20180301
THE PARADOX OF SEPARATION AND LETTING GO
01 MARCH, 2018, Thursday, 2nd Week of Lent
Readings
at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Violet.
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First reading
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Jeremiah 17:5-10 ©
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A curse on the man who puts his trust in man and turns from the
Lord
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The Lord says this:
‘A curse on the man who puts his trust in man,
who relies on things of flesh,
whose heart turns from the Lord.
He is like dry scrub in the wastelands:
if good comes, he has no eyes for it,
he settles in the parched places of the wilderness,
a salt land, uninhabited.
‘A blessing on the man who puts his trust in the Lord,
with the Lord for his hope.
He 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.
‘The heart is more devious than any other thing,
perverse too: who can pierce its secrets?
I, the Lord, search to the heart,
I probe the loins,
to give each man what his conduct
and his actions deserve.’
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 1:1-4,6 ©
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Happy the man who has placed his trust in the
Lord.
Happy indeed is the man
who follows not the counsel of the wicked;
nor lingers in the way of sinners
nor sits in the company of scorners,
but whose delight is the law of the Lord
and who ponders his law day and night.
Happy the man who has placed his trust in the
Lord.
He is like a tree that is planted
beside the flowing waters,
that yields its fruit in due season
and whose leaves shall never fade;
and all that he does shall prosper.
Happy the man who has placed his trust in the
Lord.
Not so are the wicked, not so!
For they like winnowed chaff
shall be driven away by the wind.
for the Lord guards the way of the just
but the way of the wicked leads to doom.
Happy the man who has placed his trust in the
Lord.
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Gospel Acclamation
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Lk15:18
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Praise to you, O Christ, king of eternal glory!
I will leave this place and go to my father and say:
‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.’
Praise to you, O Christ, king of eternal glory!
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Or
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cf.Lk8:15
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Praise to you, O Christ, king of eternal glory!
Blessed are those who,
with a noble and generous heart,
take the word of God to themselves
and yield a harvest through their perseverance.
Praise to you, O Christ, king of eternal glory!
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Gospel
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Luke 16:19-31 ©
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Dives and Lazarus
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Jesus said to the Pharisees: ‘There was a rich man who used to
dress in purple and fine linen and feast magnificently every day. And at his
gate there lay a poor man called Lazarus, covered with sores, who longed to
fill himself with the scraps that fell from the rich man’s table. Dogs even
came and licked his sores. Now the poor man died and was carried away by the
angels to the bosom of Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried.
‘In his
torment in Hades he looked up and saw Abraham a long way off with Lazarus in
his bosom. So he cried out, “Father Abraham, pity 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.” “My son,” Abraham replied “remember that during your life good things
came your way, just as bad things came the way of Lazarus. Now he is being
comforted here while you are in agony. But that is not all: between us and you
a great gulf has been fixed, to stop anyone, if he wanted to, crossing from our
side to yours, and to stop any crossing from your side to ours.”
‘The rich
man replied, “Father, I beg you then to send Lazarus to my father’s house,
since I have five brothers, to give them warning so that they do not come to
this place of torment too.” “They have Moses and the prophets,” said Abraham
“let them listen to them.” “Ah no, father Abraham,” said the rich man “but if
someone comes to them from the dead, they will repent.” Then Abraham said to
him, “If they will not listen either to Moses or to the prophets, they will not
be convinced even if someone should rise from the dead.”’
THE PARADOX OF SEPARATION AND LETTING GO
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [JER 17:5-10; PS 1:1-4,6; LUKE 16:19-31 ]
What is the
cause of sadness in humanity? It is the pain of separation. In today’s scripture
readings, we see this motif running through both first reading and the gospel.
However, there are different kinds of separation and consequently different
kinds of pain experienced.
There is
firstly the most obvious separation, the chasm between the rich and the poor,
as illustrated in today’s gospel. The rich, symbolized by the unnamed rich man, and the
poor, symbolized by the named Lazarus, were separated by wealth. The rich
man was dinning sumptuously and dressed in finery, but the poor Lazarus was
stripped of all dignity because of his poverty and sickness. Even
the dogs, considered as the lowliest of creatures, were licking his
sores. He was in such a pitiable state of hunger and pain, without
accommodation and food.
Secondly, we
read of the separation between the rich and God. The truth is that
when a man thinks so much of himself, and is so full of himself, not only does
his fellowmen not have any place in his heart, but neither does God. In the
story of the Rich Man, upon his death, there was a big gulf between God and
him. The Lord said to him, “between us and you a great gulf has
been fixed, to stop anyone, if he wanted to, crossing from our side to yours, and
to stop any crossing from your side to ours.” Indeed, often when we are
rich and self-sufficient, we bask in our false security until one day when we
meet with tragedy, such as a business failure or an incurable illness, then we
come to realize that we are but finite beings after all. No security can
be found in this life or in this world. “Not so are the wicked, not so! For
they like winnowed chaff shall be driven away by the wind for the Lord guards
the way of the just but the way of the wicked leads to doom.”
