A Homily – The Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)

First Reading – Exodus 17:8-13 ©

Responsorial Psalm - Psalm 120(121) ©

Second Reading – 2 Timothy 3:14-4:2 ©

Gospel Acclamation – Ephesians 1:17, 18

Alternative Acclamation – Hebrews 4:12

The Gospel According to Luke 18:1 - 8 ©

 

(NJB)

 

Listen! All you people of the way.

God, the creator of the universe, God is not a miracle worker; God does not intervene in human events. God did not speak to Moses (Moses did not even exist), God did not cause water to flow from a rock in Horeb. God did not lead the people in the desert.

God is not a warrior, God does not grant victory in battle. God does not favor one nation over another, or one tribe or one man over his brother, and there is no such thing as magic. Moses had no special powers, there were no powers imbued in the object he called the staff of the Lord. God did not give Joshua the victory over Amalek., whoever he might have been, earned that victory for himself.

God had nothing to do with any of these events; none of these events even happened…they are allegories, they are myths and they do a disservice to the teaching of Jesus; they undermine Jesus of Nazareth who taught us to pray for those who persecute you, to love your enemy and to care for the stranger…he showed us the way.

Understand this.

You must pay close attention to what is written in the sacred text; the psalmist here is wrong, but is instructive even in error.

God will not intervene in this world, either to help you or to hurt you. God will not do this because God has made us free; our life in this world is radically free from divine coercion.

God will not guard you, neither will God give you away; God will not help you or hinder you in any way. God has made us all subject to chance, of random events and the intentions of people who or may not wish us well, who may or may not wish us harm, who may or may not know us at all or ever considered us in the choices they make, whose consequences we encounter.

Know this.

If you follow the will of God, giving your ear to the voice of God that is speaking in your heart, you will find peace; when you know that the story of our lives here on earth is not the end of our story. Our salvation is in the deliverance of ourselves, the fullness of our person, from this world to the next, where we are healed from the wounds we endured in our sojourn through time and space…there is refuge waiting beyond this world; God has promised it, and we express our faith in it by following Jesus in the way.

Consider the world at the time the epistle for today was written; the basic premise of its teaching may be true. It  may be true that the person who is dedicated to God is fully equipped and ready for any good work…it may also be true that their dedication is soft, and they are not ready at all.

Nevertheless, the apostle begs the question; What God? Who’s God are you dedicated to?

Be mindful.

We are all sinners, we all live in error, even those closest to Jesus failed to understand his mission, betrayed him to the Sanhedrin who turned him over to the Roman’s; his best friends sold him out, rejected and denied him…it would be unwise for us to suppose that any among us can do better.

Dedication is not enough; a fervent love for God, for the Church, for the sacred text is not enough. It can never be enough if your understanding of those things, and if your understanding of God is in error…all of us live in error.

Therefore we must take great care with the things we say and do in the name of God, seeking wisdom in the spirit of truth, prudence in the spirit of love, and humility in all things. This is the way Jesus showed us; remember the life of Jesus and what he taught us about God; whom he called abba.

Ask yourself this: Is God glorious?

Understand this.

God is the creator of the universe, and the creator perceives the most exalted state as being as being in relationship to us, caring for us as a parent would. God desires that all of us come to this knowledge and through its acceptance to live in its light. There is hope in the knowledge of God, hope for ourselves and hope we have for those we love, hopes which are meant to be extended to everyone; even those we do not love…this is the way.

If you think that God has promised riches and glories as a reward for the saints; remember that the first will be last and the last will be first, and that riches are not counted in gold and silver and precious things. Divine riches are counted as love and friendship and the opportunity for service.

Be mindful!

The real presence of God is with you. God knows you, even as you know yourself. You dwell with God and God dwells with you, as God dwells in everyone…there is no distance between us.

In faith, and hope and love we endeavor to persevere, to endure the tribulations of life on earth; do not lose heart, or hope; trust in the goodness of your actions, even if you do not see them bear fruit; your good intentions may lay, like seeds in the soil, for uncounted seasons before they finally germinate, spread roots and raise shoots…what is good is never wasted.

