PRAYER MOMENT
Thursday
20 March 2014
A GREAT GULF
Pause. Be still
in the presence of God and enter within.
Reading: “Between
us and you a great gulf has been fixed, to stop anyone, if he wanted to,
crossing from our side to yours, and from anyone crossing from your side to ours.”
(Luke 16:19-31, Jer 17:5-10)
Reflection. This
gulf is terrifying. In the story of the rich man and Lazarus it is described as
final and un-crossable. But the gulf is actually fixed by us in this life.
People actually decide to centre all their energy on building up their power
and wealth. They make a deliberate decision to ignore the poor and the weak. We
can list the terrible things men and women do to each other; from before they are
born when some are killed, to their upbringing when some are exploited and
abused, to their adult years when people are oppressed, ignored or just used as
commodities for economic or political purposes. The gulf is built here and
confirmed in the life to come. I find it quite terrifying that people make
these choices. But that is the reality of our world. We create a bleak culture
of hardness that nothing seems to penetrate.
Prayer. Lord, open
our eyes, break down the barriers between us and enable us to see how
self-destructive we are. Have mercy on our poor world with all its injustice
and suffering. Amen.
David Harold-Barry SJ
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