September 25, 2016

26th Sunday in Ordinary Time C
Amos 6: 1, 4-7;1 Timothy 6: 11-16; Luke 16: 19-31
The Lazarus story is a very familiar story. But it also is a very deep morality story. It asks you and
me how aware we are of what is happening in our lives and what is happening in the lives of the
people around us. Then it continues to ask what we are doing for ourselves and what are we doing
for others? Do we care…are we involved…do we live ‘I am my brother’s, sister’s keepers?’ Do I
ever think and reflect on why God has
he blinders that makes us focus on ourselves. He is reminding me once again, and I need
this daily, to open my heart to the poor, the forgotten, the isolated, the marginalized that I see each
day. Do I feel that I am too important to share and care? Then I’m exactly like the rich man in the
parable. How could he not see Lazarus at the main gate of his mansion each day? How can I fail to
see or refuse to see and respond to those God places in my life?
Living the Word, Scripture Reflections and Commentaries for Sundays and Holy Days summarizes
this parable powerfully:
“The story about the rich man and the poor man Lazarus is familiar to many of us. It is noteworthy the poor
man is named. I imagine that he was seldom called by name while begging outside the rich man’s home. How
many nameless men and women do we encounter on our city streets or standing on traffic islands alongside
our cars? How often do we avoid eye contact or fail to show the basic respect of acknowledging another
person’s presence? Even if someone is ‘working the system,’ that person is still a human being, worthy of
dignity and respect as our sister or brother. Even if we do not offer someone money or food or drink, we can
treat another person with basic human dignity.
I read a reflection that identifies our homeless sisters and brothers as prophets who cry out to us as Amos did
to the rich of his day. They remind us that those who have everything but do not care for our sisters and
brothers in need ‘shall be the first to go into exile.’ Ignoring the poor could result in our experiencing the
torment of the rich man in the Gospel parable. The cry of our poorer sisters and brothers reminds me of the
lyrics from a ’60’s song: ‘See me. Heal me. Touch me. Feel me.’ To ‘keep the commandment’ as the Letter to
Timothy asks, is to love God by loving our neighbor, rich or poor, named or unnamed, or…Jesus ate with tax
collectors and sinners, people the ‘righteous’ deemed unworthy. Like Jesus we are called to acknowledge
these prophets in our midst and feed them with human dignity, sharing with them the cup of human respect and
love.”
And the author continues with two questions for reflection.
• “How do I treat the sister or brother who begs on our city streets?
• Who would be on my list of the ‘unworthy’ who might actually be the prophet God is using to speak to me?”
• Have I ever done without while others possess more than they needed? How did I feel about that?
How does it feel to have more than the people I am with daily?
• Have I ever worried that my economic security is put in jeopardy by the growing population of
the poor?
• Do I really listen to Jesus today?
• Do I notice the poor and marginalized or do I look the other way? Why do I do this?
• Can I go back and reread this parable and ask where do I fit in and what can I do for those who
are hurting and in need?
Sacred Space 2016 says:
“Jesus turns everything on its head. For Him the kingdom of God is the only absolute value. The creative
power of the Holy Spirit is active in every person, even in those who belong to no Christian denomination. Can
I rejoice in that? ‘In the evening of life we will be examined in love’ (Saint John of the Cross).
What makes a person great? Is it power, or wealth, or skills, or beauty, or giftedness of one kind or another?
In the kingdom of God greatness is judged by one’s capacity to serve others. So it is the little people of the
earth, those who serve the rest of us, who turn out to be the greatest!Will I be considered great in God’s
Kingdom?”