26th Sunday of the Year (C) 2016

 26^th Sunday Year (C)

(Amos 6:1, 4-7; 1^st. Timothy 6:11-16; Luke 16:19-31)

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today’s readings present us with some strong word-pictures made all the more striking by their resemblance to modern-day excesses in our Western society.  The words of the prophet Amos transport us directly into the revelries of the debauchees of his time and of all times addressing them directly with a warning in the name of God which he leaves hovering menacingly over them:

Woe to the complacent in Zion!  Lying upon beds of ivory, stretched comfortably on their couches, they eat lambs taken from the flock, and calves from the stall! Improvising to the music of the harp, like David, they devise their own accompaniment, drink wine from bowls and anoint themselves with the best oils.

St. Paul had that sort of life-style in mind when, earlier in the letter from which our second reading was taken, he taught his converts:

Those who want to be rich are falling into temptation and a trap, and into many foolish and harmful desires which plunge them into ruin and destruction; for the love of money is the root of all evils.  But you, man of God, pursue righteousness, devotion, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness; fight the good fight of faith, lay hold of eternal life, to which you were called. 

The same theme was taken up again in our Gospel reading, where Jesus, in His parable of a luxuriantly rich man with a poor beggar at his gate, names the poor man Lazarus but gives no name to the rich man, almost as if He was too disgusted to dignify with an honourable name one leading such a life:

There was a rich man who dressed in purple garments and fine linen and dined sumptuously each day, and lying at his door was a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores which the dogs used to come and lick.

Jesus brought His parable to its climax after both the rich man (traditionally referred to as ‘Dives’ from the Latin word meaning ‘rich’) and Lazarus had died, thereby revealing to us where such revelling in luxury and pleasure ultimately leads:

The rich man 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 torment in these flames.'  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.’

Why did Jesus give a parable with Abraham as the heavenly figure?  Perhaps, because He was, at that time, speaking to some Pharisees; for earlier we are told:

The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, derided Jesus. (Luke 16:14)

It would seem that Jesus was saying to them: ‘You who trust in your descent from Abraham and yet love money so much, it is not I who will ultimately condemn your behaviour.  No, it will be Abraham -- in whom you trust and boast -- whom you will find both unwilling and unable to help you when you come to reap your retribution of punishment for pleasure and humiliation for pride.’  For Jesus has Abraham answer Lazarus’ appeal on behalf of his brothers, with the words:

                They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them,

just as, in another confrontational encounter with certain Pharisees, He had earlier invoked Moses in much the same way as today He mentions Abraham:

Do not think that I shall accuse you to the Father; there is one who accuses you -- Moses, in whom you trust, for he wrote about me. (John 5:45)

So, attacking His pharisaic adversaries root and branch – proud descendants of Abraham and dedicated adherents to the Law of Moses – all who heard Jesus speak were left in no doubt that those who chose to give their lives over to pride, pleasure, and plenty, would ultimately pay the price, no matter who they might be or how satisfied they might at this moment seem to be.

Does the proclamation of Mother Church in these our days convey that same awareness and understanding, or does she in fact only dare to openly declare emotional words of comfort and sympathy for some, presumed likely to be repentant, sinners?

Moreover, notice how, in the parable, Abraham explained the situation to the rich man:

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.

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, those words are full of meaning for us too.  The God we worship is holy and just, and the gifts He gives us are -- all of them -- good, they are all blessings: strength or beauty, intellectual or physical capabilities, attractive personality or strength of character, a sensitive and understanding nature or an independent and courageous spirit.  But if, in the course of our earthly life, we choose to put these good things to sinful use -- be it by totally luxuriating in our personal enjoyment of them as did our rich man (why should we name him?) who never even noticed Lazarus lying at his gate in abject poverty, or by diverting them from their original and primal purpose of giving glory to God and service to society into instruments for personal aggrandizement and individual advantage, then such misuse will meet with sure punishment after death.  Strength is debased by the bully and the thug, beauty is sullied by the siren or the tart; intelligence is abused by the criminal and personal charm betrayed by the fraudster.

Mother Church and our society have suffered long from the gentle-Jesus people – more humanitarians than Christians -- who make our Catholic faith at times seem spineless, toothless, and totally unable to inspire or challenge anyone.  And yet, just as, in the Old Testament there was no way back for Esau who sold his birthright for a bowl of pottage, though he pleaded with many tears to his father Isaac; so too, in Jesus' New Testament parable, there is no repeal for the rich man in hell, not even a hearing for his prayer on behalf of his brothers.  For, just as we strengthen the humble and repentant with hope for the future when we remind them of the merciful goodness of God, so we best serve the proud and self-indulgent who despise and ignore proclamations of divine mercy, by warning them in no uncertain terms of the promise of dread punishment for all unrepentant and contumacious sinners.

