Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, through what we have heard in our Scripture readings today, we are all reminded that we should always trust in the Lord and resist the many temptations of worldly desires and attachments, all of which can lead us down the path of ruin and destruction, because they can prevent us from doing what the Lord has told and taught us to do, and as they can lead us to sin, from which we may receive judgment and damnation for all the wickedness and evils that we have committed. It is important that we heed whatever we are reminded of through this day’s Scripture passages so that we can discern well our next course of action in life, and plan how we should continue living our lives, as good and faithful Christians.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Jeremiah, where the Lord spoke to His people in the kingdom of Judah through His prophet, regarding how they all should not put their trust in mankind, and how they should instead believe in the Lord and place their faith in Him. The context for this was that, at the time, the kingdom of Judah, to whom the Lord had sent Jeremiah to, had been beset by many troubles and difficulties, and was in fact in the last years of its existence, just before it was wiped out and destroyed by the Babylonians, who would conquer and destroy Jerusalem, ransack and tear down the Temple of God that King Solomon had built for the Lord, and carry many of the people of Judah into exile in distant lands.

At that time, the prophet Jeremiah had been sent by God to the people of Judah to call them to repent from their sins and wickedness, warning them all that everything would happen just as the Lord has always reminded them, their fated destruction and sufferings, because of their disobedience and refusal to believe in God, their failures to obey the Law and the commandments of God. But many of the people refused to listen to Jeremiah and persisted in their rebellious and sinful ways, choosing to believe in the many false prophets and leaders who claimed that the Lord would bless them and protect them against their enemies despite their many sins and disobedience against Him. Those people advocated the king and the people to seek help and support from the worldly powers like the Egyptians in their struggle against the Babylonians.

If we read through more of the accounts of what happened at that time, we will realise how Judah was caught in the midst of the struggles between the worldly powers, and amidst all the geopolitical manoeuvres, the people of Judah eventually faced the consequences of their lack of faith in the Lord, since they chose to side with the worldly powers instead. When the king of Judah chose to rebel against the Babylonians, under the assurance of support from the Egyptians, backed by many of the nobles and the powerful members of the kingdom, that eventually led to the destruction of Jerusalem and Judah, when the Egyptians either failed to intervene or successfully protect their ally in Judah against the forces of the Babylonians. Hence, we see for ourselves the example of the futility of depending on worldly means against trusting in God.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard of the well-known story and parable which the Lord Jesus told the disciples and all the people, of the tale between Lazarus and the rich man, in which Lazarus, a poor man and beggar, who sat by the doorway of the house of a rich man, suffered greatly from his predicaments, and the rich man did nothing to help the poor Lazarus, and although he was in the position to help Lazarus, but he did not lift a finger or even offer anything from his table to help. Lazarus as we heard was truly poor and without anything, and he was hoping to get just even the scraps of food from the rich man’s table, and instead, wild dogs came to lick his sores, and he eventually died in suffering and loneliness.

We heard how the rich man also died, and unlike Lazarus, he already had plentiful things in life, all the riches and pleasures he could have enjoyed, as well as the friends and people that were with him in the time of good and plenty. However, his failures to help the poor man who was in need of his help, that of Lazarus led him to face the consequences of his actions and also his lack of compassion and love for his fellow brethren in need. Thus, we heard in that same passage of the story of Lazarus being lifted up to Heaven, to enjoy the joy of Heaven with Abraham, while the rich man was cast down to Hell, to suffer for eternity in despair and destruction, for all the failures of his action to care for his fellow man. These are reminders for us that we should not take lightly the dangers of sin and evil, which are ever present around us.

Why is that so? That is because the same thing can happen to us all as well if we ignore the plight and the needs of all those around us who may not be so fortunate as we are. The Lord has given us all various means and opportunities to help those around us who are in need, and for us to share our blessings and good things with them, that they may be strengthened and cared for by our love and compassion. But we often allow ourselves to be swayed and tempted by various worldly temptations and attachments, and by the many allures and false paths all around us that we end up failing in these things and responsibilities that the Lord has entrusted to us, in ignoring the opportunities that we can do and make good use of, in helping those who we are perfectly in position to help.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore realise that each and every one of us have been given the blessings, the means, opportunities, the power and the ability to change the lives of others, to help them enjoy a better life in this world. All of us should do what the Lord has asked, called and entrusted to us to do, so that by our every words, actions and deeds, we may indeed glorify Him, and bring about good things and happiness to all our fellow brothers and sisters around us. We should not allow the temptations of this world to distract and mislead us down the wrong path, like that of the rich man who was likely tempted by the riches of the world and all of its pleasures, that he ignored the plight of Lazarus before him. Let us all as Christians be always filled with great love and compassion for our fellow brothers and sisters.

May the Lord continue to help and guide us in our journey of life, especially as we continue to progress through this penitential time and season of Lent, so that we may continue to grow ever stronger in faith, and be ever more devoted to Him, our ever loving and compassionate God, now and always. Amen.