Justice may come from people who have no interest in it. Nevertheless, a just result is a just result. Do not wait for justice but strive for it; persistence is its own reward.

Do not wait for God to deliver you from your troubles here on earth; be patient and keep to the way, seek justice through mercy, through love and kindness. This may not change your circumstances, but it will change you…you will find salvation there.

First Reading – Exodus 17:8-13 ©

As Long as Moses Kept His Arm Raised, Israel had the Advantage

The Amalekites came and attacked Israel at Rephidim. Moses said to Joshua, ‘Pick out men for yourself, and tomorrow morning march out to engage Amalek. I, meanwhile, will stand on the hilltop, the staff of God in my hand.’ Joshua did as Moses told him and marched out to engage Amalek, while Moses and Aaron and Hur went up to the top of the hill. As long as Moses kept his arms raised, Israel had the advantage; when he let his arms fall, the advantage went to Amalek. But Moses’ arms grew heavy, so they took a stone and put it under him and on this he sat, Aaron and Hur supporting his arms, one on one side, one on the other; and his arms remained firm till sunset. With the edge of the sword Joshua cut down Amalek and his people.

 

Responsorial Psalm - Psalm 120(121) ©

Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

I lift up my eyes to the mountains;

  from where shall come my help?

My help shall come from the Lord

  who made heaven and earth.

Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

May he never allow you to stumble!

  Let him sleep not, your guard.

No, he sleeps not nor slumbers,

  Israel’s guard.

Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

The Lord is your guard and your shade;

  at your right side he stands.

By day the sun shall not smite you

  nor the moon in the night.

Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

The Lord will guard you from evil,

  he will guard your soul.

The Lord will guard your going and coming

  both now and for ever.

Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

 

Second Reading – 2 Timothy 3:14-4:2 ©

The Man who is Dedicated to God Becomes Fully Equipped and Ready for Any Good Work

You must keep to what you have been taught and know to be true; remember who your teachers were, and how, ever since you were a child, you have known the holy scriptures – from these you can learn the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All scripture is inspired by God and can profitably be used for teaching, for refuting error, for guiding people’s lives and teaching them to be holy. This is how the man who is dedicated to God becomes fully equipped and ready for any good work.

Before God and before Christ Jesus who is to be judge of the living and the dead, I put this duty to you, in the name of his Appearing and of his kingdom: proclaim the message and, welcome or unwelcome, insist on it. Refute falsehood, correct error, call to obedience – but do all with patience and with the intention of teaching.

 

Gospel Acclamation – Ephesians 1:17, 18

Alleluia, alleluia!

May the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ enlighten the eyes of our mind,

so that we can see what hope his call holds for us.

Alleluia!

 

Alternative Acclamation – Hebrews 4:12

Alleluia, alleluia!

The word of God is something alive and active:

It can judge secret emotions and thoughts.

Alleluia!

 

The Gospel According to Luke 18:1 - 8 ©

The Parable of the Unjust Judge

Jesus told his disciples a parable about the need to pray continually and never lose heart. ‘There was a judge in a certain town’ he said ‘who had neither fear of God nor respect for man. In the same town there was a widow who kept on coming to him and saying, “I want justice from you against my enemy!” For a long time he refused, but at last he said to himself, “Maybe I have neither fear of God nor respect for man, but since she keeps pestering me I must give this widow her just rights, or she will persist in coming and worry me to death.”’

And the Lord said ‘You notice what the unjust judge has to say? Now will not God see justice done to his chosen who cry to him day and night even when he delays to help them? I promise you, he will see justice done to them, and done speedily. But when the Son of Man comes, will he find any faith on earth?’

