HOMILY OF THURSDAY OF THE SECOND WEEK OF LENT YEAR B
Jeremiah 17:5-10, Luke 16:19-31.
THEME: THE SIN OF OMISSION
We shall not be judged only by the evil we did, but also by the good which we refused to do.
In our today’s gospel, we read the story of the poor man, Lazarus and the rich man. The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried; and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes, and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus in his bosom. Luke 16:22-23
However, there was no account where it was stated that Lazarus begged the rich man for food. He was seated at the gate of the rich man, full of sores, and desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man’s table. The simple sin of the rich man was insensitivity. He was too busy with his own life that he couldn’t see the suffering multitudes around him. When we are insensitive, there are many good deeds we will surely omit in our dealing with others.
Moreover, for selfishness, pride or arrogance, we often wait to be approached or begged before we could render help. When our work of charity is directed only to those in our appeal list, we would be making a deity of ourselves, forgetting that God’s love is showered on all, irrespective of who or what we are. Our salvation only depends on how much we appreciate his love. “God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.”Romans 5:8.
At times, to avoid trouble or for fear of misinterpretation, we neglect the good things that God had placed in our hearts. Also, we may tend to withhold help unless we would be celebrated for it. Such tendencies are part of what constitute the sins of the saints. They may not be noticed in us. It takes the promptings of the Holy Spirit to observe them.
May the Lord help us to be sensitive. May we not suffer damnation as a result of our omissions, through Christ our Lord. Amen.
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