Today’s readings for Mass are powerful. In the first reading from Jeremiah, “cursed is the man who trusts in human beings, who trusts in flesh..Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord.” The psalm adds to that with.
“Blessed the man who follows not
the counsel of the wicked
Nor walks in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the company of the insolent,
But delights in the law of the LORD
and meditates on his law day and night.”
The gospel message today is a familiar but powerful message of the rich man and Lazarus the poor beggar at his gates. As you know in the afterlife, poor Lazarus lives on Abraham’s bosom. This is a powerful image and one that is particularily poignant today. In statehouses across the country and in the halls of power in Washington the Lazaruses who surround us are lucky to have a dog lick their sores. As I pondered the meaning of the Gospel today I have to draw hope that there is some balance in the long term. I have no clue how that will happen. Sometimes I lose hope that much is being done for the Lazarus in our midst. I try nonetheless to be the change I’d like to see in the world. In my own small way I try to reach out to the Lazarus in my workplace. Since I work in a K-12 school district in the heart of a very poor area I am able to find lots of little people who are yearning for someone to love them. A smile, a gentle word of encouragement to them is all I can manage most of the time, but it helps to brighten their day.
May the Lord give us peace.