Weekly thoughts on the Sunday Gospel, readings or a topic...

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seeing your life through the lens of the gospels – Luke 16:19-32
1. The first of the faults attributed to the rich man is his insensitivity to the abject poverty of those around him. When have you discovered that it is when you are aware of the needs of those around you and seek to make some response that you bring out the best in yourself?
2. The second fault attributed to the rich man is the way he ignored the word of God coming through Moses and the prophets. How have the gospels, the Scriptures or your faith opened you up to a deeper and more satisfying perspective on life?
3. Some people look to the spectacular for a sign of God’s presence and action. For Jesus, the lessons we need are not to be sought in the spectacular, but in the ordinary things of everyday life. Where have you found reminders of God’s presence in the world around you? 
– John Byrne, OSA

The Deep End
Last Sunday’s Gospel reminded us of what economics according to God looks like – it spoke of a redistribution of wealth by a manager who realised that material wealth is only temporary; what we do with that wealth and how we distribute it is more important. Today’s parable is on a similar theme. The rich man is sorry, but it is too late for him. He had not come to his senses as the manager last week had done. The rich man is unwilling to change; even in the afterlife he wants Lazarus sent, ordered, to go to his brothers to warn them. It is not proof or special signs that they need. Their vision has been blinded by wealth. They need to ‘see’ the poor who are at their gates.
God’s economics means striving for a world where the poor man Lazarus can sit down at the same table as the rich man. It is not simply enough to comfort the poor and say to them that they will be rewarded in heaven. This misses the point. Luke is pointing us to a great reversal that is so central to this Gospel, a call to turn the world as we know it upside down.
‘It is not God’s will for some to have everything and others to have nothing.’ (Oscar Romero)  – Jane Mellett

(from Intercom)