2019년 9월 29일 연중 제26주일
오늘의 복음 : http://info.catholic.or.kr/missa/default.asp
제1독서
아모스 예언서 6,1ㄱㄴ.4-7
전능하신 주님께서 이렇게 말씀하신다.
1 “불행하여라, 시온에서 걱정 없이 사는 자들, 사마리아 산에서 마음 놓고 사는 자들! 4 그들은 상아 침상 위에 자리 잡고, 안락의자에 비스듬히 누워, 양 떼에서 고른 어린 양을 잡아먹고, 우리에서 가려낸 송아지를 잡아먹는다. 5 수금 소리에 따라 되잖은 노래를 불러 대고, 다윗이나 된 듯이 악기들을 만들어 낸다. 6 대접으로 포도주를 퍼마시고, 최고급 향유를 몸에 바르면서도, 요셉 집안이 망하는 것은 아랑곳하지 않는다.
7 그러므로 이제 그들이 맨 먼저 사로잡혀 끌려가리니, 비스듬히 누운 자들의 흥청거림도 끝장나고 말리라.”
제2독서
티모테오 1서.6,11ㄱㄷ-16
11 하느님의 사람이여, 의로움과 신심과 믿음과 사랑과 인내와 온유를 추구하십시오.
12 믿음을 위하여 훌륭히 싸워 영원한 생명을 차지하십시오. 그대는 많은 증인 앞에서 훌륭하게 신앙을 고백하였을 때에 영원한 생명으로 부르심을 받은 것입니다.
13 만물에게 생명을 주시는 하느님, 그리고 본시오 빌라도 앞에서 훌륭하게 신앙을 고백하신 그리스도 예수님 앞에서 그대에게 지시합니다.
14 우리 주 예수 그리스도께서 나타나실 때까지 흠 없고 나무랄 데 없이 계명을 지키십시오.
15 제때에 그 일을 이루실 분은, 복되시며 한 분뿐이신 통치자, 임금들의 임금이시며 주님들의 주님이신 분, 16 홀로 불사불멸하시며, 다가갈 수 없는 빛 속에 사시는 분, 어떠한 인간도 뵌 일이 없고, 뵐 수도 없는 분이십니다. 그분께 영예와 영원한 권능이 있기를 빕니다. 아멘.
복음
루카. 16,19-31
그때에 예수님께서 바리사이들에게 말씀하셨다.
19 “어떤 부자가 있었는데, 그는 자주색 옷과 고운 아마포 옷을 입고 날마다 즐겁고 호화롭게 살았다.
20 그의 집 대문 앞에는 라자로라는 가난한 이가 종기투성이 몸으로 누워 있었다. 21 그는 부자의 식탁에서 떨어지는 것으로 배를 채우기를 간절히 바랐다. 그러나 개들까지 와서 그의 종기를 핥곤 하였다.
22 그러다 그 가난한 이가 죽자, 천사들이 그를 아브라함 곁으로 데려갔다. 부자도 죽어 묻혔다. 23 부자가 저승에서 고통을 받으며 눈을 드니, 멀리 아브라함과 그의 곁에 있는 라자로가 보였다.
24 그래서 그가 소리를 질러 말하였다. ‘아브라함 할아버지, 저에게 자비를 베풀어 주십시오. 라자로를 보내시어, 그 손가락 끝에 물을 찍어 제 혀를 식히게 해 주십시오. 제가 이 불길 속에서 고초를 겪고 있습니다.’ 25 그러자 아브라함이 말하였다. ‘얘야, 너는 살아 있는 동안에 좋은 것들을 받았고, 라자로는 나쁜 것들을 받았음을 기억하여라. 그래서 그는 이제 여기에서 위로를 받고, 너는 고초를 겪는 것이다. 26 게다가 우리와 너희 사이에는 큰 구렁이 가로놓여 있어, 여기에서 너희 쪽으로 건너가려 해도 갈 수 없고, 거기에서 우리 쪽으로 건너오려 해도 올 수 없다.’