 

A Homily – The Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)

A Homily – The Twenty-eighth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Year C)

First Reading – 2 Kings 5:14-17 ©

Responsorial Psalm – Psalm 97(98):1-4 ©

Second Reading – 2 Timothy 2:8-13 ©

Gospel Acclamation – John 6:63, 68

Alternative Acclamation – 1 Thessalonians 5:18

The Gospel According to Luke 17:11 - 19 ©

 

(NJB)

 

Listen!

Take care as to how you read the sacred text. It is easy to misconstrue the gospel, and the way may be easily lost in the miasma of jingoistic mythology. The story of Naaman the Leper is one of these tales that threatens to blind us to the purpose of the gospel; the good news is meant to furnish hope, like a lantern in the dark; it is meant to foster love and promote justice.

This is a story of healing, in this way it is in alignment with God’s promise to cleanse each of us and to heal us of our wounds, all of that which hurts and harms us, and from the disease of sin.

We must not be confused into believing that this is a story of miraculous faith or the magical powers of the prophet Elisha, or of God reaching into the world to cause a radical transformation in the life of a single individual.

God does not intervene in our affairs, not even to help us, because God has made us free and the whole of creation with it; the reality of our freedom precludes the notion of divine intervention.

Be mindful.

It is God’s intention to make us well…to save us, but the realization of that plan is not of this world.

Know this.

The authors and editors of the Book of Kings fail to understand where the real presence of God resides, which is everywhere, for God is not-not present in any place. The one and true God does not dwell in Israel in a special way, but in all places, at all times, with everyone.

God dwells in the human heart and speaks there to all of us, and to all of us God speaks the same thing, telling us of God’s desire that we love one another, that we be good to one other, just with one another, showing mercy in all things and walking humbly wherever we go.

Understand this.

It is right and good to praise God, the creator of the universe; it is right and good because creation is miraculous, and beyond the scope of human comprehension; but know this, God is not a giver of victories, God has no enemies, and in God, within whom all things exist and have their being…in God there is no conflict.

It is not God’s justice that is shown in the work of human beings and human institutions, it is human justice; when human justice approximates the divine, we will know it for the goodness that comes from it, we will recognize it in it’s quality of mercy.

Have faith in this…trust in the kindness of God who loves all people equally.

God’s power is everywhere, God’s spirit animates the voices that give God praise. If you are an instrument of justice, judge fairly, judge kindly, judge with mercy all-the-while remembering the love of God.

Consider this:

The gospel…the good news is the promise of resurrection and of life after death, but it is more than that. The good news concerns the life we live on earth. The resurrection is meant to ground our trust in the hope that we are all included in God’s plan for the salvation of all people, a plan which God will carry out even in regard to those who do not know of God’s plan, or who knowing of it, do not participate in God’s plan while they are living among us. God will save even those who view God as the enemy, those who suborn the truth and harm their brothers and sisters...God will save them to because God loves you.

Christian faith is grounded in our belief in the reality of the resurrection and the hope that it applies to us as well. The kindling of this hope is meant to free us from the bondage of the world and allow us to live a life of service right now; it is meant to set us on fire with the love of God.

Let us live with this passage for a moment…God is calling us to be holy, to be holy at all times, God is calling to us, inviting us into the compassionate life, into a life of wellbeing. This was God’s plan from the beginning of time, and there is not one of us, not one child of God, not one being in the whole of creation who is outside of this plan.

It is not that God has abolished death, as if they were engaged in a struggle from which God emerges as the victor; rather it is revealed that the death of the body is merely a transition, one we all pass through on our journey toward the creator…there is no death beyond the flesh.

The gospel is this:

God loves you and you are saved; you are not saved for anything that you have done, you did not earn it…you are saved simply because God loves you.

The promise of salvation is not that you will be spared from suffering and torment in hell, or that when you are judged God will forgive you; God has already forgiven you, you are already saved.

God has prepared you, and everyone for eternal life…believe it!

Let the goodness of the promise flow through you now and start living this life as if it were true.

We are not called to believe in the idea that Jesus is this or that, the Holy One of God or anything else, we are called to act on the principles of his faith, to live lives of charity and service to each other.

