TWENTY SIXTH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR

Amos 6:1a, 4-7; 1Timothy 6:11-16; Luke 16:19-31

little brother avi bala bitra                                            25th September, 2022

 

We live in a world that praises achievement and progress and resists and discards any failure. God speaks to us in many ways and touches our lives but we often fail to listen to him. He speaks to us in gentle ways and guides us in our weaknesses.

The Gospel of today gives us a quick clue regarding the Kingdom values which are different from all worldly values. It tells us that we as the children of God have the obligation and duty to look after our brothers and sisters and care for them.  We all belong to one family of God. 

Today’s First Reading taken from the Book of Amos, written during the time of prosperity and denounces the luxurious living of the leaders of Judah and foretells the retribution that was awaiting them.  These nations had rulers who were idle, insensitive to the needs of the poor while they lived in luxury. They failed to recognize their connectedness with others and their responsibility.

In the Second Reading Paul begins by calling Timothy a “man of God.”  The title man of God was generally applied to the great figures in the Old Testament such as Moses and to the prophets.  The application of this title most likely meant that Timothy was greatly dedicated to the service of God and a person who pursues the virtues befitting a leader of God’s people. 

When Paul tells his beloved disciple Timothy to fight the good fight of the faith, he was stating two things. First, Paul compares the Christian faith to a competitive race.  A race involves good competition between different chosen persons. They always compete in order to win.  Secondly, Paul was reminding Timothy that at his baptism, he had made a profession of faith before many witnesses.

The parable in the Gospel today generally termed as the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus was directed towards the Pharisees. This parable contains the all-important parabolic dynamic of reversal. 

It begins with the state on earth of the rich person and the poor man and at the end, the reversal of roles.  The rich man in the story is nameless but the poor beggar is given the name, Lazarus meaning, the poor of Yahweh as if to reverse the world’s pinion.

All the parables of our Lord are based on everyday happenings.  While we hope and pray that the case of the rich man described is not an everyday occurrence. We cannot doubt but that such cases have happened and will happen again.  This rich man had everything a man could desire on earth and he set his heart on his wealth.

He was not ignorant of God, as he was aware of Abraham and Moses and Prophets.  He was totally insensitive to the needs of Lazarus. When he died, he could not take his luxury with him in the afterlife. None of his luxuries could defend him against the judgment that awaited him. In fact, his luxury condemned him.

Lazarus is presented to us as a person who was not only destitute but also was suffered physically as well. He bore his lot patiently. He was quite content to get the crumbs from the rich man’s table.

The story goes further to tell us that both the rich man and the poor man died. The poor man was taken to Heaven by angels and the rich man was sent to Hades where he was tormented.

Central to the story is the table laden with food. This is both the symbol of the Kingdom and also points to our Eucharistic table, which we dare to approach every day.

Equally today, we have the Words of Jesus and the teachings of the Holy Catholic Church that are continuously related to us through the ministers of the Word of God. As the rich man had plenty of opportunities to hear the truth, today, God’s creations, within and without the Church, have all the necessary opportunities to hear the truth.

     - Avinash Bitra OFM Cap.