For this time it will be God without disguise; something so overwhelming that it will strike either irresistible love or irresistible horror into every creature. It
will be too late then to choose your side. There is no use saying you choose to lie down
when it has become impossible to stand up. That will not be the time for choosing; it will
be the time when we discover which side we really have chosen, whether we realized
it before or not. "
C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, 1944
“Finally, the poor man died and was carried by the angels to be with Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried, and his soul went to the place of the dead. There, in torment, he saw Abraham in the far distance with Lazarus at his side.
The rich man shouted, ‘Father Abraham, have some pity! Send Lazarus over here to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue. I am in anguish in these flames.’ But Abraham said to him, ‘My son, remember that during your lifetime you had everything you wanted, and Lazarus had nothing. So now he is here being comforted, and you are in anguish. And there is a great chasm separating us. No one can cross over to you from here, and no one can cross over to us from there.’
Then the rich man said, ‘Please, Father Abraham, at least send him to my father’s home. For I have five brothers, and I want him to warn them so they don’t end up in this place of torment.’ But Abraham said, ‘Moses and the prophets have warned them. Your brothers can read what they wrote.’
The rich man replied, ‘No, Father Abraham! But if someone is sent to them from the dead, then they will repent of their sins and turn to God.’ But Abraham said, ‘If they won’t listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be persuaded, even if someone rises from the dead.’”
Luke 16:19-31
"It is not possible to found a lasting power upon injustice, perjury, and treachery. These may, perhaps, succeed at first, and limp along on hope for awhile with a flourishing appearance. But time betrays their weakness, and they eventually fall into ruin of their own designs."
Demosthenes, Bartleby, 1917
The sin of the rich man in the parable of Lazarus was not that he had been given great wealth, even though has no gratitude, no sense of obligation, and thereby no empathy. He thinks that it is all because of his own merits. His sin is that he allowed his preoccupation, his obsession with worldly possessions, to blind himself with his pride to the suffering of Lazarus, his poor brother, who sat every day on his doorstep. And he gave him nothing, not even a look or a kind word.
It was only in the torment of the afterworld that the rich man's eyes are opened. And looking across the great gulf he finally sees Lazarus, with the holy Abraham. And the first thing that the rich man does is to beg for comfort for himself, and ask Lazarus for a favor. He feels no repentance, never once saying that he is sorry.
For even as his eyes were opened, his heart remained hardened, obstinate, and he remained firmly in the grip of his sins. It was his sins that were the chasm that separated him from true life— the door to his torment was locked from the inside.
Nations that have been blessed can blind themselves to their excesses and offenses, while taking sole credit for the blessings that have been given to them. And so they misuse their power and wealth and great fortunes, granted to them by God, to oppress and subjugate others.
And in their hardened hearts they hold their selfishness aloft, profanely, as the greatest good, the exceptional — even as they oppress and plunder and murder their own and others.
Until at long last God humbles them, and breaks the backbone of their power."
Jesse, Lazarus and the Rich Man, 12 March 2020
Stocks declined sharply today, although they managed to rebound from the lows in the last hour of trading.
Gold and silver corrected, somewhat sharply. The Dollar rose to 104.40.
The managers of the casino could see the specs leaning into the precious metals rally, and decided to take them out for a quick wash and rinse.
For in this casino, the house knows in aggregate and sometimes in the specific what you are holding in your hand.
VIX rose slightly but remains subdued.
I am sick at heart over what the servants of the darkness of this world are doing, by their own hand and through those they have bought, having been bought themselves, in a mutual fellowship of corruption.
Their judgement will be terrible to behold. May God have mercy on their souls.
Cromwell: Sir Richard is appointed Attorney General for Wales.But if it is God's will, may they face some justice in this life, for their own repentance perhaps, and as an example for salvation of the many.
Thomas More: For Wales. Why Richard, it profits a man nothing to give his soul for the whole world— but for Wales?"
Robert Bolt, A Man For All Seasons
Have a pleasant evening.
