DAILY- HOMILY

SEPTEMBER 26, 2010
26TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME – C

AMOS 6:1, 4-7
Disaster for those so comfortable in Zion and for those so confident
on the hill of Samaria, the notables of this first of nations, those
to whom the House of Israel has recourse! Lying on ivory beds and
sprawling on their divans, they dine on lambs from the flock, and
stall-fattened veal; they bawl to the sound of the lyre and, like
David, they invent musical instruments; they drink wine by the
bowlful, and lard themselves with the finest oils, but for the ruin of
Joseph they care nothing. That is why they will now go into captivity,
heading the column of captives. The sprawlers' revelry is over.

FIRST TIMOTHY 6:11-16
But, as someone dedicated to God, avoid all that. You must aim to be
upright and religious, filled with faith and love, perseverance and
gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith and win the eternal life to
which you were called and for which you made your noble profession of
faith before many witnesses. Now, before God, the source of all life,
and before Jesus Christ, who witnessed to his noble profession of
faith before Pontius Pilate, I charge you to do all that you have been
told, with no faults or failures, until the appearing of our Lord
Jesus Christ, who at the due time will be revealed by God, the blessed
and only Ruler of all, the King of kings and the Lord of lords, who
alone is immortal, whose home is in inaccessible light, whom no human
being has seen or is able to see: to him be honor and everlasting
power. Amen.

LUKE 16:19-31
'There was a rich man who used to dress in purple and fine linen and
feast magnificently every day. And at his gate there used to lie a
poor man called Lazarus, covered with sores, who longed to fill
himself with what fell from the rich man's table. Even dogs came and
licked his sores. Now it happened that the poor man died and was
carried away by the angels into Abraham's embrace. The rich man also
died and was buried. 'In his torment in Hades he looked up and saw
Abraham a long way off with Lazarus in his embrace. So he cried out,
"Father Abraham, pity me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger
in water and cool my tongue, for I am in agony in these flames."
Abraham said, "My son, remember that during your life you had your
fill of good things, just as Lazarus his fill of bad. Now he is being
comforted here while you are in agony. But that is not all: between us
and you a great gulf has been fixed, to prevent those who want to
cross from our side to yours or from your side to ours." 'So he said,
"Father, I beg you then to send Lazarus to my father's house, since I
have five brothers, to give them warning so that they do not come to
this place of torment too." Abraham said, "They have Moses and the
prophets, let them listen to them." The rich man replied, "Ah no,
father Abraham, but if someone comes to them from the dead, they will
repent." Then Abraham said to him, "If they will not listen either to
Moses or to the prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone
should rise from the dead."

REFLECTION
What we have in the first reading, the psalm, and the gospel, all
point to one thing -- that God is on the side of the poor, the
outcasts, the prostitutes and tax collectors, widows, orphans, lepers,
those whose bodies are twisted, and those who cannot see. God is for
them. God cares about them and wants to gather them in to ease their
pain and sorrow. And Jesus embodied that caring.

He moved freely with all kinds of people, urging them to have faith
and restoring their dignity. "Blessed are the poor", he said. "Blessed
are you that hunger now, blessed are you that weep now". And he
promised them the joys of the kingdom of heaven. What about the
rulers, the rich, the comfortable? "Woe to you", said Jesus, echoing
the prophets like the prophet Amos whom we hear in today's first
reading.

But why? Is it simply because they are rulers, or rich or comfortable?
Certainly not. Jesus had no quarrel with the trappings of a person's
birth. If Jesus said to these people, "Woe to you", it was because
they did not see that they were part of a system of oppression.

In today's scripture readings we are confronted with a question, and
it is not "Are you rich or are you poor?" It is not "How much do you
have" but "How much do you care". The story in today's gospel, with
its dramatic reversal of fortune after death, warns us that if we are
not open to the needs of others, and trying to meet those needs, then,
we shall discover, one day, that we have lived far from God, no matter
how many prayers we have said. And if we have lived far from God in
this life, we shall live far from him in eternity. God's judgment is
not something that has been passed on us from outside. It is his
ratification of the judgment that we have made in life by the way we
have chosen to live.

The scripture readings invite us today to use what we have now to
express our care for those in need. However little or much we may
possess, each of us has the potential to be compassionate. We know
what Jesus expects of us. We know in our hearts that he never makes
demands of us without showing us the way to fulfill those demands.

Today, take a little time out to look at your way of living. If your
Christian charity and justice are as they should be, then you are
playing a big part indeed in making this world what it ought to be and
what God wants it to be, a home for all his children.

PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray …
… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the
unborn.
… for the speedy recovery and healing of
- Susan
- Diane Luna, Remee R. Veloso
- Nikki Bahrwani
- Ely Lara
- Rita P. Cuerva
… for the personal intentions of
- Sue
- Andrew
- Titong V
.. In Thanksgiving: Daisy M. Barilla, Haresh Mirchandani, Dennis
Mercado, Loui Oca, Tracy Lucero, Chamibie Soriano, Jona Laranang,
Annie Leonardo
… for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- Birthday: Christian B. Esquillo
- Birthday: William Joseph Keyes
- Birthday: Thomas H. O'Gorman, SJ
- Wedding Anniversary: Greg & Lolita Sycip
- Wedding Anniversary: Dra. Rosalind Sia & Dr. John Lim
- Prayer Intention: Bonaface Htwai Aung
- Prayer Intention: Reform In Myanmar
- In Memoriam (+): Judy Que
… for world peace and reconciliation.

Finally, we pray for one another, for those who have asked our prayers
and for those who need our prayers the most.

Have a good day!

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