Lazarus and the rich man
“ There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who longed to satisfy his hunger with what fell from the rich man’s table; even the dogs would come and lick his sores.
The poor man died and was carried away by the angels to be with Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, where he was being tormented, he looked up and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side. He called out, "Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in agony in these flames."
But Abraham said, "Child, remember that during your lifetime you received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in agony. Besides all this, between you and us a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who might want to pass from here to you cannot do so, and no one can cross from there to us."
He said, "Then, father, I beg you to send him to my father’s house for I have five brothers that he may warn them, so that they will not also come into this place of torment." Abraham replied, "They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them." He said, "No, father Abraham; but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent." He said to him, "If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’ ” Luke 16: 19-31
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Reflection of the Week
The sin of negligence
The parable condemns the Pharisees for their love of money and neglect of showing compassion for the poor. Jesus is telling them and us in this parable that it is impossible to serve both God and worldly wealth.The parable today shows us the unfairness that Lazarus must remain poor, with only dogs to minister to his needs. The poor Lazarus, we are told, is covered with sores, meaning, the religious laws upheld by judges and Pharisees have declared him unclean and impure. In their world view, Lazarus could not eat the rich man’s food, for Lazarus would make it impure.
Under those religious rules. Still, in his world, Lazarus could not work if he wanted to, for whatever he touched would contaminate the product. This diseased status was judgment from God, the rich man and Pharisee believed, so Lazarus is destined to be miserable. Today Lazarus, is still at the gate, what do we do to him?
Use your wealth for the needs of others
Wealth is not bad. But wealth brings with it certain responsibilities. We will give an accounting for how we handle the wealth God has given us.
The rich man should not make himself poor, but he should make Lazarus well. Meaning, if we have wealth and possesions, they had best be shared for the good and the rich should not to allow wealth to bend them from God’s kingdom.
How is our perception?
In this parable we see the warning to the rich man about his inability to see Lazarus. He lies at the rich man’s front door, so there is no possibility that the rich man has not seen him.
This parable demands of us to ask, “How is our perception?” Who, do we not see? How do we not respond?
Let’s pay close attention to what the rich man does when he looks up from the torment of Hades and sees Lazarus in the bosom of Abraham. “Father Abraham,” he cries out, “send Lazarus to fetch me a cool glass of water.” So, it turns out that the rich man knows Lazarus after all, even knows his name. But even in the reality of judgment, he treats Lazarus as a nobody, a hired hand. To the rich man, Lazarus still isn’t fully human, just some one to be used for his own purposes. Even in death, he has no solidarity with Lazarus. It is in this moment that the chasm is set between the rich man and Lazarus for eternity.
How are we sharing what we have?
we need to be reminded that we are called to be generous from the abundance of what we have, but there is more to be shared than our material wealth. The parable calls us to tend to our gates another way. Jesus taught that there is more than one kind of poverty.
We who live this side of life’s gate also know God. We are spiritually rich and how much we can share that with all who come to us. We stand on this side of the gate. With the rich man, the parable allows us to see poor Lazarus being rocked in the bosom of Abraham. The story is designed to shock us. It is the voice of one who has risen from the dead and it comes to us in our sleep, and asks us questions like “how much is enough?” “How are you sharing what you have?
All it takes a little oil
The story is meant to teach us that the gates of heaven are created to swing open and free—to include those who stand on both sides of the gate. It’s not too late to check the condition of those gates that stand between the poor and the suffering, and the spiritually poor. All it takes is a little oil carefully placed on the hinges, to keep the gates moving—the oil of compassion, and mercy and generosity, the oil of justice to those who are oppressed and of food to the hungry.
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Share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house when you see the naked cover him; do not despise those who are of your own flesh...