Money, of itself, is not evil, but it is as Jesus said, ‘a tainted thing’.  Jesus spoke of money in that way because, for the most part, the making of much money comes from dishonest practices and leads to sinful indulgence.  But for an age such as ours, where ideals are so low and worldly goods seem so attractive, we should perhaps pass by as much as we can and condemn only what it totally unacceptable.   Therefore let me simply repeat the Christian and Catholic teaching: money and money-making are not intrinsically evil; indeed, honest making of money can bring the great blessing of employment for others, while money personally possessed can be used to benefit others in need, as Jesus Himself had just said:

Make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home. (Luke 16:9)

Nevertheless, we Catholics should not allow ourselves to be deceived neither should we deceive ourselves: a life spent trying to get, enjoy, and pile up money, is a wasted life, and ultimately, an evil life. Some there are who -- vaguely recognizing this in the vestiges of their conscience -- try, by special token actions and publicised words and gestures that proclaim more the cunning of their minds than the sincerity of their hearts, to deceive both themselves and others.  There are others, less devious perhaps, but more pathetic, who like to think there is safety in numbers, and who, clinging to that gentle-Jesus sort of attitude I mentioned before, cloud their minds with such thoughts as: "Surely all those other people can't be condemned!"  The answer is, of course, that we do not know who or how many will be condemned, but we do know for certain that Jesus once said:

Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it.  For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it. (Matthew 7:13-14)

We are a people whose relatively recent Catholic development is marked out clearly by the changes in our appreciation and understanding of the Latin word "caritas” which was originally translated as “charity".  That "charity" meant heavenly love; it was God-given and was inimitable.  The translation was then changed to "love", and it’s meaning was understood, first of all, as noble human love, the love of friendship  and married love; then, because a downward slope easily becomes slippery, the word ‘love’ in popular usage gradually came to signify the sexual expression of all sorts of human relationships, even the most aberrant and abhorrent. Finally today, it is used to designate any and every emotional exuberance: be it that of parents who ‘let their children decide for themselves’ in all things; or of the abortionists ever willing to indulge any weeping prospective-mother by encouraging her to let the child she is carrying pay for her ‘mistakes’; or of those promoting the right to assisted death for the sick and elderly regardless of the threat such a ‘right’ could easily become for others selfishly considered ‘old and useless’.  For all such people the words discipline, self-control, self-sacrifice, patience, trust, and supremely, faithfulness, are almost dirty words, said to be unsympathetic and inhuman, certainly inadmissible and unacceptable, as descriptions of a modern way of life. 

You justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts; what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God.

People of God, we should try to appreciate our Faith -- in the integrity of its truth and beauty, its strength and sheer goodness -- ever more and more.  We should try to appreciate it better in order that we might come to love it more, indeed with our whole mind, heart, soul, and strength, so that we might allow it free and full expression in our lives by refusing to accommodate ourselves to that pervading shallow-mindedness of modern society which, for so many, smothers and distorts like thick smog the true light of faith and the real beauty of love, just as it enervates the sure strength of self-discipline and the deep joy of self-sacrifice.   And Jesus Himself has given us the most sublime help and encouragement in this by His parting Gift to all who would love Him enough to keep His commandments:

I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—the Spirit of truth, Whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.  (John 14:16-17)

The world loves to see – and seeks to share in -- the joys and pleasures of the rich, the successful, the winners, the happy-go-lucky ones, indeed of all those fully satisfied with their earthly lot and the pleasures it affords them.  But the world cannot see any reason for our Christian joy and Catholic hope, it cannot see the Person of our God, neither can it measure, calculate, check, or confirm Him or His Presence … therefore the world at the very best can only be an uncomprehending and largely unsympathetic neighbour, needing our help indeed but rarely willing to admit to any such need or accept any relevant help.

However, our God is for us, dear People of God, one Who dwells with us in Mother Church, ever guiding, strengthening, and enlightening her for our good, our nourishment and our salvation, and in each and every one of us, that we might strive to serve our Blessed Lord Jesus in all the details of our daily life and experience.  But He is, most wonderfully of all, in us as the bond of Love and Truth between Father and Son that He might draw us personally to come to love God Personally.  He is now in us as Jesus’ Gift seeking to bond us into/in the intimacy of the family of God, living by and sharing -- as adopted children -- in His infinite Love and Beatitude, Holiness and Peace:  a God for us still here on our pilgrim way to be listened to and obeyed indeed, but also One to be ever more amazingly wondered-at and ecstatically delighted-in as the only Holy One, supremely wise and beautiful, sublimely good and true, eternal and omnipotent, the very Foundation and Fulfilment of our whole being, of all our hopes and ultimate aspirations                                                                                                                   

25th Sunday of the Year C 2016

25th. Sunday Year (C)

(Amos 8:4-7; 1Timothy 2:1-8; Luke 16:1-13)

He who is trustworthy in very small matters is also trustworthy in great ones; and he who is dishonest in very small matters is also dishonest in great ones.