27 부자가 말하였다. ‘그렇다면 할아버지, 제발 라자로를 제 아버지 집으로 보내 주십시오. 28 저에게 다섯 형제가 있는데, 라자로가 그들에게 경고하여 그들만은 이 고통스러운 곳에 오지 않게 해 주십시오.’
29 아브라함이, ‘그들에게는 모세와 예언자들이 있으니, 그들의 말을 들어야 한다.’ 하고 대답하자, 30 부자가 다시 ‘안 됩니다, 아브라함 할아버지! 죽은 이들 가운데에서 누가 가야 그들이 회개할 것입니다.’ 하였다.
31 그에게 아브라함이 이렇게 일렀다. ‘그들이 모세와 예언자들의 말을 듣지 않으면, 죽은 이들 가운데에서 누가 다시 살아나도 믿지 않을 것이다.’”
September 29, 2019
Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Daily Mass : http://www.catholictv.com/shows/daily-mass
Reading 1
Thus says the LORD the God of hosts:
Woe to the complacent in Zion!
Lying upon beds of ivory,
stretched comfortably on their couches,
they eat lambs taken from the flock,
and calves from the stall!
Improvising to the music of the harp,
like David, they devise their own accompaniment.
They drink wine from bowls
and anoint themselves with the best oils;
yet they are not made ill by the collapse of Joseph!
Therefore, now they shall be the first to go into exile,
and their wanton revelry shall be done away with.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (1b)Praise the Lord, my soul!
or:
R. Alleluia.
Blessed he who keeps faith forever,
secures justice for the oppressed,
gives food to the hungry.
The LORD sets captives free.
R. Praise the Lord, my soul!
or:
R. Alleluia.
The LORD gives sight to the blind.
The LORD raises up those who were bowed down;
the LORD loves the just.
The LORD protects strangers.
R. Praise the Lord, my soul!
or:
R. Alleluia.
The fatherless and the widow he sustains,
but the way of the wicked he thwarts.
The LORD shall reign forever;
your God, O Zion, through all generations. Alleluia.
R. Praise the Lord, my soul!
or:
R. Alleluia.
Reading 2
But you, man of God, pursue righteousness,
devotion, faith, love, patience, and gentleness.
Compete well for the faith.
Lay hold of eternal life, to which you were called
when you made the noble confession in the presence of many witnesses.
I charge you before God, who gives life to all things,
and before Christ Jesus,
who gave testimony under Pontius Pilate for the noble confession,
to keep the commandment without stain or reproach
until the appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ
that the blessed and only ruler
will make manifest at the proper time,
the King of kings and Lord of lords,
who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light,
and whom no human being has seen or can see.
To him be honor and eternal power. Amen.
Gospel
Jesus said to the Pharisees:
"There was a rich man who dressed in purple garments and fine linen
and dined sumptuously each day.
And lying at his door was a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores,
who would gladly have eaten his fill of the scraps
that fell from the rich man's table.
Dogs even used to come and lick his sores.
When the poor man died,
he was carried away by angels to the bosom of Abraham.
The rich man also died and was buried,
and from the netherworld, where he was in torment,
he raised his eyes and saw Abraham far off
and Lazarus at his side.
And he cried out, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me.
Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue,
for I am suffering torment in these flames.'
Abraham replied,
'My child, remember that you received
what was good during your lifetime
while Lazarus likewise received what was bad;
but now he is comforted here, whereas you are tormented.
Moreover, between us and you a great chasm is established
to prevent anyone from crossing who might wish to go
from our side to yours or from your side to ours.'
He said, 'Then I beg you, father,
send him to my father's house, for I have five brothers,
so that he may warn them,
lest they too come to this place of torment.'
But Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the prophets.
Let them listen to them.'
He said, 'Oh no, father Abraham,
but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.'
