\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n
“Cursed is the man who trusts in human beings, who seeks his strength in flesh”.\u00c2\u00a0 Can you imagine these words of Jeremiah ringing in the rich man’s ears?\u00c2\u00a0 How that would make him feel?\u00c2\u00a0 I can, but as prophetic as they were, somehow I don’t think the rich man would have heard them while he was living.\u00c2\u00a0 Even if he was a synagogue or temple going Jew at the time, he probably would not really have heard them.\u00c2\u00a0 Because when things are going well for you, as they were for the rich man, these words just kind of go in one ear and out the other.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n
We tell ourselves, yes, but I am not really trusting in human beings, nor am I seeking strength in the flesh.\u00c2\u00a0 I am just trying to live the life God gave me- and that takes time and effort to maintain.\u00c2\u00a0 The reality is that most of us are so much immersed in our own lives, trusting in the small circle of friends and family we have, and trying to control our lives, by maintaining a solid job and finances, that we are not do not get involved in the pain and suffering of those around us.\u00c2\u00a0 Just like the Rich man in the story, we see the Lazaruses of our day alright-\u00c2\u00a0 the guy across the street that lost his job, the family next door where the mom has breast cancer, the kid down the block whose parents are struggling with his drug problem; but our first priority is ourselves, and the security of our own families.\u00c2\u00a0 We sympathize, but generally do not get involved.\u00c2\u00a0 The rich man does not object to the scraps that Lazarus got from the table, but he did not actively move to help Lazarus, and it can be that way for us too.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n
Now Lent is a good opportunity for us to reflect, to reflect on our lives and on our needs versus our wants.\u00c2\u00a0 That’s why we fast and abstain and give something up for Lent.\u00c2\u00a0 So that we can become more sensitive to what’s going on around us, and not so absorbed in ourselves.\u00c2\u00a0 In today’s world, we don’t have to look very far to see the pain and suffering.\u00c2\u00a0 There are a lot of Lazaruses out there in our neighborhoods.\u00c2\u00a0 So, take a moment to reflect.\u00c2\u00a0 What is going on around you that cries out for help?\u00c2\u00a0 Not just money- the almsgiving of the pocketbook, but the almsgiving of the heart.\u00c2\u00a0 Recall the closing lines of Jeremiah:\u00c2\u00a0 I, the Lord, probe the mind and test the heart, to reward everyone according to his ways, according to the merits of his deeds”.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u00c2\u00a0 Thursday of the Second Week of Lent Jer 17: 5-10; Luke 16: 19-31 Dc. Larry Brockman “Cursed is the man who trusts in human beings, who seeks his strength in flesh”.\u00c2\u00a0 Can you imagine these words of Jeremiah ringing in the rich man’s ears?\u00c2\u00a0 How that would make him feel?\u00c2\u00a0 I can, but as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=110"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=110"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=110"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=110"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}