March 1, 2018

Gospel: Lk 16:19-31
Jesus said to the Pharisees, “Once there was a rich man who dressed in purple and fine linen and feasted every day. At his gate lay Lazarus, a poor man covered with sores, who longed to eat just the scraps falling from the rich man’s table. Even dogs used to come and lick his sores. It happened that the poor man died, and angels carried him to take his place with Abraham. The rich man also died, and was buried. From the netherworld where he was in torment, the rich man looked up and saw Abraham afar off, and with him Lazarus at rest. He called out, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me, and send Lazarus, with the tip of his finger dipped in water, to cool my tongue, for I suffer so much in this fire!’ Abraham replied, ‘My son, remember that in your lifetime you were well-off, while the lot of Lazarus was misfortune. Now he is in comfort, and you are in agony. But that is not all. Between your place and ours a great chasm has been
fixed, so that no one can cross over from here to you, or from your side to us. The rich man implored once more, ‘Then I beg you, Father Abraham, send Lazarus to my father’s house, where my five brothers live. Let him warn them, so that they may not end up in this place of torment. Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the prophets. Let them listen to them.’ But the rich man said, ‘No, Father Abraham; but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’ Abraham said, ‘If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be convinced, even if someone rises from the dead.’“

Reflections
THE KINGDOM OF GOD
IS WITHIN YOU
The most important religious truth is that GOD IS NOT JUST OUT THERE AND EVERYWHERE: GOD IS WITHIN EACH ONE OF US. This is the insight of every religion. The Buddhist calls this THE TRUE SELF. The Hindus are more radical in their statement: GOD IS IN YOU AS YOU. If we truly believe this, then we can pray everywhere and our very person is sacred. The most important prayer is the one that goes within oneself to discover, to commune with and to be one with this Divine in us. This is what meditation is all about. It is not having beautiful thoughts. It is not uttering words of praise, thanksgiving, repentance. It is just being SILENT. It is being PRESENT TO THE PRESENCE. Some can experience moments of this union. In other religions, it can be called enlightenment, kensho. It is a profound experience of oneness with everything that is because the ONE within us is EVERYTHING THAT IS. It is totally God’s gift and cannot be earned. Sometimes it is experienced by someone totally undeserving meaning that this person may not even be religious or may not even know how to meditate. The Spirit blows where she wills. If one has not experienced this, it is also all right. It does not erase the fact that God is within us. What is important is that one is there when God chooses to give us this experience. It is like in a pottery. The important thing is for the clay to be there. It is the potter who will give it its shape.

© Copyright Bible Diary 2018