> The prophet Isaiah 58:
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Saints of the Week
Saint Valentine, Priest and Martyr (+268)
Maronite Feast Day: February 14
St Valentine was a holy priest in Rome, who, with St Marius and his family, assisted the martyrs in the persecution under Claudius II. He was apprehended, and sent by the emperor to the prefect of Rome, who, on finding all his promises to make him renounce his faith ineffectual, commanded him to be beaten with clubs, and afterward to be beheaded, which was executed on the 14th of February. Pope Julius I, is said to have built a church near Ponte Mole to his memory.
Valentine's Day or Saint Valentine's Day is a holiday celebrated on February 14 by many people throughout the world. In the West, it is the traditional day on which lovers express their love for each other by sending Valentine's cards, presenting flowers, or offering confectionery. The holiday is named after two among the numerous Early Christian martyrs named Valentine. The day became associated with romantic love in the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in the High Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtly love flourished.
Saint Charbel’s Entering the Hermitage (1875)
Maronite Feast Day: February 15
Only one thing mattered to St Charbel — to obey the voice of the One who summons: Come, follow Me.
When his uncle and tutor, Tanios, tried to persuade him to return from entering religious life, he could not succeed; and his mother, who had accompanied her brother, taking his hand in hers, and shaking it energetically, said to him: “Well then, if you should not become a good religious, return with me to the house!” He received the habit one week after entering the monastery, and chose the name of Charbel, a martyr of the Antioch church in the year 107.
There followed two years of a severe novitiate, completed in the monastery of Annaya, which on its mountain top seemed to breathe the stars. The young monk was sent to prepare for the priesthood farther away, at Saint Cyprian of Kfifan, where he was ordained six years later at the age of 31. He returned to Annaya afterwards, where for sixteen years he was in every way a model of perfection.
In 1875, at forty-seven years of age, he retired to its nearby hermitage, where he would remain until his death. In that hermitage, he grew closer to God each day through his prayers and fasting. He desired to be there alone with God more than anything else and each day he lived a special union with Jesus. In the silence he heard the word of God and it guided him ever closer to a perfect relationship with Him.
Saint Leo I, Pope and Doctor of the Church (461)
Maronite Feast Day: February 18
Pope Leo I, or Pope Saint Leo the Great, was an Italian aristocrat, and is the earliest pope of the Roman Catholic Church to have received the title "the Great". He is perhaps best known for having met Attila the Hun outside Rome in 452, persuading him to turn back. He is also a Doctor of the Church, and was a leading figure in the centralisation of the organisation of the Roman Catholic Church.
According to him the Church is built upon Peter, in pursuance of the promise of Matthew 16:16-19. Peter participates in everything that is Christ's; what the other apostles have in common with him they have through him. What is true of Peter is true also of his successors. Every other bishop is charged with the care of his own special flock.
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Announcements:
St Charbel’s Monastery is organising a ‘Pilgrimage Tour’ to The Holy Land, Jordan, Greece & Lebanon in May 2012.
The Diocesan Centre for Faith Formation and Adult Christening resumes on the 4th of March 2012. For enquiries or to register your names to participate at the classes or to receive the adult christening and confirmation, please call the monastery.
“Family of the Divine Word” Bible study is held this Thursday 9th February at 7:30pm at the Mary MacKillop Hall.
The parish census is being conducted to allow us to create a parish directory to better facilitate communication between the Church and the parishioners. Please provide your email address in the census form so we can email you updates about Church events and the weekly newsletters.
Eucharistic Adoration is held every Monday evening, led by the Akhawyet at 7:00pm and then by the youth at 8:00pm.
‘Adyar’ wine is sold at the Church’s entrance and in the souvenir shop. ‘Adyar’ is the product of the monasteries and vineyards of the Lebanese Maronite Order in Lebanon.
Consultancy about birth and marriage registration in Lebanon, through the Lebanese Consulate, is available at ‘The Maronite Foundation Association’ at 300-306 Canterbury Rd, Canterbury or the ‘Australian Lebanese Christian Federation’ at 659 Punchbowl Road, Punchbowl .
