Sunday Homily 9-26-10, 26th Ordinary Time
Readings: Amos 61-7; Psalm 146, Praise the Lord My Soul; 1 Timothy 6, 11-16; Luke 16, 19-31.
Intro to
I want to talk about our first reading in a bit more detail than normal. The Book of the Prophet Amos is extremely interesting in so many ways, yet we only have readings from it this year today and last Sunday, and on only one Sunday last year and none next year!!
The book falls into the grouping referred to as the minor prophets, not due to their importance but more to the length of the books. There are twelve books in this grouping, contrasting with the major prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel. The book was originally put together around the year 750 BCE and its main message is that the Northern Kingdom of Israel and the Southern Kingdom of Judah are in trouble because they have neglected the poor.
Both Kingdoms are doing very well. Both kingdoms have had peace and stable rule, but only some of the people are very wealthy. Most are very poor. One interesting aspect of the book is that it introduces the concept that all of the nations, not just the Jews, are under YHWH’s jurisdiction, and all will suffer because they have not followed God’s laws.
Amos himself was a shepherd and his work is mainly a social commentary on the current injustices he sees in society. He anticipates what we know will happen in 721, the invasion and destruction of the northern kingdom by the Assyrians. Our reading today fits perfectly with the message in the gospel.
Twenty sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time – Homily
I remember when the church changed the words of the “I confess” and added “and what I have failed to do”. It added a new level to my understanding of sin. It used to be that I sinned by doing something and now I was being told that I could also sin by NOT doing something!
This is exactly what happens to the rich man in today’s gospel reading from Luke. By all accounts he was a success- he did very well for himself by the world’s standards- he had very nice clothes and ate the finest foods every day! There was only one problem – he didn’t do anything about the poor man parked outside his door. Oh, he knew he was there, he even knew his nam. He just failed to do anything about him.
The rich man saw himself as far superior to Lazarus. Even in the afterlife he thought he could have Lazarus do his bidding. He failed to see that all men are created equal and that we are all brothers and sisters in God’s eyes.
It is worth noting that even though the rich man appears to have everything, he doesn’t have a name, whereas we do know the poor man’s name, Lazarus. To further highlight the difference between the rich man and Lazarus, Luke gives us the detail about the dogs, which were considered unclean animals, licking Lazarus’ sores.
The story is aimed at the Pharisees, who thought of themselves as careful followers of the Law of Moses. They were also wealthy. Luke has two agendas running through the parable.
One is the danger we fall into when we think we are doing things according to the law. As Catholics our tradition could very easily lead us to fall into a similar trap. If we obey all the rules, get all the boxes checked; so to speak, then we will end up in heaven. It has a tendency to create a kind of mechanical process to our faith! Plus we run the risk of then deciding that anyone who doesn’t follow those rules just won’t make it. This was the whole problem, which so many of the Jews had with the whole message of Jesus. They were scandalized by his behavior. He ate with tax collectors and sinners!!
The second item on Luke’s agenda was the challenge of the resurrection! The rich man thinks that if Lazarus would only reappear from the dead, then his brothers would change their behavior. Belief in the resurrection isn’t as simple as seeing someone come back from the dead!
The message for us today: make sure we are not mechanically just following a formula in our lives, and what does the resurrection mean to me today?
Picture 1: Mass Beginning
Picture 2: Communion
Picture 3: Bobby handing over our check to CCAC
Picture 4: Jackie receiving our $2000 monthly donation to the Collin County Adult Clinic