Know this.

It is wise to be thankful, to share your thanks with the world, and in your thankfulness to give from your bounty to those in need…this is the way.

God loves all people. God loves the clean and the unclean, the leper and the person in full health; God loves them both alike. God’s mercy is the inheritance of everyone who has ever lived, is living or will yet come into life.

Consider the Gospel reading for today, all of the lepers were healed of their disease but only one of them was grateful, returned and gave thanks. You may say that the one who returned and was healed, was healed in accordance with his faith and trust in God, but others were healed nonetheless in accordance of God’s grace and mercy. The important thing to understand is that they were all healed; God did not hold back any portion of divine mercy.

God saved them all, out of the superabundance of God’s love..

First Reading – 2 Kings 5:14-17 ©

Naaman the Leper Returned to Elisha and Acknowledged the Lord

Naaman the leper went down and immersed himself seven times in the Jordan, as Elisha had told him to do. And his flesh became clean once more like the flesh of a little child.

Returning to Elisha with his whole escort, he went in and stood before him. ‘Now I know’ he said ‘that there is no God in all the earth except in Israel. Now, please, accept a present from your servant.’

But Elisha replied, ‘As the Lord lives, whom I serve, I will accept nothing.’ Naaman pressed him to accept, but he refused.

Then Naaman said, ‘Since your answer is “No,” allow your servant to be given as much earth as two mules may carry, because your servant will no longer offer holocaust or sacrifice to any god except the Lord.’

 

Responsorial Psalm – Psalm 97(98):1-4 ©

The Lord has shown his salvation to the nations.

Sing a new song to the Lord

  for he has worked wonders.

His right hand and his holy arm

  have brought salvation.

The Lord has shown his salvation to the nations.

The Lord has made known his salvation;

  has shown his justice to the nations.

He has remembered his truth and love

  for the house of Israel.

The Lord has shown his salvation to the nations.

All the ends of the earth have seen

  the salvation of our God.

Shout to the Lord, all the earth,

  ring out your joy.

The Lord has shown his salvation to the nations.

 

Second Reading – 2 Timothy 2:8-13 ©

If We Hold Firm then We Shall Reign with Christ

Remember the Good News that I carry, ‘Jesus Christ risen from the dead, sprung from the race of David’; it is on account of this that I have my own hardships to bear, even to being chained like a criminal – but they cannot chain up God’s news. So I bear it all for the sake of those who are chosen, so that in the end they may have the salvation that is in Christ Jesus and the eternal glory that comes with it.

Here is a saying that you can rely on:

If we have died with him, then we shall live with him.

If we hold firm, then we shall reign with him.

If we disown him, then he will disown us.

We may be unfaithful, but he is always faithful, for he cannot disown his own self.

 

Gospel Acclamation – John 6:63, 68

Alleluia, alleluia!

Your words are spirit, Lord, and they are life; you have the message of eternal life.

Alleluia!

 

Alternative Acclamation – 1 Thessalonians 5:18

Alleluia, alleluia!

For all things give thanks, because this is what God expects you to do in Christ Jesus.

Alleluia!

 

The Gospel According to Luke 17:11 - 19 ©

No-one Has Come Back to Praise God, Only this Foreigner

On the way to Jerusalem Jesus travelled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he entered one of the villages, ten lepers came to meet him. They stood some way off and called to him, ‘Jesus! Master! Take pity on us.’ When he saw them he said, ‘Go and show yourselves to the priests.’ Now as they were going away they were cleansed. Finding himself cured, one of them turned back praising God at the top of his voice and threw himself at the feet of Jesus and thanked him. The man was a Samaritan. This made Jesus say, ‘Were not all ten made clean? The other nine, where are they? It seems that no one has come back to give praise to God, except this foreigner.’ And he said to the man, ‘Stand up and go on your way. Your faith has saved you.’

