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BLINDNESS AND AN INSENSITIVE HEART COME FROM A COMFORTABLE AND WORLDLY LIFE - stephenkhoo - 03-20-2014 06:36 PM
BLINDNESS AND AN INSENSITIVE HEART COME FROM A COMFORTABLE AND WORLDLY LIFE
SCRIPTURE READINGS: JER 17:5-10; Lk 16:19-31
http://www.universalis.com/20140320/mass.htm
Lent is a preparation for a new life which comes from a change of heart. Repentance is nothing else but a change of heart. But as the first reading tells us, “The heart is more devious than any other thing, perverse too!” Indeed, there is a danger that our hearts can become deceitful as well. How is that so? After all, like the rich man in today’s gospel parable, we have done nothing wrong or anything that is evil.
But the real temptation is to take our comfortable life for granted. This was what happened to the rich man. We are indeed in a very fortunate situation here in Singapore because much of what we need, and more, are within the grasp of most of us. We live very protected, secure and affluent lives, unlike many people in other countries. But what is a boon can become a bane for us as well. Why?
Firstly, we can become too materialistic by trusting in our wealth and riches. But, as Jeremiah prophesied, “A curse on the man who puts his trust in man, who relies on things of flesh, whose heart turns from the Lord.” The truth is that when we begin to live worldly lives, then we have little time for things of the Spirit. When we become more concerned with how much we can get out of our services, our relationships, our ministries, even our country, we have forgotten the greater joy and fulfillment we get in giving. Indeed, as Jeremiah would say, such a man is “like dry scrub in the wastelands; he settles in the parched places of the wilderness, a salt land, uninhabited.” A man who lives simply on the material level will never know and be able to have eyes for what is truly good. Such a person is mediocre and lives an unfulfilling life. He might have all the enjoyments and pleasures of this life, but deep within him, he cannot be happy, as his heart remains devious and empty.
Secondly, a rich life can make us become very demanding people. This is a consequence of having too good a life. Not only do we tend to take things for granted, but we expect too much. Indeed, so often, because we have been pampered with so many good things and services, we take them for granted and assume that they are our rights and entitlements.
So when we complain about the little things and inconveniences in life, are we not making demands that do not rightly belong to us? Shouldn’t we take everything we have as a gift from God and gratefully too? Where is that sense of trust in divine providence, as the first reading and the responsorial psalm speak about? Because Jeremiah says that if we do, then “like the tree by the waterside that thrusts its roots to the stream; when the heat comes it feels no alarm, its foliage stays green; it has no worries in a year of drought, and never ceases to bear fruit.” If we have not succumbed to materialism and enslaved ourselves to the luxuries of life, then we would always be happy, regardless of the material conditions that we are in. Nay, it is only because we have become soft and easy that we lament the lack of things in our lives! Of course, we all know that our wants are fathomless whilst our needs are so few. Our lives would be much happier, free from worries, anger and frustrations, if only we learn to live a simpler lifestyle. But we would not. We prefer to have things and be without love; to have stress than joy!
Thirdly, like the rich man, because we are so pampered, we have become indifferent and insensitive to the sufferings of others, symbolized by the poor man, Lazarus. This perhaps is the greatest tragedy. This is what Jesus is condemning in today’s gospel. The rich man was not condemned for being rich, but for being indifferent to the sufferings of others. He was enjoying himself, oblivious to the plight that Lazarus was going through. Instead of using his riches to help the poor, he lived only for himself. Since he lived for himself alone, the punishment meted out to him was to be isolated from the community of the just and the loved ones symbolized by Abraham, the Father of the Chosen People of God. Yes, he allowed his riches to alienate him from others. A person who lives for himself alone lives in hell, both in this life and in the next.
Those of us who have been blessed with material gifts can become so used to our riches that we forget that there are many people who have been deprived of even the basic needs of life. Of course, we cannot confine this insensitivity to the needs of others simply to the material level, but extend it to other areas in our lives, e.g. the intellectual life. Instead of being sympathetic to those who have no work, or are not as gifted as us, we complain that we have too much work, or condemn others for being inept, failing to realize that if we can do our work well, it is due by and large to the grace of God and not simply by our human effort alone!
Consequently, the gospel reminds us that if we have riches, be it intellectual or material wealth, we are called to use them for the service of others, especially the poor and needy and not simply to pamper ourselves. It would indeed be a real disservice to ourselves when we allow our riches to make us blind to the sufferings of others; indifferent and insensitive to their needs. When such a situation happens to us then our riches bring about our own destruction. Indeed, the sin of indifference is even worse than the sin of hate, because at least when we hate someone, it is because our love for the person is unrequited. But indifference is to totally ignore the existence and presence of our neighbour. Indifference therefore is the height of selfishness and self-centeredness. It simply means someone who is totally incapable of love and unable to see beyond himself. Thus, when the rich man asked for help, the reply of Abraham is clear, “between us and you a great gulf has been fixed.” A man who dies in total selfishness can no longer be open to love again. He lives in himself and is imprisoned in his own little heart forever.
Thus, with this warning, the gospel invites us to examine our attitude towards the poor and the needy and to riches in general. Have we allowed our riches to blind us to the needs of others? Have we become more selfish, demanding and inward-looking? Have we taken the blessings of God for granted? If we have fallen into the snares of riches, then the root cause of our problem is that we have forgotten about God and His divine providence, as Jeremiah tells us. By not putting our trust in God and in keeping counsel or union with Him, we, like the winnowed chaff, are driven away by the wind. We have lost our ground, balance and orientation in life.
Thus, what is necessary for us today, especially during this season of Lent, is to re-examine ourselves in relationship to the Word of God spoken to us by the prophets and especially by Jesus, the eschatological prophet. We must not deceive ourselves into thinking like the rich man who requested Abraham to send Lazarus from the dead to warn his brothers so that they would repent. Nay, repentance need not wait for significant events to happen in our lives. Rather, the parable tells us that instead of waiting for spectacular miracles to happen, it is even more important that we take the Word of God as spoken to us each day seriously, be it the Word spoken in the scriptures or in our daily lives. Instead of waiting for someone from the dead to speak to us, we need only to seriously ponder on the Word as the palmist tells us, “Happy indeed is the man whose delight is the law of the Lord and who ponders his law day and night.”
Truly, only when we become sensitive to God who is speaking to us in the Word, and especially in the sufferings of our fellow human beings, can we become more loving and generous. Only in this way can our hearts that are devious, be purified into sensitive and compassionate hearts of love. For, as the first reading tells us, ultimately, God will “probe the loins to give each man what his conduct and his actions deserve.” Yes, unless, we transform our hearts into compassionate hearts and not allow the riches and comforts of this earthly life to blind to the needs of others, we cannot share in the new life of God at Easter.