Then Abraham said, 'If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets,
neither will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead.'"
http://evangeli.net/gospel/tomorrow
«Now he is in comfort and you are in agony»
Fr. Valentí ALONSO i Roig
(Barcelona, Spain)
Today, Jesus confronts us with the social iniquity direct consequence of the growing inequality between rich and poor. As if belonging to one of these awful scenes we are used to watch on TV, the Lazarus' yarn hits us, and achieves the sensationalist effect to prompt our emotions: «Even dogs used to come and lick his sores» (Lk 16:21). The difference is obvious: the rich man was dressing in purple and fine linen clothes, while the sores covering him were the poor man's only dress.
But the situation is balanced when both die. And, it is now when the difference is reversed: one takes his place with Abraham; while the other, is simple inhumed. If we had never heard this story before and we would like to apply the values of our present society, we might reason out that who reached into Heaven was the rich man and the poor one, logically, buried in the sepulchre.
Abraham, the Father of the Faith, pronounces the sentence spelling the final outcome: «My son, remember that in your lifetime you were well off while the lot of Lazarus was misfortune. Now he is in comfort and you are in agony» (Lk 16:25). God's justice changes the situation altogether. God does not allow the poor man to remain forever in anguish, hunger and misery.
This message has moved millions of rich men's hearts and have converted large crowds through history; but, what kind of message will be needed in our over-developed, hyper-communicated, globalized world to make us realize all the social injustices which we are directly responsible of, or, if nothing else, which we tolerate as accomplices? Whoever heard Jesus' message desired to rest by Abraham's side, but how many, amongst us here, will have enough by being buried when dead, without wanting to receive the consolation of our Father in Heaven? The true wealth is getting to see God, and what we need, as St. Augustine asserted, is: «Walk with the man and you will reach God». That the Lazarus of everyday help us finding God.
http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html
In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells the Pharisees a story. I stop short of saying “a story about” since that answer depends on one’s perspective. Is this a story about a rich man? Or is this a story about a poor man, Lazarus? Let’s start with the former.
The unnamed rich man in this story is surrounded by every material comfort he could want. Food, drink, clothing. He seemingly wants for nothing. And at his door is Lazarus, a poor man. Hungry, thirsty, sore-ridden. What’s more, the rich man sees him and knows he is deprived of even the most basic human needs. After both men have died, the rich man asks Abraham to “Send Lazarus” to comfort him. He knows by name the man who sat at his door, whom he chose not to help. Abraham has no pity on the rich man.
By contrast, seeing this as the story of the poor man, Lazarus, offers a different perspective. Wanting for even the most basic things, Lazarus seeks not even a meal at the rich man’s table but, rather, the scraps that fall. That dogs lick his sores seems to position these dogs as more caring of Lazarus than the rich man. Lazarus is meek, receives whatever may come his way, and is received into Heaven.
So, who is this story about? I submit that this story is not about one or the other. Instead, I read this story as being about each of us.
Each of us may find ourselves as the rich man at certain times in our life and as Lazarus at others. Indeed, at their death the two men in this story switch places and experience one another’s previous state, in a way. In this story as well as others, the question of who is our neighbor – and how we should treat them – is fundamental. The Gospel is clear that we are all neighbors. once we take ownership of this reality, internalizing it, action must follow. Jesus modeled and preached a way of worshipping God that was far from theoretical and certainly far from comfortable. While we may worship God in many ways, among them must be through our concrete actions in love for one another. Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me. (Mt 25:40)
Let us embrace this calling and embrace all whom we encounter as our neighbor.