This teaching is applicable to many aspects of life and training: for example, when learning to play the piano I was told that if I could play the piece slowly, in a controlled manner with no mistakes, then I would soon be able to play it at speed; and in all forms of endeavour -- intellectual, technical and athletic -- it is essential to acquire the basic skills if one hopes to attain to any degree of true proficiency.   There is, however, one decisive sphere in our human experience where it is supremely necessary and beneficial: that is, in parental upbringing of children in those ‘very small matters’ which are the most easily corrected before any bad habit has been formed.

Although most parents would say they agreed with the principle, nevertheless, far too many seem to have difficulty in their practical application of it; since, for whatever reasons, they do not want, or do not feel themselves able, to closely observe and lovingly guide their children in certain basic aspects of humanity that promote and protect happiness as individuals and peace and cohesion as members of society.  As a result they allow their children to grow up without any clear understanding of right and wrong, and no appreciation of the need for and dignity of good manners for life in society.  Never having learned to practice loving obedience towards their parents, such children grow up with little respect or reverence for the elderly or those in positions of authority; and being unversed in the practice of discipline and self-control, they have little awareness, and even less appreciation, of the rights of others, especially the humble, the weak and needy.  

Parents who thus -- instead of being confidently aware of their own dignity as Catholic and Christian parents and trustfully facing up to their responsibilities -- consistently speak soft and self-excusing words such as "He is only a baby, she only young", and thereby allow children in their care to grow up unruly, disrespectful, disobedient, selfish and cheeky, will, inevitably, be themselves found responsible, in their measure, for the subsequent excesses of the lout and the mugger, the addict and the drop-out, the lawless and the violent adult, gradually formed and finally turned out by their school of self-absolving, careless, indulgence over many years.  As a result, many in positions of authority and obligation with regard to children will have a very severe judgement to face because of their failure to recognize and teach the truth contained in those words:

He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much.

Having already glanced at the roots of crime in our modern society, we are now invited to turn our attention to worldly wealth.  In our Gospel reading Jesus went on to tell us:

If you are not trustworthy with dishonest wealth, who will trust you with true wealth?

This "dishonest" wealth, of which Jesus speaks, is often called "worldly wealth" which is – often enough in the case of great acquired wealth – dishonestly acquired, and always dishonest or unrighteous in so far as it tempts those who seek it into sinful, unrighteous ways, as we heard in the first reading:

Hear this, you who trample upon the needy, and destroy the poor of the land!  "When will the New Moon be over,” you ask, “that we may sell grain, and the Sabbath, that we may display the wheat? We will diminish the ephah, add to the shekel, and fix our scales for cheating!  We will buy the lowly for silver, and the poor for a pair of sandals; even the refuse of the wheat we will sell!"

The true riches, on the other hand, of which Jesus speaks, are those given us by God, as Jesus promises elsewhere (Matthew 25:34):

Then the King will say to those on His right hand, 'Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.’  

Our Western society, and in particular, current American society, is marked by, and hated for, its abuse of wealth:

When will the Sabbath be past that we may sell grain and trade wheat, making the ephah small and the shekel large, falsifying the scales that we may buy the lowly for silver?

Whilst we cannot deny that unsavoury side of our western world, especially when it is represented by certain multi-national companies, nevertheless, it is by no means an exclusively western evil, for when we look at so many of the ruling classes or the ruling authorities in all parts of the world we see individuals and groups who are just as ready and eager as any western tycoon to abuse wealth for the satisfaction of their own lusts for pleasure and power, without any real consideration for the needs of their own people.  However, not just rulers and those in authority, not only multi-national companies, but indeed, all of us, need to look at our attitude to worldly wealth, for there are many so-called Christians who gladly put wealth first of all in their list of wishes to be fulfilled by some genie out of a bottle; and, in that respect, they too will not be without some share in the guilt of those whose more manifest abuse of wealth they like to vocally condemn.

We must first of all realise that worldly wealth is not, of itself, an evil.  It does, indeed, lead easily to evil, but, of itself, it can be accepted on trust for the good of others.   We have had examples of this in our own society over the centuries; and in the early Church, some very wealthy members of Roman society, on becoming Christians, used their wealth to help fellow-Christians.   Indeed, the very making of honest wealth, can be good: for Christian business men and women can indeed do great good by providing work for others.  What is evil, however, is a desire for worldly wealth which would overstep the commands of God and override the rights of others, and in this respect, I repeat, many ordinary Christians are as guilty in their own hearts and little lives as those they may curse with their tongues.   How many men will call a businessman a fat cat with indeed a measure of hatred in their attitude even though he provides work for many, while wholeheartedly cheering and childishly praising much wealthier and perhaps totally self-centred footballers?  In this matter we must remember again the words of Jesus:

If you are not trustworthy with what belongs to another, who will give you what is yours?

