Reflection for Thursday of the Second Week of Lent
The challenging plea of the entrance antiphon confronts us immediately as we begin today’s liturgy: “Test me, O God, and know my thoughts. See that my path is not wicked, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Ps. 139:23-24). “Test me, O God” is a courageous prayer, as is “See that my path is not wicked.” Who among us would like being tested and having our behavior scrutinized? “More tortuous than all else is the human heart,” says the prophet Jeremiah in today’s first reading, “…who alone can understand it?” And the response to that question comes from the very mouth of God: “I, the Lord, alone… test the heart, to reward everyone according to his ways, according to the merit of his deeds.”
The responsorial psalm, from Psalm 1, echoes Jeremiah’s description of the one who follows the law of the Lord, who ponders on it day and night. And the law of the Lord demands that those who would be its followers must care for the poor, the afflicted, and the downtrodden. “Open your hand freely to your poor and to your needy kin in your land” (Deuteronomy 15:11). This is illustrated clearly in the Gospel passage from St. Luke (16:19-31) about the poor man Lazarus who begs only the scraps from the rich man’s table but is refused. After Lazarus’ death, the tables are turned. It is the poor man who is exalted in glory in the Kingdom and it is the man who was rich in the ways of the world who suffers eternal torment.
The communion antiphon leaves us with a thought to ponder today: “Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord” (Ps. 119:1). It is not a comforting verse that allows us to take pride in our progress toward holiness. It is a statement that confronts us, that tests the heart: Are our lives blameless? Are we walking in the ways of the Lord?
Reflection: Are we willing to open our hearts to be probed by the Lord? Are we willing to allow him to reveal the ways in which we fail to follow his law?
Reflection by Br. Michael Marcotte, OSB
Posted in Daily Reflections, Lenten Resources