http://www.presentationministries.com/obob/obob.asp
HELL, NO! | ||
| "I am tortured in these flames." �Luke 16:24 | ||
Jesus told a parable about a rich man who was in the netherworld � an allusion to what we would call "hell." The rich man was in hell not because he was rich or because he refused to help the poor man, Lazarus. The rich man went to hell because he was insensitive to Lazarus. He didn't even notice the poor man at his door, although even dogs noticed Lazarus (see Lk 16:20-21). The rich man was not only insensitive to Lazarus but also to Moses and the prophets, that is, the Bible (Lk 16:31). The rich man and his five brothers had put themselves in such a state of spiritual stupor that they would not have been fazed "even if one should rise from the dead" (Lk 16:31). The rich man deadened his spiritual sensitivity by a worldly lifestyle. He "dressed in purple and linen and feasted splendidly every day" (Lk 16:19). He was complacent, living for comfort, enjoyment, entertainment, and pleasure (see Am 6:4-6). A worldly lifestyle doesn't necessarily put a person in hell, but it puts a person in such a state of addiction to self that he chooses hell. It is tempting to want to live a worldly lifestyle. However, Christians, who have been baptized into a supernatural new life, sometimes live a worldly, soul-numbing lifestyle. How can this be? These Christians are not living their Baptisms. Instead of rejecting Satan, all his works, and all his empty promises, we can fall into the temptation to reject "the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit" (2 Cor 13:13). Jesus died so that we would all go to heaven. His will be done. | ||
| Prayer: Father, make me so secure in Your love that I will not become empty. | ||
| Promise: "Take firm hold on the everlasting life to which you were called when, in the presence of many witnesses, you made your noble profession of faith." —1 Tm 6:12 | ||
| Praise: Majesty, might, and power be to Jesus now and for ages to come. Amen (Jude 25). |
http://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/readings/
Lazarus was carried to Abraham's bosom
What most absorbs your time, your attention, and your heart? In the parable of the rich man who refused to help the beggar named Lazarus Jesus paints a dramatic scene of contrasts - riches and poverty, heaven and hell, compassion and indifference, inclusion and exclusion. We also see an abrupt and dramatic reversal of fortune. Lazarus was not only poor and a beggar, he was also sick and unable to fend for himself. He was "laid" at the gates of the rich man's house. The dogs which licked his sores probably also stole the little bread he got for himself. Dogs in the ancient world symbolized contempt. Enduring the torment of these savage dogs only added to the poor man's miseries and sufferings.
The rich man treated the beggar with contempt and indifference, until he found his fortunes reversed at the end of his life! In God's economy, those who hold on possessively to what they have, lose it all in the end, while those who share generously receive back many times more than they gave away.
Hope in God and his merciful help
The name Lazarus means God is my help. Despite a life of misfortune and suffering, Lazarus did not lose hope in God. His eyes were set on a treasure stored up for him in heaven. The rich man, however, could not see beyond his material wealth and possessions. He not only had every thing he needed, he selfishly spent all he had on himself. He was too absorbed in what he possessed to notice the needs of those around him. He lost sight of God and the treasure of heaven because he was preoccupied with seeking happiness in material things. He served wealth rather than God. In the end the rich man became a beggar!
Do you know the joy and freedom of possessing God as your true and lasting treasure? Those who put their hope and security in the kingdom of heaven will not be disappointed (see Hebrews 6:19).
"Lord Jesus, you are my joy and my treasure. Make me rich in the things of your heavenly kingdom and give me a generous heart that I may freely share with others the spiritual and material treasures you have given to me."
Psalm 146:1,6b-10
1 Praise the LORD, O my soul!
6b LORD who keeps faith for ever;
7 who executes justice for the oppressed; who gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets the prisoners free;
8 the LORD opens the eyes of the blind. The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down; the LORD loves the righteous.
9 The LORD watches over the sojourners, he upholds the widow and the fatherless; but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.
10 The LORD will reign for ever, your God, O Zion, to all generations. Praise the LORD!
A Daily Quote for the early church fathers: Creator of both rich and poor, by Augustine of Hippo, 3540-430 A.D.
"God made both the rich and the poor. So the rich and the poor are born alike. You meet one another as you walk on the way together. Do not oppress or defraud anyone. one may be needy and another may have plenty. But the Lord is the maker of them both. Through the person who has, He helps the one who needs - and through the person who does not have, He tests the one who has." (excerpt from Sermon 35, 7)
http://www.homilies.net/
26 Ordinary Time
26 Sunday in Ordinary Time - Cycle C
Luke 16:19-31
The rich man of today's story was "a winner in this life," says James Tahaney, "and a loser in the next."
