Commentary
Sunday, 9/29/2019, Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
They Were Warned
First Reading Commentary: Amos 6:1a, 4-7
The LORD was displeased with the Israelites in Samaria because they took things for granted and were living a life of luxury. They did not seem to care about anything except for their lifestyle. They had become greedy and over-confident. They were also disrespecting the way that Joseph (the grandson of Isaac) lost his power in Egypt. So, the LORD said, “Woe to the complacent in Zion…now they shall be the first to go into exile, and their wanton revelry shall be done away with.”
The two southern tribes of Israel in Judah fell to the Babylonians in 587 BC. But this prophecy of Amos was specifically about the ten northern tribes, whose capital was Samaria, falling to the Assyrians in 722 BC. This was the beginning of the period of exile for the northern tribes from the Promised Land.
When something is important or of great value to us: we take care of it. We treat it with respect and protect it because we do not want to lose it or see it destroyed. The Israelites were failing to do these things and God decided that they did not deserve what they had. We have all heard the saying, “The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away.” There you have it.
Today, too many people make the same mistakes that the Israelites were making. The world is full of greed and too many of us take things for granted. Some of us fail to look back at history, especially our religious history, so that we can learn from the mistakes and accomplishments of our ancestors. More importantly, too many of us fail to look back and fully appreciate everything that God has done for us.
There were warning signs and if the ten northern tribes were paying attention, they would have known that the Assyrians were coming. This prophecy was a warning from God. But the people were too complacent and God allowed them to fall. Sometimes, a wise father will allow his child to make a mistake because that is the only way that the child will get the message and learn the lesson. In effect, that is exactly what God did. This was not the first time that God did something like this to teach His people a lesson, it would prove not to be the last time and if we are not careful, God may do this again.
I do not want to be a pessimist, but there are warning signs in the world today and too many of us do not seem to be paying attention. Worse yet, there are those who do not seem to care or believe. I believe that the threat from global warming is such a modern-day warning. As individuals, the only thing that we can do is share our faith by spreading the Word. In order to do that, we must hold on to our faith, pray for strengthening and pray that when the day comes; we are prepared.
Aim for Success
Second Reading Commentary: 1 Timothy 6:11-16
In this part of his letter to Timothy, Paul calls Timothy a man of God and tells Timothy that he must strive for success in the mission of his ministry that he was called to carry out when he was ordained.
When we aim for success, we have to give it our all and do the best that we can do. I remember teaching my girls this. When they were young kids, I used to coach their soccer teams. I got in the habit, after every game, of always asking the team if they had done the very best that they could do. If the answer was yes; then they won no matter what the score was. If the answer was no, then they lost even if they scored the most points. At their young age, they did not really understand, but I wanted to plant the seed hoping that they would apply that principle to everything they would do later in life.
Paul is telling Timothy and us, to aim for success and to accept nothing less. But Paul is not talking about worldly success. He is talking about reaching the Kingdom of Heaven and helping others to do the same by teaching and spreading the Word. This is a commandment of Christ and if you think about it, you could say that everything that Christ taught is summed up in this commandment.
Paul said, “I charge you before God…and before Christ Jesus…to keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ…the King of kings…who dwells in unapproachable light, and whom no human being has seen or can see.” In other words, even though we cannot see Christ now, He is coming again, we will see Him then and our focus must be on making ourselves ready.
That is why Paul begins this part of his letter by telling Timothy and us to, “…pursue righteousness, devotion, faith, love, patience, and gentleness…Lay hold of eternal life…” These things are what Jesus is all about and doing these things: will bring us true success.
No Reward for the Greedy
Gospel Commentary: Luke 16:19-31
Today, Jesus tells the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus. The rich man dressed in fine linen and dined sumptuously every day. But at his doorstep was the poor man, Lazarus, who was covered with sores that the dogs came to lick and he would have gladly eaten his fill of the scraps that fell from the rich man’s table.
Take a moment to think about this picture that Jesus just painted. Could the poor man have been any worse off? Could the rich man have been anymore greedy and self-centered? Could he have shown any less compassion for his fellow man? Jesus taught us that what we do for the lowly, we do for Him. This rich man was completely out of touch in the same way that too many of the one percent are completely out of touch today.
The poor man died and was carried away by angels to the bosom of Abraham. The rich man also died and went to hell. He looked up and saw Abraham with Lazarus at his side and 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…” But 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.”
You do not have to go any further in this parable to get the first message. It is a message that Jesus gave many times and it is a message which was repeated many times by the Apostles. If you think about it, this is also one of the messages that the Father gave through Amos in today’s first reading. The message is that worldly satisfaction and wealth have no value in the Kingdom and if one makes such things the priority in their life; they will lose their reward in heaven.
Abraham continued, “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.” Here, Jesus is making reference to the final judgment in Revelation 20:11-15 as well as the new heaven and earth in Revelation 21. Anyone who does not have their name written in the book of life by the final judgment; will never enter the Kingdom and those who enter; will never leave. When Jesus, who is the Alpha and the Omega, says "They are accomplished" in Revelation 21:6; that's it! The gates will no longer be open but closed and locked forever.
So, the rich man begged Abraham to send Lazarus to his father’s house to warn his five brothers. But Abraham replied, “They have Moses and the prophets…” The rich man said, “Oh no, father…if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.” Abraham said, “If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead.”
The second message of this parable is that we have been given Jesus’ Word enough times and we have been warned enough times to get the message and follow Him. And let us not forget that He even rose from the dead. We are given every opportunity to confess and repent but if we choose to allow our hearts to be hard and refuse to listen to the Word; shame on us.
For the past several weeks, Jesus has been giving us the same messages over and over again. They are: The first will be last and the last will be first; in order to follow Jesus, we must be willing to give up everything; turn away from greed because nothing on earth has any value in the Kingdom of Heaven; be good stewards.
In today’s gospel, the rich man represents all those who do not listen to these messages from Jesus. Lazarus represents all those who are persecuted by the rich man and all those who do listen to Jesus. For them, there is the eternal reward of heaven.
