Homily for Thursday of the 2nd Week of Lent

Today’s parable is not a condemnation of wealth per se. Rather, it asks those who have what they need (and more) whether or not they are sharing what they have. Have we helped in any way to lessen the gap between we who have, and those who have little?

While possessions are not evil in themselves, they must not turn our minds and hearts away from those people in the world who have so little. In the parable, the rich man uses his wealth only for himself, and so it is his complacency that is condemned. We may not think of ourselves as wealthy, but we can still become indifferent toward the poor. The whole story begs the question of whether or not we are even aware of the poor around us and among us. 

The parable is left without an ending in that we never find out if the five brothers ever got the message about the consequences of ignoring the poor. And so, we get to write our own ending of what we will do with our lives in light of what just learned about the differences between the short-term riches of this world and the eternal riches of God’s world.+