HOMILY FOR THURSDAY OF THE 2ND WEEK OF LENT.
THEME: INDIFFERENCE
BY: Fr. Karabari Paul
“Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his arm, whose heart turns away from the Lord” (Jer 17:5).
You say, ‘It’s not my responsibility. I’m not getting involved!’ Psychologists call this ‘compassionate disengagement’, the tendency to avoid helping someone in trouble. Whether your motivation is, inconvenience, self-protection, or indifference, it is wrong. ‘Being there’ is how you demonstrate your love for God and your neighbour.
In the Gospel of today (Luk 16:19-31), the richman feasted sumptuously daily, but there was Lazarus at his gate who had nothing to eat. The bible never says that the richman was hostile to Lazarus. He never chased the poor man away from his gate nor poured water on him. He only felt Lazarus wasn’t his responsibility. He simply ignored him. Today, we see victims of accident on the road, and we simply drive away because they are not our responsibility; we see a helpless man, and we feel that he is not related to us. We ignore daily the Lazarus at our gate, in our church, that we meet at the marketplace, at our place of work, etc. Lazarus is everywhere. And we see him daily.
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Lazarus wasn’t looking for equal opportunity with the richman. No. He only wanted a little to eat daily. The richman didn’t go to hell because of what he did. He went to hell for his inaction and indifference. The story shows that nothing last forever. We can’t have people at our beck and call forever. The richman in his usual nature almost commanded Lazarus to bring him water in the realm of the spirits but condition had changed.
Again, Lazarus didn’t go to heaven because he was simply poor. He got admitted because he never cursed God in his condition. He relied on Him even in suffering. As his name implies, God was his help. Indeed, all those who wait on God will be comforted. We shouldn’t think that every poor man or woman will have access to heaven simply because of their poor state on earth. The last lesson is that life will, in the end, give us exactly what we give out to others. GOD IS STILL ON THE THRONE. May God grant us the grace never to be indifferent to the needs of others. God bless you and your household always in Jesus through Christ Our Lord Amen. Good morning.
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