in God; when we don’t recognize that our ‘now’ determines what our tomorrow will be; and when we value earthly riches over the richness of spirit. The parable of the rich man and Lazarus wasn't about admonishing those who are rich and only elevating those who are poor. The parable was about our response and witness to the human condition, our awareness of those around us, and our willingness to care beyond just our concerns. I wonder how many times I came across a Lazarus in my life and didn't notice, or postponed caring because it was inconvenient or someone else’s problem. What will happen if the tables are turned and a cosmic balancing occurs? Who would tend to me? Who will heal my wounds? Who will notice me? What or whom will I reach for? Who will provide? I ask again, what do I value, and where do I place my trust?4
Don Schwager quotes “Creator of both rich and poor,” by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.
"God made both the rich and the poor. So the rich and the poor are born alike. You meet one another as you walk on the way together. Do not oppress or defraud anyone. One may be needy and another may have plenty. But the Lord is the maker of them both. Through the person who has, He helps the one who needs - and through the person who does not have, He tests the one who has." (excerpt from Sermon 35, 7)5
The Word Among Us Meditation on Luke 16:19-31 comments that the parable in today’s Gospel shows us that the people who are unimportant by human standards are precious to God.
He never forgets the invisible or abandoned ones, and he calls us to go and do likewise.
“Jesus, help me to see you and love you in the distressing disguise of the poor.”6
Erin McCrory, the Denver-based urban ministry Christ in the City managing director, reflected on “What do you say to a homeless person?”
“Ask the person’s name,” said the group’s tip sheet. “One of our friends on the street told us he went four months without hearing his own name. Ask the person’s name and remember it...” “You’ll be amazed how his or her face will light up that you remembered.” “To love is to know and be known,” Christ in the City said. “And so, the chronically homeless become unknown, they become separated, not just from society but from the experience of love itself.” The group advises people to give more practical items in lieu of money, like socks, water, Gatorade, or gloves. Those who give food should keep in mind that people who live on the street often have teeth problems and can’t eat hard granola bars or apples. Soft foods like bananas or soft-baked granola bars are more edible.“Giving money is a personal decision that requires discernment. Gift cards can be a better alternative to cash,” Christ in the City said. Items showing personal care are more likely to keep a focus on friendship.“Your love and compassion is more effective than five bucks,” the group added...“Offer to pray for them, and mean it,” Christ in the City said. “We try to be another Christ to our friends on the street, but we accept that we can only do so much. The rest we leave up to God in prayer. He loves our friends more than we ever could.”7
John Veltri, sj, offers a prayer exercise intended to help in choosing the kind of life towards which the Spirit of God is drawing one. During this process a person must always take into account the real data of one's history. It is so easy to be misguided. One may be biased towards what is less helpful among possible choices in God's service. Also it is easier to imagine oneself as being open than to be actually open. Many of us have non-negotiables which can contaminate the discerning process.
We are usually unfree because of disordered (inordinate) attachments. To recognize how God is moving one's heart, a person needs to be spiritually free - free from the influences of self-centredness, prejudices, fears, anxieties, preferences which filter, twist or block the Spirit's movements in one's being. This is experienced when one is in 'consolation' which also involves God's presence and love. At such times one's perspective is in greater harmony with God's perspective. In such moments one is like a balance at equilibrium.
A person cannot give oneself such a stance of freedom. This is God's gift. God's Spirit brings one to an affective equilibrium neither to do nor to reject some activity unless one recognizes God's Spirit moving one to do this or reject that. Often in the course of trying to arrive at a correct decision the awareness of disorder in one's attachments (to a person, a job, position, some possessions, some gift, or to a certain city etc.) emerges.8
Friar Jude Winkler shares the concern of Jeremiah that human beings may choose selfishness over trust in God. We may find our minds so set that we cannot even hear God. Friar Jude reminds us to ponder the request of the Rich Man without a name in the parable requesting the named Lazarus to bring him water.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, invites us to explore the Enneagram summary of the Holy Idea of Holy Strength and Holy Faith; the Virtue of Courage; and the disordered attachment or Passion of Fear [1]
Riso and Hudson write this about the emergence of Essence in Sixes:
When their minds become quiet, Sixes experience an inner spaciousness that is the Ground of Being. They realize that Essence is real and is not simply an idea; in fact, it is the thing that is most real in existence, the very foundation of existence itself. People have associated this inner peace with the presence of God, which is manifesting itself at every moment, and which is available at every moment. When Sixes experience this truth, they feel solid, steady, and supported. . . . They realize that this ground is the only real security in life, and it is what gives Sixes immense courage.
This is the real meaning of faith, their particular Essential quality. Faith is not belief, but a real, immediate knowing that comes from experience. . . . Faith with experience brings reliable guidance. [3]9
for insight into experience of the Presence of God that overcomes fear and brings reliable guidance.
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