By Kristine Schroeder
Lessons Learned
“All you who have ears ought to hear” (Matthew 11:15).
I recently read that Ash Wednesday, which is not a holy day of obligation, is one of the most attended Masses of the year. As a young adult, I thought it was required. When I discovered otherwise, I wondered why so many people continue to show up, often skipping their lunch hour to attend a Mass.
I believe the attendance is driven by our deep longing to be in communion with God. On that Wednesday, a cross of ashes on our forehead reminds us, “You are dust and to dust you shall return,” at an unavoidable time only God knows. That somber thought suggests we need to “Change our evil ways, Baby,” as the popular song says. Evil is probably too strong of a word for most of our sins, but if we are honest and introspective, we know that weall need improvement in some aspects of our life. Hopefully, we leave Mass that day with a renewed spirit of repentance for past behaviors and a desire to grow closer to Christ by imitating his ways and not the world’s. Not a simple task!
I appreciate the prophet Jeremiah. His choice of words is straightforward, and he does not shield us from the consequences we will incur by our choices. The readings on Thursday, March 5, were well paired. In the first reading, Jeremiah 17: 5-10 warned, “Cursed is the man … whose heart turns away from the Lord. He is like a barren bush in the desert that enjoys no change of season.” No soft pedaling there!
Jeremiah then says, “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord. He is like a tree … planted beside the stream. It fears not the heat when it comes … In the year of drought it shows no distress.” Jeremiah concludes with this sobering thought. “The Lord … rewards everyone according to his ways, according to the merit of his deeds.” Are we listening?
Psalm 1, which followed, concurs. “Blessed the man … who delights in the law of the Lord and meditates on his law day and night.” It nearly repeats Jeremiah’s words, “He is like a tree planted near running water … whose leaves never fade.” The psalmist finishes with a paraphrase of what Jeremiah expressed. “For the Lord watches over the way of the just, but the way of the wicked vanishes.” Vanishes! That idea segues directly into the day’s Gospel.
Luke 16: 19-31 leaves no doubt of the message. We will reap what we sow. It is the familiar tale of Lazarus and the rich man. The rich man dies and is in the netherworld begging Abraham, “Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue.” Abraham reminds him that while on earth, he lived in comfort, ignoring the needs of Lazarus and others similar. Now he suffers the ramifications of his choices.
Why is the rich man nameless while Lazarus is identified? Perhaps it is a way of showing how the poor appeared faceless to the rich man when he was alive. He did not recognize them as individuals struggling and needing assistance. Once he realizes that he cannot change his fate, I credit the rich man for at least caring about his five brothers who are still alive. However, Abraham’s reply reverberates with finality. “If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead.” Did we hear that?
The message from these Bible stories are as valid today as they were when they were originally inscribed two thousand years or more ago. The readings are telling us to wake from our complacency and to carefully examine the direction of our lives. What needs to change if we hope to gain heaven in the next life? Time is of the essence!
We are dust and someday (as morbid or frightening or distant as this possibility may seem) we will be dust again. Ash Wednesday opens the door to the possibility of a new and improved edition of ourselves that will take us to our last day. Are we listening?