 

A Homily – The Twenty-eighth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Year C)

Observation - October 10th, 2025, Friday

in the dark morning

looking east toward the sun

     rising over the rooftops

 

the maples and the elms

shaking off their leaves

     like a garment of red and gold

 

smoking in the garden

with a dog at my feet

A Homily - The Twenty-seventh Sunday of Ordinary Time (Year C)

First Reading – Habakkuk 1:2-3, 2:2-4 ©

Responsorial Psalm - Psalm 94(95):1-2, 6-9

Second Reading - 2 Timothy 1:6-8, 13-14 ©

Gospel Acclamation – 1 Samuel 3:9, John 6:68

Alternative Acclamation – 1 Peter 1:25

The Gospel According to Luke 17:5 - 10 ©

 

(NJB)

 

Listen!

There are no guarantees in this life, neither justice nor injustice, though we may reasonably expect a share of each. We can be certain of nothing; therefor be just toward all those you meet and seek to do no harm.

 God is not a mover of people, save by the eternal pull of grace and the infinite draw of divine love; forces like gravity that touch everyone and everything that is, forces by which God calls every one of God’s children. The spirit calls to us, though we are free to ignore it; even when we recognize it, most of us do.

 Know this!

 God is the creator of the universe, the cause of all that is; each of us and the entire creation is was created by God in a state of radical freedom. In our capacity as free agents we must work toward the justice we wish to manifest in our own lives, and in the lives of the people we encounter.

 Be mindful, we only have the power to be just to one other, we cannot seize justice for ourselves; you will not be the cause of your salvation. It is God who makes us well, who creates in us the possibility of wellbeing, which we find in turn, in God who is our wellbeing, and its final realization is not of this world.

 Do not look for salvation in this world, it will not come from kings and princes, from popes or presidents. God is not a king, and there are no other gods beside God.

 All of creation belongs to the creator, all that is beautiful and everything that frightens or disturbs us, all of it comes from God, and everything redounds to the good.

 Be mindful.

 God has prepared each of us to receive the divine blessing, and God will not rest until each of us has accepted it for themselves.

 Consider the faith of Timothy:

 His words are the words of political prisoner, exhorting us to faith and reminding us of our heritage; that we belong to a tradition that places service to others over individual liberty.

 Not everyone can follow the way to the same end that Timothy did, or Jesus before him. They were leaders of the faith, pointing the way to the blessed life, one that is just and merciful and good.

 Be like Timothy if you can, follow the way of Jesus as well as you are able, but do not despair if you fail; you will fail, and God will continue to love you.

 When leaders rise among us; we must acknowledge them. When leadership is pure and we see that their work is holy, we must acknowledge that. In acknowledging these things it is important to not embellish them…cling to the truth at all times, in all things.

 God does not appear in visions.

 Remember.

 God speaks to all people; God speaks in the human heart. God is present for anyone who will listen, never favoring some over others. God leads us in silence, communicating through the rhythm of the heart, through the tug and pull of our conscience as it resonates with the good.

 This is the Gospel; God loves you, and you are saved.

 You are not saved for anything that you have done, you did not earn salvation, you are saved because God loves you and for no other reason. The promise of salvation is not that you will be spared from suffering and torment in hell, or that when you are judged God will forgive you; there is no hell and God has already forgiven you…share the word!

 God loves you and you are saved already.

 If you feel unworthy…stop; God has a plan for you. God has prepared you and everyone for eternal life.

 Believe it!

 Let the goodness of the promise flow through you now and start living this life as if it were true. Do not be concerned with creeds and confessions, with decrees and decretals, or the doctrine of the church…those do not save; right belief does not save.

 We are not called to believe in the idea that Jesus is this or that, the Holy One of God, we are called to act on the principles of his faith, we are called to live lives of charity and service to each other.

 Share the Gospel, share the good news and be mindful!

 Pay close attention to the Gospel, especially on those occasions when the message is cryptic, or the meaning of the parable is unclear. Interpret these passages when you are centered in the way; interpret them through the lens of love, with hope and justice.

 Understand this.

