Thursday of the Second Week of Lent (March 12, 2009)
Today’s gospel reading talks about a rich man and a poor man named Lazarus. The rich man goes to hell and Lazarus goes to heaven. Of course, this is one of the many parables that Jesus used to teach. It did not happen for real, but it could very well happen to us if we lose sight of Jesus.
Why did the rich man go to hell? Certainly it was not because he was rich. The reason why he went to hell was because he lacked compassion. Poor Lazarus was constantly begging at his door and he ignored him, as if he did not exist.
Jesus does not care how much money we have in our bank accounts, what job we have, our level of education or the size of the house we live in. He does care, however, about how we use our treasures and talents. If we become like the rich man, that all we care about is ourselves and we feel no compassion for the Lazaruses in our lives, we risk ending up like the rich man, who received his reward on earth and his punishment in hell.
Jesus wants us to “yield a harvest” of love and kindness here on earth. He wants us to feel compassion for the people that we come in contact each and every day. It’s very easy to become so comfortable with our surroundings that we don’t even notice how the person sitting next to us is feeling today.
As we walk on this journey, Jesus wants us to go slow and notice everything and everyone around us. He also wants us to stop and pick up certain virtues or values as we find them along the path. One of these virtues is compassion.
Today, let’s try to pay attention to someone that most of the time goes unnoticed, perhaps a coworker that we rarely talk to and could use a smile today or a family member that could use our help with their chores. As we show compassion for the Lazaruses in our lives, we will experience God’s generous heart.
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