Dogs and cats in the United States eat more nutritious food than do the homeless in refugee camps in the third world. That chilling information is reported by The New York Times.
What a masterful storyteller and wordsmith the Master is. It boggles the mind to reflect how much He was able to squeeze into twelve verses. He is a teacher par excellence.
For openers, the Christ tells us that there is clearly survival after death.
Incidentally, we are fortunate enough to have forty parables. And this is the only one where a principal is named. The poor fellow is the famous Lazarus. His poverty ironically enough has won him more than a measure of immortality. The rich man is without a name. Perhaps Jesus intended that you and I should offer our names to the wealthy individual of the tale. After all, we live in a nation which controls a good portion of the world's resources.
Secondly, this parable informs us that some of us will live in bliss after our deaths. We shall sit in God's lap eating fresh strawberries out of season. We shall live in a comfort which is even beyond the state of the art.
Unhappily some of us shall go to that other place. You might call it the pits. There we will find neither room service nor terry cloth bathrobes. Rather, we shall sit clutching our heads and weeping for our miserable selves.
Polls show that many of our company do not buy hell. Unhappily there is one serious problem with that conviction. The Son of God did. He referred to God's punishment and the existence of hell about ninety times in the Gospels. It is important to reflect that God does not send us to hell. It is we who dispatch our unhappy selves.
Thirdly whether we shall ride first class on the posh Orient Express or as a bum on a freight train depends on our conduct in the here and now.
The rich fellow wound up sweating excessively in hell not because he was bad or mean. Remember he let Lazarus sit at the front door of his mansion. He permitted him to check out his garbage cans for his food. You and I might well have called the cops and had them haul Lazarus away.
Rather, the wealthy man did nothing to help Lazarus. He simply stepped over him and ignored him. He allowed the poor fellow to blend in with the decor. So, we do not have to be genetic scientists to make some elementary deductions. After our respective deaths, it will not be sufficient to say, "O God, behold a person who has done nothing wrong." God will impatiently brush that statement aside. We will hear Him ask, "Spare me that tired line. Tell me of the good you have done."
Fourthly after death our life will forever flash before us. The millionaire was able to review his life with much pain and remorse. He constantly told himself, "Yes, of course, I should have helped that fellow. I could have given him at least a small portion of my wealth." The line he will mumble over and over again is that of Robby Burns, "The saddest words of tongue and pen are these: it might have been."
Fifthly the place we ship out to after death is the last stop. There will be no Claude Rains of Casablanca fame to arrange an exit visa even to a Foreign Legion fort. We learn this from God's refusal to send Lazarus down into the pits with a six pack of cold beer. Any bottle we get down there will have a hole in the bottom as well as the top.
Sixthly (is there such a word?) God does not intend to take extraordinary means to acquaint us with the rules of the contest. Obviously He feels that we will find all the information we need in the Gospels. We learn this from God's refusal to allow the rich man to fax a message to his brothers to shape up and fly right.
one does not hear today about the six truths contained in this centuries old tale. Yet, though we may be too inhibited to speak of the last four things - death, judgment, heaven, hell, - Jesus the Christ is not.
Frjoeshomilies.net
26 Ordinary Time
Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time: Legacy
This week the Downton Abbey movie is being released!! I loved that PBS series and can't wait to see the movie. I'm sure many of you feel the same way. Along with the caustic and hilarious comments of the Dowager Countess played by Maggie Smith and the intriguing soap opera plot-lines, many of us were fascinated by the portrayal of the noble Crawly family and the people in service to them. What did those rich people do all day? All they seemed to do was dress for dinner and attend various lunches. Their staff worked their land. They even had nannies to take care of their children, seeing the children just once a day in the afternoon.
The Crawleys seemed to be like the idle rich of Amos, laying on their beds of ivory, drinking wine and oblivious to all around them. But as the series progressed, the members of the Crawly family became more and more involved in other people's lives. They turned their mansion into a hospital during World War I. They cared for the people who cared for them, and even, gasp, they got real jobs. The most important aspect of the series was the character development, the change in the Crawleys as they recognized their responsibility to those around them.
