Two Choices To Choose

𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐂𝐇 𝟓, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔: 𝐒𝐄𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐃 𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐊 𝐎𝐅 𝐋𝐄𝐍𝐓

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝟏: 𝐉𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟕:𝟓:𝟏𝟎

𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐦: 𝐏𝐬𝐚 𝟏:𝟏-𝟔 “𝐁𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝.”

𝐆𝐎𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐋: 𝐋𝐊 𝟏𝟔:𝟏𝟗-𝟑𝟏 

𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞: “..𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐟 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐝.” (𝐯.𝟑𝟏) 

         Did you notice that almost all the liturgical readings we have had since the start of the Lenten Season were all about repentance and conversion and many of these readings were all about making choices.

         And most often we talk of conversion as the inner transformation we need to go through as a Christian disciple. Such transformation is made possible by turning away from our sinful ways and turning to God. In other words, we all know what sin is all about. Sin is anything that we commit that separates us from the love of God and turning away from sin involves human action and desire to forsake sin.

         This means that we must draw on our God-given faith to provide us the power and the strength to turn away from our sinful nature which is also referred to as repentance. Such movement can only be made possible by the twin action of the human self and enabled by the Grace of God and the Holy Spirit without which we are powerless to face the dominions that we are up against.  

         Take for example our Gospel passage for today which tells us that there are only two choices we have in life. One of these leads to our salvation and the eternal joy that God promised and, the other leads to purgatory and or even hell depending on the gravity of our offenses against God.

         The two characters in this passage represent the choices before us. The rich man whom Biblical scholars named Dives was the picture of the obnoxious and ostentatious behavior of one who was oblivious to the plight of the poor around him. Lazarus the poor man was the personification of humility, patience and suffering, someone whose only hope was in God.

         This brings us to the question of can wealth and fame, title and position be regarded as a sign of righteousness? Not that the rich are unrighteous, but this situation was brought to the fore in this Gospel passage because this was how the Pharisees felt as it was the general belief among the religious leaders during the time of Jesus that wealth was a proof of a person’s righteousness.

         As we step deeper into the Lenten Season, this Gospel passage gives us another lesson in life as it paints a picture of a very dramatic contrast of wealth and poverty, of heaven and hell, compassion and indifference, as well as inclusion and exclusion.

         On this occasion, Jesus once again startled the Pharisees who were present when he narrated a story about a beggar who was named Lazarus who was rewarded and a rich man who was punished. Lazarus was not only poor, he was also sick and unable to even lift himself. He lay at the gate of the rich man’s house and the story tells of dogs licking at his sores.

         It follows that Lazarus was competing with the dogs for the crumbs that fall from the table of the rich man. The crumbs were all that Lazarus was waiting for and this was probably the way he survived. To grasp the drama of this scenario, we must understand that in those days even the wealthy do not use knives, forks, spoons or napkins.

         They ate with their hands and in very lavish surroundings such as the house of this rich man, the traces of food on their hands were wiped with the use of bread that they throw away after wiping their hands and this was what Lazarus was waiting for.

         On the other hand, dogs in those days were not regarded with fondness as they are now because in the time of Jesus dogs symbolized contempt. To endure the torment of dogs licking at the sores of Lazarus must have added to his pain and suffering. His misery was compounded even more by the way he was treated by the rich man who simply ignored him.

         And Jesus seized this opportunity to hammer down the message behind the story and the Pharisees was probably flabbergasted when Jesus went on to say that when both the rich man and the beggar died at almost the same time the situation was dramatically reversed with the rich man’s soul going to the place of the dead while he saw Lazarus farther away in the company of Abraham.

         As abrupt and dramatic this reversal of fortune was, the underlying message was that the rich man did not go to hell just because he was wealthy but because of his selfishness highlighted by his abject refusal to feed Lazarus and or even care for him. Notwithstanding the tremendous blessings that he enjoyed, the rich man was hard-hearted and treated the beggar with indifference and contempt.

         The name Lazarus means “God is my help” and to a certain degree, we should see ourselves in the person of the beggar. In his pitiful condition Lazarus did not lose hope in God. And in this Lenten Season, this Gospel passage should remind us that whatever material possessions and wealth we may be enjoying now should not cloud our vision of God. In other words, the amount of money or wealth that we have is not as important as how we use them.

         The sin of the rich man in this passage that earned him his place in hell was that he never took notice of the beggar treating him with such contempt as if he was not there at all. The rich man did not remove the beggar from his gate. He did not kick as he would a dog and he was not cruel to the beggar, but the rich man merely looked at the beggar to be non-existent and it was not what he did that got him to hell but what he did not do.

         In this Season of Lent, God is asking us to look at ourselves especially our attitude towards money and possessions. Do we hoard these or do we use them to help others? And to be clearer about it, wealth should not be confined to material possessions but should include gifts, talents and skills that we have for these are also blessings that could not have come from any other source but from God.

         As such, we are to use such blessings not just for our own satisfaction but that through these gifts we may be a blessing to others. The sin of the rich man was that he was indifferent to the grief and pain of the beggar who lay at his gate and whom he never even noticed. He was thrown to hell because he never noticed that he had a neighbor who needed help. This is what this Gospel passage is all about.

         As the story went, Jesus said the rich man became the beggar as he begged Abraham to send the poor man to remind his brothers of his misfortune, but which Abraham rejected saying “𝐢𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐌𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐭𝐬, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐟 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐝” (𝐯.𝟑𝟏).        

         Today, we should ask ourselves what we consider as the true and lasting treasure. Do we put all our fortunes and our security into our possessions? This Gospel passage is a terrible warning for all of us that we may be aware that it is not enough that we refrain from doing wrong, but we must at every opportunity do something for someone beside us who is in need.

         Jeremiah tells us in the First Reading that whoever looks to God in hope will not be disappointed or be in want when everything around them dries up or disappears. When we put our trust and confidence in God, He will not only be our consolation, but He will be the inexhaustible source of our joy as well.

         This Gospel passage should remind us that in the economy of God those who cling to what they have will lose it all in the end while those who make use of their gifts to bless others by sharing generously of what they have and possess will be rewarded even more.

         Such is the Grace that comes from God which is endless. In the end, Lazarus did not just get the crumbs, but God gave him the complete course – eternal life in the company of Abraham and all the great prophets of his time. (𝘌𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘺 - 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩 5, 2026)