CẢM NGHIỆM SỐNG LC - BRENDAN- 26TH SUNDAY C
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- Category: 2. Cảm Nghiệm Sống Lời Chúa
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Mo NguyenSep 28 at 7:11 AM
TWENTY-SIXTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME / C
29 SEPTEMBER 2019
THE COST OF SELF-ABORTION
REFLECTIONS ON THE GOSPEL
THE COST OF SELF-ABORTION
In the parable about the rich man and the beggar, Lazarus, we should not assume that the rich man was notably wicked. It was more that, absorbed in his comfortable life, he did not notice the poor beggar lying in need at his door.
Likewise, we are not told that Lazarus was notably virtuous or deserving. It was his desperate situation that attracted the attention of God.
The action of the story swings upon the notion of a great reversal. The reversal occurs when both men die and go very different ways. The rich man is carted off to Hades, while Lazarus is gently conveyed (by angels) to the bosom of Abraham. (Such ‘destinations’ reflect images of the afterlife conventional at the time; the parable does not teach the existence of a fiery hell!)
The point of the story is that, across the change from this life to next, situations remain fixed. In this life, the rich man’s indifference meant that no crumb of comfort passed from his table the beggar outside; there was no ‘crossing over’ from one side to another. Now, in the afterlife situation exactly the same fixity prevails – except that now all is reversed.
The problem is not so much the rich man’s wealth in itself but the fact that his high living blinded him to the need of a fellow human being, and wider social responsibility.
To opportunity to attend to such obligations though will not last for ever. Ultimately, the parable is about conversion and the difficulty that riches put in its way.
Brendan Byrne, SJ
Song of the Rich Man and Lazarus - (And It Goes On Forever):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRMLNeTowyI
Lazarô Và Người Phú Hộ:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pieI_T1xjQE
The Key Difference between Lazarus and the beggar
Lazarus and the Rich Man:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7T2Ehj1DWJQ