Thursday of the Second Week of Lent

 Lectionary: 233

Cursed is the man who trusts in human beings,
who seeks his strength in flesh,
whose heart turns away from the LORD.
He is like a barren bush in the desert
that enjoys no change of season....

Historians might someday refer to the early decades of the 21st century as the "second gilded age." Like the end of the nineteenth century, we see absurd wealth,  deep poverty, and an ever-widening gap between them in the United States and around the world. Thousands of used clothing and dollar stores have popped up like mushrooms to serve the impoverished. As a very few persons amass enormous wealth, America's promise of a prosperous future disappears.

Jesus's parable about the rich man and Lazarus mocks the rich man and reminds us of death, judgment, heaven and hell. If these threats are ignored they do not go away. The rich man is shown to be a fool for he trusts in a human system that is necessarily unstable and corrupt. He has had many warnings from "Moses and the prophets" but regards his wealth as impregnable. "The Economy," his false god, must collapse from time to time, taking him and his kind into desolation and despair. The cycles may not be as regular as the four seasons but they are predicted and expected. 

There are ways to forestall these crashes. Leviticus prescribes periodic debt relief and the restoration of living standards to the poor and homeless. It should be common sense that, so long as there is wealth and poverty, there must be debt relief. Those who fix the system to favor themselves can fix it to relieve poverty. Violence and upheaval are the only alternatives. 

But the "haves" scorn the topic; they regard debtors as fools who should have known they could never dig themselves out. Their future is like the past; they foresee nothing but more of the same. 

Today's first reading pronounces a curse on the man who trusts in human beings. The odd thing is that the wealthy suppose they do not rely on others. With their wealth they have purchased an imaginary freedom from human beings. They build isolated kingdoms and surround themselves with needy sycophants who tell them only what they want to hear. 

They forget that money is fluid, it's called currency because its flows in currents. And like the currents that destroy sea coasts and lake shores, wealth goes where it wants to go regardless of human effort. The lucky few consider themselves clever for having amassed a fortune; they believe only in themselves. 

God's promises are threats and his threats are promises. They cannot be separated. Our Mother Mary teaches us with her own sweet voice that the Lord casts down the mighty from their thrones and lifts up the lowly. As he fills the hungry with good things, he sends the rich away empty. 

Jesus's parable reminds us of his servant, the Great Equalizer, who often arrives before debt relief is granted. Death, a servant of God, promises mercy to the just and justice to the merciless.