Thirdly,
there is a separation between those who have faith and those who do not. The former’s wisdom is of
the world, rather than divine. Those without faith rely on themselves and
the things of this world. They think they can find life, happiness, peace
and security without God. The Lord says this: “A curse on the man who
puts his trust in man, who relies on things of the flesh, whose heart turns
from the Lord. He is like dry scrub in the wastelands: if good comes, he has no
eyes for it, he settles in the parched places of the wilderness, a salt land,
uninhabited.” Those without faith are too proud to rely on God.
Indeed, their pride is the cause of their downfall. The words of Abraham
are very poignant when he said to the rich man, “If they will not listen either
to Moses or to the prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone should
rise from the dead.” How tragic that those without faith are too
proud to listen and so regardless of any miracle, they simply would not
believe.
Fourthly, there
is the separation in the inner life of man. The Lord says, “The heart is
more devious than any other thing, perverse too: who can pierce its secrets? I,
the Lord, search the heart; I probe the loins to give man what his conduct and
action deserve.” More often than not, we do not know the real person that
we are. We live lives of contradiction. Our actions belie our words
and thoughts. We say one thing but we do another thing. Indeed, few
of us really know the intentions of our hearts. This is why we are often
rather presumptuous and judgmental towards others. We lack integrity of
life. Our thoughts and words are not coherent with the way we act
in life.
What is the
cause of this separation? It is the lack of love. It is indifference.
The worst kind of lack of love is not even hatred but indifference, as in the
case of the rich man. He was totally unconcerned about Lazarus who was just
outside his gate. He was oblivious to his presence. As far as
the rich man was concerned, the poor Lazarus did not exist and he could not be
bothered with him, as many of us do not bother much about stray dogs and
cats. He was simply too absorbed in himself that he could no longer
reach out to others. The rich man was the personification of self-centeredness.
He did not do any evil but he simply could not see beyond himself.
In truth, he
is the poorest man in the world. This is the irony of life. This explains why no name
is given to the rich man, which tradition gives as Dives. But the name
“Dives” translated simply means the rich man, whereas the poor man was given
the name Lazarus in the gospel, which means “God is my help.” Anyone who is
incapable of love is really poor. This is shown in the dramatic reversal
of fortunes upon his death. We read in the gospel how the rich man was
now crying out for help and mercy, asking Father Abraham to pity him and “send
Lazarus to dip the tip of his fingers in water” and cool his tongue, for he was
“in agony in these flames.” On the contrary, the poor Lazarus, who was
totally ignored, now rests in the bosom of Abraham.
How, then, do
we overcome this separation? We need to let go. This is the paradox of life.
Letting go is the key to overcoming separation.
Let go of our
pride and we will be humble to listen to His words. The person who relies
on God is “like
a tree that is planted beside the flowing waters, that yields its fruit in due
season and whose leaves shall never fade; and all that he does shall
prosper.” Without humility, we cannot hear His voice speaking to
us. Only in humility can we admit our faults and ask for forgiveness.
Let go of our
wealth and we will be able to be free for love. Our possessions possess
us. We are afraid to let go. The paradox of life is that we retain
what we give away. Those who try to keep everything for themselves will
find themselves the greatest loser. Those who give away what they have
will be blessed much more in return. The Lord is kind and merciful.
The joy in sharing and loving is greater than having things for ourselves.
It is greater to give than to receive.
Let go of our
sins and we will be able to love. The psalmist says, “Happy indeed is the man who
follows not the counsel of the wicked; nor lingers in the way of sinners nor
sits in the company of scorners, but whose delight is the law of the Lord and
who ponders his law day and night.” Our sins make us miserable. Our lack
of integrity makes us live in guilt and hate ourselves because we feel like a
fraud. Let go of our unforgiveness too and we will find the capacity to
receive His grace and love.
Most of all,
let go of our loved ones even, whether because they are going away for business, studies,
migration or because of death. If we love them, we will let them go so
that they can find life. Otherwise, this love is still tainted with
self-interests. Like the Father who gave up His only Son in mutual
separation of love at the cross, we too, by so doing achieve the greatest form
of love in separation. The key to destroying the pain of separation and
transforming separation into pure joy of love lies in our unity in separation
for a greater good.
Letting go
means letting God take over. It means trusting Him. This is what the
psalmist says, “Happy the man who has placed his trust in the Lord.” The
prophet reminds us, “A blessing on the man who puts his trust in the Lord. With
the Lord for his hope, He 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.” It means building our lives in Him and nourishing ourselves
in His love and word. To lose God is to lose everything. After
finding strength from the love of God, we can reach out in love.
This is the only thing that binds us to humanity. We cannot bridge the
chasm by fear, indifference or guilt. Only love can change
us. Love reaches out and seeks to be channels of love and life. The
gospel makes it clear that fear cannot change lives; only love.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