Downton Abbey was just fiction, but in real life there are many people, and sometimes some of us, who become so wrapped up in our own worlds that we miss our responsibilities to those around us. It is easy for us to miss the Lazaruses begging at our doors.
Elissa Ely wrote a story in the Boston Globe back in 2010 about an elderly lady I'll call Aunt Harriet. Aunt Harriet and her husband, Uncle Phil, never had children, but Phil's large extended family provided them with many nieces and nephews to watch grow up. They would go to all the family gatherings. Harriet was painfully shy. She was always at Phil's side, saying little more than, "Hi, how are you?" or "Good to see you." She did her part, baking tarts and cookies, but the others barely noticed her. After dinner, she would just sit somewhere and watch the children playing.
Harriet and Phil lived only a few neighborhoods away from most of the family. They would send Birthday presents and Christmas presents to their nieces and nephews, but they would only receive thank you notes back, even though the recipients could have easily paid them a visit, particularly after the nephews and nieces grew up. Harriet and Phil gave generously to their family. Their family responded minimally. The nieces and nephews weren't inconsiderate. They were just busy.
Phil died first. Harriet continued to live in their house, but without Phil to lean on, she saw his family less and less. As time went on, though, one of her nieces, Claire, decided to look in on Aunt Harriet. She started visiting her regularly. They became a close friends.
Harriet died rather suddenly. Claire took it upon herself to pack up Harriet's belongings. She brought many of these to the next family gathering--photos, paintings, knickknacks. Then as everyone was sitting around the table, Claire took out a large stuffed envelope. She emptied it on to the table. It was all their thank you notes. Harriet had saved them. The rest of the family looked at each other. It was only too late when they realized what they meant to Harriet.
There are many Lazaruses at our own gates, in our own families, and in our neighborhoods. They are the people that we easily overlook, dismiss, or ignore. Today's gospel challenges us to remove the blinders of self-centeredness from our eyes and see God right here among the poor, the isolated, the marginalized, and, particularly, those we are inclined to ignore. Every human being is created in the image and likeness of God. Every person has dignity. We need that humility that enables us to embrace one other as brothers and sisters, sons and daughters of God.
one more story, this one is about an elderly widow named Mattie Dixon. This is taken from a book of stories by Fred Craddock. Mattie died at age eighty-nine. She didn't have children. There were some distant great grand nieces and nephews, but they didn't know her well. They didn't even attend the funeral. Mattie didn't have a will. She had not taken care of anything before she passed away. Taxes and other bills had to be paid. The state took over. An auctioneer came and strangers sifted through all of Mattie's personal effects. one of these was her wedding ring. It was a heavy old ring that Mattie often turned around her finger. Now before Mattie died someone said to her, "Mattie, I love that ring. I'll give you a thousand dollars for it."
Mattie responded, "This ring represents fifty-six years of marriage. You want to buy it? I wouldn't sell it for a million dollars."
The time came for the auction. The auctioneer held up the ring. Then, down came the gavel. "Sold for ten dollars."
Today's Gospel confronts us with the question of wealth: what is of true value and what have we deceived ourselves into assigning a far greater value than its worth. Like Mattie Dixon's wedding ring, true and lasting value is determined not by scales and tables, but by the heart. A ten dollar band of metal became an invaluable sign of a lifetime shared together in the spirit of God's love.
Yes, we must prepare for our future and our family's future. However, we cannot fool ourselves into thinking that our legacy will be found in the size of our portfolio or the number of rooms in our house. We will be remembered not for what we take but for what we give. Our legacy will be what we do to make the world a happier, healthier place for all God's sons and daughters.
And, finally, our legacy will be our children. When we appear before the Lord at the end of our time, the greatest of His gifts which we can return to Him will be our children reflecting His Love in the world.
So we have Aunt Harriet, whose legacy was her love for her nephews and nieces, a love was overlooked by those who were loved, and old Mattie, whose legacy was the lasting value found in committed love. Oh yes, and then there is that story that the Lord told. A story of a rich man who had ignored Lazarus and who valued his possessions over love for his fellow man. It was the story of a rich man who had no legacy.