 Faith means trust, it is not magic. Our faith is not circumscribed by the content of our beliefs, neither can it be measured for quality, quantity, or intensity…faith is trust, which a person either exercises or does not.

 If we trust in the promise of the Gospel, if we trust in the good news that Jesus preached, then we may be able to free ourselves from greed and corruption, and the class-consciousness that foments injustice around the world.

 In the Gospel for today we see Jesus rebuke the disciples, the men who some years later became the apostles of the church. He rebuked them because he saw into their hearts were and bore witness to the spiritual poverty that beset them; he knew that they are using their position in the community of believers to place themselves in positions of authority and influence over the rest of his followers. He rebuked them because they had abandoned the way, and he encouraged them to return to it in the mode of a servant.

 Jesus responded to their error with love, he did not reject them, he gave them further instruction, and he comforted them.

First Reading – Habakkuk 1:2-3, 2:2-4 ©

The Upright Man Will Live by His Faithfulness

How long, O Lord, am I to cry for help while you will not listen; to cry ‘Oppression!’ in your ear

and you will not save?

Why do you set injustice before me, why do you look on where there is tyranny?

Outrage and violence, this is all I see, all is contention, and discord flourishes.

Then the Lord answered and said, ‘Write the vision down, inscribe it on tablets to be easily read,

since this vision is for its own time only: eager for its own fulfilment, it does not deceive; if it comes slowly, wait, for come it will, without fail.

See how he flags, he whose soul is not at rights, but the upright man will live by his faithfulness.’

 

Psalm - Psalm 94(95):1-2, 6-9

LORD, avenging God, avenging God, shine forth!

Rise up, O judge of the earth; give the proud what they deserve!

They kill the widow and alien; the orphan they murder.

They say, “The LORD does not see; the God of Jacob takes no notice.”

Understand, you stupid people! You fools, when will you be wise?

Does the one who shaped the ear not hear? The one who formed the eye not see?

 

Second Reading - 2 Timothy 1:6-8, 13-14 ©

Never Be Ashamed of Witnessing to Our Lord

I am reminding you to fan into a flame the gift that God gave you when I laid my hands on you. God’s gift was not a spirit of timidity, but the Spirit of power, and love, and self-control. So you are never to be ashamed of witnessing to the Lord, or ashamed of me for being his prisoner; but with me, bear the hardships for the sake of the Good News, relying on the power of God.

Keep as your pattern the sound teaching you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. You have been trusted to look after something precious; guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.

 

Gospel Acclamation – 1 Samuel 3:9, John 6:68

Alleluia, alleluia!

Speak, Lord, your servant is listening:

you have the message of eternal life.

Alleluia!

 

Alternative Acclamation – 1 Peter 1:25

Alleluia, alleluia!

The word of the Lord remains for ever.

What is this word?

It is the Good News that has been brought to you.

Alleluia!

 

The Gospel According to Luke 17:5 - 10 ©

Say, 'We Are Merely Servants'

The apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith.’ The Lord replied, ‘Were your faith the size of a mustard seed you could say to this mulberry tree, “Be uprooted and planted in the sea,” and it would obey you.

  ‘Which of you, with a servant ploughing or minding sheep, would say to him when he returned from the fields, “Come and have your meal immediately”? Would he not be more likely to say, “Get my supper laid; make yourself tidy and wait on me while I eat and drink. You can eat and drink yourself afterwards”? Must he be grateful to the servant for doing what he was told? So with you: when you have done all you have been told to do, say, “We are merely servants: we have done no more than our duty.”’

 

A Homily - The Twenty-seventh Sunday of Ordinary Time (Year C)

A Homily – The Twenty-sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Year C)

First Reading - Amos 6:1, 4-7 ©

Responsorial Psalm – Psalm 145(146):7-10 ©

Second Reading – 1 Timothy 6:11-16 ©

Gospel Acclamation – John 10:27

Alternative Acclamation – 2 Corinthians 8:9

The Gospel According to Luke 16:19 - 31 ©

 

(NJB)

 

Listen!