The wealth of this world is possessed not by all men but only by a small minority; nevertheless, the natural riches of this world from which all personal wealth arises are most certainly given by God directly for all men.  Moreover, all the natural endowments of human nature together with the multitude of personal talents bestowed upon individuals are again given by God and intended indirectly, mediately, for all men: the talents of Beethoven and Handel, for example, while supporting and fulfilling their individual lives and aspirations, were also and supremely meant and bestowed to afford joy, comfort, and uplift, to all men.  In other words, whatever our situation in life, we all have gifts and corresponding responsibilities for those gifts: parents, teachers, the wealthy and the workers, those in authority and those in humble service, all of us have something which is not just for ourselves but for the good of others too, for the good of society, and of the world; and we Catholics are commanded and called to use such blessings -- our wealth of whatever sort -- for the good of others as well as for ourselves.

We come finally to the question of authority and power, so closely allied to and connected with wealth.  Here we are not to judge so much as to pray, for we need men and women who are able to bear authority and exercise power.  Governments are vital for policies but individuals are essential for decisions; and we must never forget that our specifically Christian duty -- a more serious and more essential duty than that of monitoring and criticising lots of things we do not, and cannot, fully understand -- is the duty of prayer for those at the helm of the nation.  Politics is supremely important for the well-being of millions, and it is also extremely involved: it is a devious skill at the best, where good intentions can easily be poisoned by a lust for power, or diverted by scheming and flattery, and where opportunities for self-serving abound, whilst true friends are rare if only because they are not easily to be discerned among the many pretenders surrounding those in high positions.  All this results in our joking frequently about politicians, but we can never dispense with them as a whole; and because the world in which they live and work is both dangerous and at times, evil, the most sincere prayers of Christians are truly needful for such men and women to persevere faithfully seeking to uphold Christian values and/or diligently serve the true good of the whole of society:

First of all, I ask that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgiving be offered for everyone, for kings and all in authority, that we may lead a quiet and tranquil life in all devotion and dignity. This is good and pleasing to God our saviour who wills everyone to be saved.

Our readings today have shown themselves to be very pertinent for our present-day situation; indeed, their ultimate message is pertinent for all times and for all societies:

He who is trustworthy in very small matters is also trustworthy in great ones; and he who is dishonest in very small matters is also dishonest in great ones.

The greatest temptation for individuals, and the gravest danger for society in general, arises when the requirement of faithfulness in small things is disregarded: whether such negligence be that of ordinary people thinking their failings make no difference to the overall picture, or that of the powerful and influential who believe such faithfulness to be a subject suitable indeed for their public and condescending commendation of others, but not one for personal observance in the intimacy of their own lives and detailed administration of their public office.

Our first reading, however, gives us the ultimate sanction against the evils we have called to mind today:

The Lord has sworn by the pride of Jacob: Never will I forget a thing they have done!

Dear People of God, we should ever so frequently call to mind, realise, what we have always known and what is for the most part left cosily tucked-up and unnoticed at the back of our minds as individuals and indeed as the Church as a whole which today seems afraid to condemn evil for fear of offending its perpetrators!

People of God, the essence of Christianity is REPENT (hatred of sin, evil) and BELIEVE IN THE GOSPEL (Love of God in Jesus).  Both aspects are essential to make a salvific whole; and the supremely Christian hatred of sin is FEAR OF THE LORD:

                The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; prudent are all who live by it.

Fear of the LORD warms the heart, giving gladness and joy and length of days.  He who fears the LORD will have a happy end; even on the day of his death he will be blessed.  The beginning of wisdom is fear of the LORD, which is formed with the faithful in the womb.     (Psalm 111:10; Sirach 1:10-13)

Jesus and the Old Testament are one: Moses speaks of Jesus in the Scriptures Jesus tells us, and at the Transfiguration both Moses and Elijah are with Jesus speaking of and preparing Him for, His forthcoming Passion, Death, and Resurrection; and Jesus Himself, Who repeatedly said that He had come not to do His own will but the will of the One Who had sent Him, had a divinely Filial fear of the Lord:

Abba, Father, all things are possible to You. Take this cup away from Me, but not what I will but what You will.  (Mark 14:36)

Let us all therefore, dear People of God, whatever our station in life, remember with the Psalmist that the God we serve and the Saviour we follow:

Raises up the lowly from the dust, and from the dunghill He lifts up the poor, to seat them with princes, with the princes of His own people.

For, despite our differing earthly stations, our personal responsibilities are all needful and obliging, because their reward is for the present blessing of the whole of our society, and ultimately for our own personal share in eternal glory.