May we have the courage to withstand the temptation of the world to be swept up in materialism. May we never be too busy to reach out to those who need our love. May we have the determination to embrace love for others, and through others, love for our God.
Stmaryvalleybloom.org
* Available in Spanish - see Spanish Homilies
26 Ordinary Time
(September 29, 2019)
Bottom line: We have Moses and the prophets to guide us. They teach us to fast, pray and share. Above all, we have someone who has risen from the dead.
This Sunday's Gospel underscores what we saw last week: We face a crisis and we need to take decisive action. Use wealth, Jesus said, to make friends who will welcome you into eternal life. Whether we like it or not, we are involved in a high stakes game. The decisions we make have eternal consequences. We see this in Abraham's words to the rich man who wakes up in torment: "between us and you a great chasm is established to prevent anyone from crossing who might wish to go from our side to yours or from your side to ours."
How did the rich man find himself on the wrong side? Jesus gives a clue. He says that the man "dressed in purple garments and fine linen and dined sumptuously each day." Clothes can become an obsession and a person can spend all his money on the latest styles. But I think what most brought down the rich man was dining sumptuously every day. Let me explain.
It's no sin to enjoy a delicious meal, especially with family and friends. The problem is that he dined sumptuously every day. That means he never fasted. This is different from Jesus. Although Our Lord enjoyed wonderful meals, he also fasted. Before beginning his public ministry, he fasted forty days. And he said his disciples would fast when he was taken from them.
We Catholics used to practice meatless Fridays and we still do during Lent. I know many of you abstain from meat on Fridays or other days. Some of you practice the Daniel Fast avoiding from savory foods such as meat, eggs, dairy, sweets, alcohol, etc.
Fasting has a way of waking us up. In the Bible fasting is connected to care for those who have less. The rich man who dined sumptuously every day never connected with Lazarus. So focused on his stylish clothes and sumptuous meals, he didn't offer the poor man even the scraps from his table. The dogs lived better than Lazarus.
In reaching out to the poor we should follow the example of St. Vincent de Paul. He went to people's homes and treated the needy person as if he were Jesus. Our St. Vincent de Paul Society tries to follow that example.
To give cash to someone at a freeway exit can be counter productive. Better to first spend time listening, trying to discern what the person really needs. If you cannot do that, support those who do: Catholic Community Service, our parish St. Vincent's or the Mary Bloom Center. And all of us can make the effort to connect with someone on the margins - maybe in our own families.
The stakes are high. How a person treats the Lazarus at our doorstep will determine his eternal fate. We have ample warning. Jesus says that "If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead". Well, someone has risen from the dead.
To sum up: Abraham tells the rich man there's a great chasm between heaven and hell. When we die we are fixed eternally - either turned toward God or away from him. The devil wants to distract us: fine clothes, sumptuous dining every day, drugs, porn, rage, you name it. Jesus invites us to take the narrow gate, the one that leads to peace with God. We have Moses and the prophets to guide us. They teach us to fast, pray and share. Above all, we have someone who has risen from the dead. Amen.
Alexmcallister.co.uk
26 Ordinary Time
Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
9/29/2019
What we have for this Sunday's Gospel is what seems at first sight to be a straightforward parable about social justice. It is a story about the rich and the poor and in particular it is about how in the final analysis it is the poor and the persecuted who will be vindicated by God.
There is something interesting to be seen when we study the names these two characters are given. The name in the text for the poor man is Lazarus and in Hebrew this originally means 'God is my help.' It is easy to see just how suitable this name is for a poor man who is eventually justified by God.
In the text the rich man is not given an actual name but down through the centuries he has been known by the name of Dives. This word has the same root as the word divine and means 'favoured by God.' It is also very a fitting name since in his life Dives was most definitely favoured by God because he had come into great wealth and lived a very comfortable life.
