In today’s First Reading (Jeremiah 17:5-10), there are two types of people: the blessed (Jeremiah 17:7-8) and the cursed (Jeremiah 17:5-6). And, these types of men are reflected in the two men: the rich man dressed in purple and poor Lazarus in the Gospel Reading (Luke 16:19-31).
The rich man enjoyed all the material wealth he
could have, while Lazarus was a poor beggar full of sores with empty stomach.
Though Lazarus was lying on the door of the rich man’s mansion and would
appreciate even the scraps fall off the table of the rich man, neither the rich
man nor his servants showed any concern for Lazarus. Even a dog took pity on
Lazarus by ricking his sores to comfort him.
Both the rich man and poor Lazarus died. While the
rich man received nice burial, Lazarus did not. However, Lazarus was carried by
angels to the κόλπον Ἀβραάμ/koplon
Abraham (bosom of Abraham) (Luke 16:22). The Greek word used here, κόλπον/koplon, which is translated as “bosom”,
has a nuance for comfort and intimacy.
The Gospel story of the parable of the rich man and
poor Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31) further tells that the rich man was in torment in
the netherworld while Lazarus enjoyed Abraham’s company far from the netherworld.
The rich man in torment of the netherworld begged for Abraham’s mercy. So, Abraham
replied to the rich man:
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 (Luke 16:25-26).
Now, it is obvious that the rich man, who enjoyed
all the material comfort and pleasure on earth is now cursed in the
netherworld, while Lazarus, who had none of what the rich man had but suffered
from hunger and sore, is in the comfort of Abraham’s intimate companionship.
And, Abraham has made it clear that the rich man cannot cross over the division
between where he is in torment and where Lazarus is in comfort.
It has turned out that the rich man, though he once
enjoyed seemingly “blessed” life, he is a kind of cursed man addressed in
Jeremiah 17:5-6. In contrast, though Lazarus’ life seemed to be “cursed”
before, now his life has turned out to be
blessed by God, being in comfort of Abraham’s bosom, reflecting the
blessed men in Jeremiah 17:7-8.
God said:
Cursed
is the man who trusts in human beings, who makes flesh his strength, whose
heart turns away from the Lord (Jeremiah 17:5).
Had the rich man ever turned his heart to God, who
is gracious and merciful (Psalm 103:8), he would have cared for Lazarus, who
was in his sight. And he had more than enough material to do so. Yet, the rich
man’s heart was away from Lazarus. Given Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 25:31-46,
it means that the rich man’s heart remained turned away from God. Therefore,
the rich man failed to observe the mizvah
of Leviticus 19:18 in the Torah. And, this earned him to be locked in torment.
God also said:
Blessed
are those who trust in the Lord; the Lord will be their trust
(Jeremiah 17:7).
Though the Gospel Reading does not mention about
Lazarus’ faith, it was obvious that he had nobody but God to trust. He did not
receive any care from anyone. But, he received a care from God, as he was
carried by angels to Abraham’s bosom when he died. On the other hand, the rich
man was cared by humans even when he died as he enjoyed a nice burial. At the
end, Lazarus, who received God’s care enjoyed the comfort that the rich man
envied.
Realizing that he has no way out of the netherworld of torment, the rich man asked Abraham (father Abraham) to send Lazarus to his father’s house, where his brothers live, to warn them so that they would not be cursed as he is (Luke 16:27-28). To this, Abraham declined to honor the rich man’s request, saying:
They
have Moses and the prophets. Let them listen to them
(Luke 16:29).
But, the rich man did not accept. So he asked
Abraham:
Oh
no, father Abraham, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent
(Luke 16:30).
And, this is Abraham’s reply:
If they will not listen to Moses and the
prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead
(Luke 16:31).
Listening to Moses and the prophets, such as Isaiah
and Jeremiah, means to listen to God. Moses represents the Law. Thus, listening
to Moses means to observe the Law of God, Torah, all mizvot in it. Because Jesus is the fulfillment of both the
Law and the prophesies (Matthew 5:17), this means to listen to Jesus.
The rich man, even after his death, did not fully
converted, as he even tried to make Lazarus serve him, thinking of him as if he
were his servant. How shameless the rich man is. He did not even care for
Lazarus. But, he was bold enough to ask Abraham to make Lazarus serve him for
his comfort (Luke 16:24) and for his brothers (Luke 16:27).
Remember, God said:
More
tortuous than anything is the human heart, beyond remedy; who can understand
it? I, the Lord, explore the mind and test the heart, giving to all according
to their ways, according to the fruit of their deeds
(Jeremiah 17:9-10).
This explains why the rich man cannot be relieved
from the torment and was unable to come out of the netherworld.
God probed the heart of the rich man. He seemed to
have repented upon being sent to the netherworld. However, the fact that he
tried to make Lazarus serve for his own interest, proves that he has not had metanoia through interior repentance (compunctio cordis).
Is our Lenten penance affecting the depth of our
heart? Or, is it a mere patch work of external behavioral change?
Reflect once again why Jesus fulfills the Law in the
way he does in Matthew 5:21-48.
Reflect today’s Gospel Reading (Luke 16:19-31) also in connection to Luke
13:24-30, as well as Luke 6:20-26, to make sure we will not end up like the
rich man in the Gospel Reading, one of the cursed people in the First Reading.
We shall be blessed as we trust God and his grace so that we will be fruitful to please God. And our path to the fruitfulness begins with conversion of the depth of our heart with compunctio cordis.
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