5 March 2026 – Thursday of the 2nd week of Lent
Jeremiah 17:5-10; Luke 16:19-31
Homily
An important aspect of the story we have just heard – and this is the case with almost all of Jesus‘ parables – is that we are simply confronted with the facts, and that we – like Jesus’ immediate listeners – must draw lessons and rules for living from these facts themselves. The Gospel gives us the raw facts and leaves it up to each of us to draw conclusions for our own lives, and all of us together, for our society.
The facts as told are that there was a rich man and a poor man; and it is not said whether the rich man was good or bad and the poor man good or bad. This is secondary. The Gospel simply tells us that there was a rich man and a poor man and how they behaved towards each other during their lives. (An interesting detail to note is that the poor man has a name; he is a person; his name is Lazarus, a name that means ‘God helps’. The rich man is not named. He represents all those who have allowed themselves to be alienated by their wealth). The prophets – such as Amos – had spoken out strongly against the oppression of the poor and had condemned it. Jesus' attitude is different. In this parable, he addresses the Pharisees directly and in a way takes their side. The rich man is not described as someone who commits oppression and injustice. He is simply rich and enjoys his wealth, without asking any questions. The poor man is simply poor. He asks for nothing, even if he would love to eat something that falls from the rich man's table.
Then comes the reversal of roles, after the death of both. (This theme of the reversal of roles after death recurs very often in the Gospel of Luke.) The poor man who was lying on the ground is carried by the angels into the bosom of Abraham (the Pharisees' conception of heaven). As for the rich man, who reclined on sumptuous couches to eat, he is quite simply laid in the ground. He was not wicked, but he lived his whole life in unawareness. He became attached to the realities of this world which totally absorbed him, and he remains there after his death. He suffers terribly now and would like to spare his brothers this suffering by sending them messengers. ‘It would be useless,’ Abraham replies. "They have Moses and the prophets. If they do not listen to them, they would not listen to someone who had returned from the dead.’
This last part of the story is undoubtedly the most important, because it emphasises the root of all evil: blindness. And this should be of particular concern to us today. Are our eyes open? The majority of Christians live in the richest countries in the world and are generally largely unaware of the structural and systemic injustices of our time. Those who are aware of these injustices are the poor in oppressed countries. They are not only aware of them but are increasingly determined to make the inhabitants of rich countries aware of them, including by brutal and cruel methods. Even if we cannot approve of the methods and even if we must condemn the violence - all violence, from whatever side it comes - we must still be able to hear their message. Is it not the mission of contemplatives to know how to read the signs of the times in the light of the Gospel?
Armand VEILLEUX