Cycle C - Year I:  

29 September 2019: Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time 

(Liturgical Color: Green)

Readings:

First Reading:        Amos 6:1, 4-7

Second Reading:   1 Timothy 6:11-16

Gospel:  Please Read  Luke 16:19-31

A heart of compassion for the poor!

When God created our world He also provided enough resources to sustain life in it.  But then why is there so much poverty and want in our midst?  That is an interesting question.

Well, there is poverty in the world because of the unsatiable greed of the few.  So that the wealth of the world is enjoyed only by the very few, while the rest which is the majority make do from "the crumbs that are thrown to them" by the greedy.

The parable in the Gospel this Sunday gives us a timely message about rich and poor people, the two extremes of our society.  It is meant to make us think and reflect on our Christian living.

Our Lord Jesus Christ paints a dramatic scene of contrasts in this parable -- riches and poverty, heaven and hell, compassion and indifference, inclusion and exclusion.

The rich man in the story dresses well and dines sumptuously every day, but ignores the poor Lazarus lying at his door steps and begging for food.

Now Jesus describes the poor man Lazarus as covered with sores but desiring to eat the scraps that fall from the rich man's table.  Dogs even used to come and lick Lazarus' sores.  Obviously, Jesus is revealing His heart, that He sees the pain and anguish of the poor and the sick, and it stirs His emotions.

At the end of their worldly lives, the story goes that poor Lazarus was "carried by angels to the bosom of Abraham" in heaven, while the rich man was in "the netherworld, where he was in torment".

So we may ask, what was the rich man's sin that merited his damnation?  It would appear that he did nothing wrong with Lazarus while in this life.  But it was not what the rich man did, but what he failed to do that condemned him to hell.  In other words, the rich man's wealth was not his sin.  Because there is nothing mentioned in the story that his wealth was ill-gotten.  But rather, it was his self-indulgence that blinded him to the basic human needs of his fellowman that warranted his condemnation. 

So then Jesus uses this story to teach the important lesson that all His followers must have a special place for the poor in their heart.  To be a disciple of Jesus is to have the preferential option for the poor, the sick and starving of this world.  And the Gospel parable makes it painfully obvious that this is a non-negotiable aspect of following our Lord Jesus Christ.  That is to say, if we plow through life so concerned only about our own needs and hurts that we cannot see, or attend to the suffering of others, then we cannot be Jesus' disciples.

Clearly, Jesus reminds us today that if we fail to see the "Lazarus" around us and do nothing to alleviate his suffering, we will not be happy come judgement day.  For indifference to those who are in need and who are suffering is what the Scriptures put before us today as sinful.  What we do to others we do to God.  What we do to others we do to Jesus.

Saint Teresa of Calcutta used to say that the poor and suffering people are really Christ in distressing disguise.  In each of them we must seek to alleviate Christ's pain and suffering in this world.

In sum, the message of this Sunday's Gospel is really simple:  when we are blessed with gifts and wealth, we need to share them with the less fortunate.  Because by making ourselves "poor in spirit" we will accumulate riches beyond expectations in heaven.

Also this Sunday the Catholic Church in the Philippines pays special attention particularly to women seafarers, who often times are forgotten and left behind.  Let us include in our prayers these women seafarers and their respective families.

A blessed Sunday to us all.  And thank you for a moment with God.

Ad Jesum per Mariam!