Thursday of the Second Week of Lent
(Jeremiah 17:5-10; Luke 16:19-31)
The “bosom of Abraham” has a history outside
Christianity. “Bosom” in biblical times
referred to the chosen place at the right of the host during a festive
gathering. There is a glimpse of this in
the Gospel of John where the beloved disciple sits close enough to Jesus that
he can talk to him privately. In today’s
gospel the poor Lazarus enjoys such intimacy with Abraham.
The passage presents a frightful warning to those who
ignore the plight of the poor. They will
be judged as unworthy of eternal rest. It
is not that they cling to the Law of Moses and refuse to believe in Jesus but
they ignore Moses whom Jesus is bringing to fulfillment. Is Lazarus rewarded just because he suffered
want in the world? The gospel tempts us
to believe this, but it should be taken for granted that he lived in accordance
with the Law and therefore welcomed Jesus’ message of the advent of God’s
kingdom.
Abraham is the exemplar of faith in the Old
Testament. If we truly believe, then we
follow God’s command to care for the poor.
Not doing so – mistreating or even ignoring the poor in our midst – indicates
not just our lack of charity but a defect in our faith.