The words of the prophet were never more-true than they are today…woe to you Israel of the iron fist. Woe to the callous hearted. Woe to those who cannot see God looking back at them through the eyes of their neighbor, who cannot see God looking back at them through the iron slats of the fences they build, which divide us from one another. Woe to those who cannot see God in the faces of their brothers and sisters living in the occupied territories of Palestine. Woe to powerful, and the power mongers. Woe to those who deny justice to the oppressed.

Consider this:

God is the author of our salvation, there is no other authority on the matter. Do not trust in the power of princes and kings who promise to deliver you, but are powerless to do so; but God will, and God is not a respecter of persons, tribes, or nations.

The life of a human being…of all human beings, the entire sum of time that human beings have on Earth is little more than a flash in the night, a sudden, brief and violent eruption…we are born, we breathe and we are gone. The Earth itself will not survive the sun.

Therefore, consider the words of the prophet and the teaching of Jesus who points to the way: happy are those who assist in the divine work of mercy and justice:

Lift up the oppressed,

          Wherever they are

Feed the hungry

Free the prisoner

Teach the ignorant,

          Whoever they are

Advocate for those who need an advocate, care for those who cannot care for themselves. Find those who are lost in their wickedness…bring them home.

Know this.

The Church began to deviate from the way on the day it was founded. As soon as Jesus died, before Christians were even called Christians, the falling out among them was immediate and intense.

The Church was divided in doctrine concerning questions about the truth, regarding the knowledge of God, the possession of riches and the distribution of alms. In this era (the beginning), the Church was like any other human institution, because it was just another human institution. The epistle from today exemplifies this by promoting the falsehood that the rewards of the faith are transactional; stating to the gathered believers that if they give their wealth to the church, they will have a reward in heaven.

Be mindful!

The sheep do not choose the shepherd but rather, it is the shepherd who chooses the sheep. In the Christian tradition we see Jesus in the role of the shepherd, and in Jesus we see God; the creator of the universe.

There is just the one shepherd, and there is but the one sheepfold and whether it make sense to us or not, whether it contradicts the teaching and traditions of the Church or not, it is to the one Shepherd that we all belong…the good and bad a like.

Be mindful.

When you consider the teaching of the shepherd, do not trouble yourself with how the shepherd speaks to you, in what language, in what text, with how the shepherd speaks to your sister or your brother, to your neighbors or the stranger. The shepherd is speaking to them to, and they are listening as they are able (or willing).

Everyone that is, everyone without exception follows in the way of God, for there is no other way. Do not trouble yourself if you do not understand the journey that another person is on, because God is guiding them, just as God is guiding you, and if you resist, God will be patient, God will wait, just as God waits for everyone.

When you hear the voice of God, Jesus, the shepherd, they will speak to you of love, and you will recognize them for them peace they express; God is love, God is patient and God is kind.

God has promised that not lose a single one of us will be lost. Neither will any one of us lose God. No matter what; God is with us, because there is no place, not a single place where God is not.

Remember this!

Jesus is not a lord; his riches were in spiritual gifts, he shared those gifts with many, with all whom he encountered and in sharing he became richer still.

Jesus was our friend, he lived with us as a friend, spoke to us as a friend, loved us as a friend, and died for the sake of us…his friends.

Understand this.

As you read the scriptures you must be on the lookout for those passages in scripture which contradict that fundamental truth as stated above, such as the reading for today.

The reading from Luke is not a parable, it is not meant to teach anything but fear. It is presented as an argument to justify the denial of charity to Christians, especially in those in communities outside of Palestine, to exclude them from the scope of their good works, something Jesus himself would never have done as a teacher of the way, and this is the evidence that shows how the Church very early on developed a false interpretation of Jesus’ teaching.

The writing is heavily mythologized, representing imagery of the afterlife, depicting Lazarus in the Bosom of Abraham (imagined here as an analogy for Elysium), the abode of the blessed dead. Be mindful of the reference to Hades, and the description of a gulf between Tartarus and the greenfields of the blessed realm.