Lazarus languishes at Dives gate apparently unnoticed by everyone apart from the dogs who licked his sores. When he dies he is carried away to the Bosom of Abraham. This term 'the Bosom of Abraham' was used in Biblical times to describe the place in the afterlife where the righteous remained awaiting Judgement Day. Then as it so prosaically says, 'the rich man died and was buried.' There is no Bosom of Abraham for him!
Difficult though it may have been Lazarus' life was relatively straightforward. He lived very poorly and suffered a lot in his life and but when he dies he is destined for heaven.
In the case of Dives it is quite different. In his earthly life he enjoys his riches and doesn't seem to notice Lazarus at his gate; but on death he is called to account for this oversight and suffers the consequences since he is consigned to the sufferings of hell.
So far it seems to be a straightforward account of the rich and the poor and how God will ultimately deal with them. Even so we have to be careful because it is not riches or poverty that distinguishes Dives and Lazarus but what they do with their wealth or lack of it. It is because Dives neglects his responsibility towards Lazarus that he is condemned, not for the simple fact of being rich.
We then move to the theological bit of the story and it is here that it ceases to be directly about riches and poverty and turns into a parable about those who fail to recognise the Messiah.
Dives first of all asks for water to cool his tongue but then when this request is refused he requests that a warning be given to his brothers and so he asks Abraham to inform them what has happened so that they can take steps to avoid his fate. As it is a parable we are dealing with we recognise that the brothers of Dives actually represent the rest of the Jewish people.
Abraham is the father of the Jewish nation and so he is a good person to intervene with God which is why Dives addresses him. But Abraham refuses his request saying that Moses and the Prophets had already taught the people what to do to get to heaven but were completely ignored.
Dives replies by saying that this may be so but if someone were to come back from the dead then they would get attention. But Abraham refuses his request once again saying that if the people rejected the Prophets then they would also reject whoever came back from the dead.
Of course, this last part of the parable is all about Christ and about how he was rejected even though his coming was foretold by the Prophets. At this point in his ministry Jesus had not risen from the dead but it is clear allusion by him that these events were just around the corner.
So in the end the parable is about Jesus and about his acceptance by some and his rejection by others. The justice and peace element about Lazarus lying at the gate reinforces this main point because those who accept Jesus are much more likely to see Lazarus and to care for him insofar as they can. on the other hand those who reject Jesus are more interested in themselves and so they are very likely to ignore Lazarus and look only to their own immediate interests.
The reason that someone who accepts Christ is more likely to see Lazarus and to try to help him is because they will realise that Christ did not come to save just one or two people in the world but in fact he came to save every single person. In the Christian understanding then every single person is of equal value.
The believer sees Lazarus not as a poor man of little worth but rather as a redeemed child of God. The believer sees beyond what is immediately apparent and sees Lazarus' true nature shining through. The believer knows the price that Jesus has paid for the soul of Lazarus and therefore recognises his inestimable value before God.
We Christians therefore look at the poor in a different light; their dignity according to us comes from the fact that Christ has given his life for them. We think that if Christ is willing to make such a huge sacrifice on their behalf then we ought to be doing the same. We realise that Christ sees something in them which is of inestimable value; we realise that he sees that their basic humanity is of immense worth. For these reasons we cannot ever write them off or disregard their presence.
What we then ought to be doing is cherishing the poor and needy. What we ought to be doing is to learn to love them. Of course, this is not always easy and in some particular cases it can be very difficult indeed. But we need to try; we need to work at learning to love the poor and disregarded people of our world, because this is the Christian way.
The primary thing is not to treat the poor as a group but as a whole series of individuals. What we need to do is not so much to dish out money to charity as to establish relationships with the poor people we come into contact with. It is by treating them as people each with their own personal human dignity that we begin to conform to what God wants.
In this way poor people become individual human beings to whom we can relate and not a dehumanised amorphous mass who can be easily disregarded. Each person is a unique child of God and therefore each person deserves our respect and we are required to deal with them as equals and give them the justice that they deserve.
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September 26, 2016 Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
