The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today alert us to trust in God as we attend to the prompting of the Spirit to transform our action to address the needs of the poor.
The reading from the Prophet Jeremiah presents the true Wisdom of trust in the Lord.
Psalm 1 presents the Two Ways.
* [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. (Psalms, PSALM 1, n.d.)
The Gospel of Luke presents the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus.
* [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).
* [16:19] The oldest Greek manuscript of Luke dating from ca. A.D. 175–225 records the name of the rich man as an abbreviated form of “Nineveh,” but there is very little textual support in other manuscripts for this reading. “Dives” of popular tradition is the Latin Vulgate’s translation for “rich man” (Lk 16:19–31).
* [16:23] The netherworld: see note on Lk 10:15.
* [16:30–31] A foreshadowing in Luke’s gospel of the rejection of the call to repentance even after Jesus’ resurrection. (Luke, CHAPTER 16, n.d.)
Barbara Dilly shares that the lessons for today remind us that trust, hope, generosity, and perseverance are the essential practices of the blessed.
So, when we read “blessed is the man who trusts in the lord, whose hope is in the Lord, we can envision a man who is not only good, but who is sustained in goodness, and who can make good happen. When we read “blessed are they who hope in the Lord,” we find that the Lord not only watches over those who follow the Lord to sustain them, but whatever they do prospers. They are set up to make even more good happen. And when we read, “blessed are they who have kept the word with a generous heart and yield a harvest through perseverance,” we get closer to the Gospel message for today. What are we to do with our blessings in this life? It is not enough that we can be confident in the hope that God blesses us like the Pharisees. We are invited to receive God’s blessings with a generous heart, sharing with those in need, Like Lazarus. In blessing us, God brings out the best in us, which enables us to be a blessing to others in this life. We are blessed to make good happen where it is needed. (Dilly, 2023)
Don Schwager quotes “Creator of both rich and poor,” by Augustine of Hippo, 3540-430 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) (Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on Luke 16:19-31 comments that Scripture has the power to open our eyes to the needs around us. It can also shed light on what’s going on in our hearts and convict us to change our ways when our actions don’t line up with what God desires. He wants us to care for the “least brothers” (Matthew 25:40), but first he has to open our eyes to their presence among us—especially those right in front us.
As you reflect on the words of Scripture today and every day, let them penetrate your heart. Let them change the way you see the world and the people you encounter. Let them help you see as God sees so that you don’t miss a Lazarus at your door.
“Lord Jesus, open my eyes to the needs around me, and then give me the grace to act on them.” (Meditation on Luke 16:19-31, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler comments on the accusations of Jeremiah that human hearts can turn from the good. The image of life of the tree near a source of water is an image of our relationship with God. Friar Jude notes the difficulty of the extremely rich man to see the distress of Lazarus.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces Sheryl Kujawa-Holbrook who connects pilgrimage to the universal longings of our hearts.
Pilgrimage, then, involves … the heart. The Talmud says, “God wants the heart.” It is the heart that holds the body together…. Augustine of Hippo [354–430] wrote that the heart is a metaphor for our deepest and truest selves, and he frequently uses the image as a way to explain his own journey to God: “You have made us for yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.” [2]...
The sacred art of pilgrimage involves both an inward and outward journey…. The pilgrim strives to hold both the inward and outward journey together, sometimes in tension, but always focused on the search for meaning, for the Divine…. What most distinguishes the sacred art of pilgrimage from a tourist trip or hiking expedition, as beneficial as these are, is the characteristic inward journey, a turning of one’s heart to the Divine, with the expectation of transformation on every level of being along the way. Benedict of Nursia [c. 480–547], the founder of Western monasticism and author of the Benedictine Rule, used to advise his monks and nuns to “listen with the ear of their heart.” [3] In other words, the pilgrim’s first yearning is in the heart, deeply and inwardly, sometimes for years before the outward journey begins. (Kujawa, 2023)
We pray for transformation that opens our eyes to the needs around us that we can address in Jesus Way.
References
Dilly, B. (2023, March 9). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved March 9, 2023, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/030923.html
Jeremiah, CHAPTER 17. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved March 9, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/jeremiah/17?5
Kujawa, S. (2023, March 9). A Journey of the Heart — Center for Action and Contemplation. Cac.org. Retrieved March 9, 2023, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/a-journey-of-the-heart-2023-03-09/
Luke, CHAPTER 16. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved March 9, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/16?19
Meditation on Luke 16:19-31. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved March 9, 2023, from https://wau.org/meditations/2023/03/09/628091/
Psalms, PSALM 1. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved March 9, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/1?1
Schwager, D. (n.d.). Lazarus Was Carried to Abraham's Bosom. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved March 9, 2023, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2023&date=mar9
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