2nd Week of Lent - Thursday C

We first hear the Word of God through his prophet Jeremiah. As one will recall, Jeremiah was persecuted and eventually put to death by his own people because through him as a mouthpiece, God called them out on their obstinate sin and their neglect of the needy. They had grown too comfortable with their misdeeds and the Lord warned them to turn from their ways. They championed the men who indulged in sinful behaviour, rather than the virtuous and hence God’s pronouncement through Jeremiah: “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.”

So we are not to trust in wayward men and women. This brings us to our beautiful gospel today, where Jesus speaks of a rich man who decided he would lead a life that was too sumptuous and self-absorbed to give any consideration to the precious poor man dying of hunger. As a sign of his preciousness, Jesus names the poor man. It’s not that the rich man is not precious as well, only Jesus wanted to highlight that the poor are not just wasted space in this world, but precious gems, whose names are also known to him and engraved on the palm of his hand.

I think a problem for many of us is whether or not our giving to a person will be foolish rather than beneficial, given that they might want to spend it on something which is not a necessity. One can hypothesize that an extension to this parable might depict the rich man’s skepticism towards Lazarus, and this is perhaps the greatest dilemma for most of us when considering the commandment to care for the poor—skepticism.
Skepticism is different from moral certitude. If we see that our alms will be put towards something that will keep on harming the one begging, like drugs, alcohol, or a slew of other things like gambling, we would be justifiably apprehensive of course, especially knowing that the Lord himself would not want us to reinforce their unhealthy cravings and habits. Giving in this case, would not be charity, but rather a fulfilling of some emotional deprivation in our self-esteem at the cost of another.

There are those whom we are certain are genuine, and those whom we are not so sure about. We can always show charity, however, no matter if the person asking our assistance is being truthful or disingenuous. Charity in this case may be pointing out their dishonesty, but following it up with an offer to actually get them some food by accompanying them yourself to whatever is nearby.

We need to always keep in mind that it is not so much about what’s happening in the heart of the beggar, as much as it is about what’s happening in our hearts. This is what the Lord is inviting us to reflect on. He wishes to see a change, an evolution if you will, a metamorphosis taking place regularly in our hearts, where we become more and more interiorly free to give with a joyful heart.

As we continue our Lenten journey, we ask our Lord to give us happy, generous hearts, liberated from the shackles of greed and selfishness, keeping in mind always that the things of this world will disappear, and that everything we do should be with our ultimate destination in mind – heaven, and the eternal state of beatitude for the brevity of a life well-lived clinging to the Son of God. Everything else, all other endeavours, aspirations and successes, fall by the wayside and take a very distant second, third, or whatever place. Nothing… nothing compares to securing your place in heaven, for time without end. Nothing. May the Lord give you and me, and all of us, the grace to get there and may our Mother continue to keep praying for us, now, and at the hour of our death. Amen.