I think I mentioned before how I was once impressed by a very young man’s confession when, instead of simply going through all his sins, he said that he is most sorry for neglecting the opportunity that God gave him to help another person. How mature, I thought, and how much it is related to Jesus’ parable for today. The parable is about the rich man who ‘dined sumptuously each day’ and a poor man named Lazarus who was begging for something to eat, but the rich man ignored him. After they both died, Lazarus went to heaven and the rich man to hell. And the most interesting thing here is that the rich man didn’t end up in hell because he was a rich man. He didn’t go there because he was a bad man, a sinful man. No. In fact he even asked Abraham to warn his brother and father. He ended up there because he neglected the opportunity of helping another person in need. This is a warning to all of us. Lent is a season of fasting, praying, and giving alms, and helping those who need our help. Do we take this seriously - do you take it seriously?
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