Be mindful.

Jesus did not speak in concrete terms regarding the afterlife.

The author riffs on the name of Lazarus, which is the name of a man who we know, who Jesus loved. The author builds up the narrative in a way that draws a clear connection between Lazarus and the tales of the Syro-Phoenician woman, who also, like a dog, asks for scraps at the table of the anointed one.

In this way the author connects everyone whom his contemporaries viewed as outsider in the church, because they were not from the tribes of Israel; connecting them to the beloved Lazarus who he raised from the dead by an ethno-nationalistic construction.

The central message of today’s reading provides the final clue. The message given is that Jesus is content to let people die in their sins, suffer in eternity, and never have recourse to salvation, if they have not fashioned such a connection to Israel for themselves…through the church. This message stands in stark contrast to his teaching on love, forgiveness and mercy.

First Reading - Amos 6:1, 4-7 ©

Woe to Those who Live in Luxury

The almighty Lord says this:

Woe to those ensconced so snugly in Zion and to those who feel so safe on the mountain of Samaria, those famous men of this first of nations to whom the House of Israel goes as client.

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 harp, they invent new instruments of music like David, they drink wine by the bowlful, and use the finest oil for anointing themselves,

but about the ruin of Joseph they do not care at all.

That is why they will be the first to be exiled; the sprawlers’ revelry is over.

 

Responsorial Psalm – Psalm 145(146):7-10 ©

My soul, give praise to the Lord.

Alleluia!

It is the Lord who keeps faith for ever,

  who is just to those who are oppressed.

It is he who gives bread to the hungry,

  the Lord, who sets prisoners free.

My soul, give praise to the Lord.

Alleluia!

It is the Lord who gives sight to the blind,

  who raises up those who are bowed down.

It is the Lord who loves the just,

  the Lord, who protects the stranger.

My soul, give praise to the Lord.

Alleluia!

The Lord upholds the widow and orphan

  but thwarts the path of the wicked.

The Lord will reign for ever,

  Zion’s God, from age to age.

My soul, give praise to the Lord.

Alleluia!

 

Second Reading – 1 Timothy 6:11-16 ©

Do All that You Have Been Told, Until the Appearing of the Lord

As a man dedicated to God, you must aim to be saintly and religious, filled with faith and love, patient and gentle. Fight the good fight of the faith and win for yourself the eternal life to which you were called when you made your profession and spoke up for the truth in front of many witnesses. Now, before God the source of all life and before Christ, who spoke up as a witness for the truth in front of Pontius Pilate, I put to you the duty of doing 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 man has seen and no man is able to see: to him be honour and everlasting power. Amen.

 

Gospel Acclamation – John 10:27

Alleluia, alleluia!

The sheep that belong to me listen to my voice, says the Lord, I know them and they follow me.

Alleluia!

 

Alternative Acclamation – 2 Corinthians 8:9

Alleluia, alleluia!

Jesus Christ was rich, but he became poor for your sake, to make you rich out of his poverty.

Alleluia!

 

The Gospel According to Luke 16:19 - 31 ©

Dives and Lazarus

Jesus said to the Pharisees, ‘There was a rich man who used to dress in purple and fine linen and feast magnificently every day. And at his gate there lay a poor man called Lazarus, covered with sores, who longed to fill himself with the scraps that fell from the rich man’s table. Dogs even came and licked his sores. Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to the bosom of Abraham. 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 bosom. 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.” “My son,” Abraham replied “remember that during your life good things came your way, just as bad things came the way of Lazarus. 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 stop anyone, if he wanted to, crossing from our side to yours, and to stop any crossing from your side to ours.”

  ‘The rich man replied, “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.” “They have Moses and the prophets,” said Abraham “let them listen to them..” “Ah no, father Abraham,” said the rich man “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.”’

 

A Homily – The Twenty-sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Year C)