2nd week in Lent, Thursday – 29th February 2024 – Jeremiah 17,5-10; Lk 16,19-31
Placing Right Trust
In the first reading, Jeremiah makes a strong contrast between two kinds of people: the one who thinks he is self-sufficient, is immersed in the materials of this world and ignores the place of God in his life. He feels he “has done it” and the second one who puts all his trust in God and in the way of life that God suggests. Jeremiah points out, if our trust is only in other humans or pleasures, but not in the Lord, we will end up producing nothing worthwhile. If our trust is in God, we will produce abundantly even during dry and trying times. The rich man’s life is basically dry and empty. He has no eye for what is really good. Surrounded by his luxuries and pleasures, he unwittingly lives in a desert. He measures his life by what he has – not by what he himself is, and even less by what he is in his relationship with others. The poor man Lazarus is, like a 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. Such a person may lead a life of great material simplicity but is in touch with a deeper source of wealth, God’s truth, wisdom and love. In whom do you trust?
