Reading 1
AM 6:1A, 4-7
Thus says the LORD the God of hosts:
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.
They drink wine from bowls
and anoint themselves with the best oils;
yet they are not made ill by the collapse of Joseph!
Therefore, now they shall be the first to go into exile,
and their wanton revelry shall be done away with.
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.
They drink wine from bowls
and anoint themselves with the best oils;
yet they are not made ill by the collapse of Joseph!
Therefore, now they shall be the first to go into exile,
and their wanton revelry shall be done away with.
Responsorial Psalm
PS 146:7, 8-9, 9-10
R. (1b) Praise
the Lord, my soul!
or:
R. Alleluia.
Blessed he who keeps faith forever,
secures justice for the oppressed,
gives food to the hungry.
The LORD sets captives free.
R. Praise the Lord, my soul!
or:
R. Alleluia.
The LORD gives sight to the blind.
The LORD raises up those who were bowed down;
the LORD loves the just.
The LORD protects strangers.
R. Praise the Lord, my soul!
or:
R. Alleluia.
The fatherless and the widow he sustains,
but the way of the wicked he thwarts.
The LORD shall reign forever;
your God, O Zion, through all generations. Alleluia.
R. Praise the Lord, my soul!
or:
R. Alleluia.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Blessed he who keeps faith forever,
secures justice for the oppressed,
gives food to the hungry.
The LORD sets captives free.
R. Praise the Lord, my soul!
or:
R. Alleluia.
The LORD gives sight to the blind.
The LORD raises up those who were bowed down;
the LORD loves the just.
The LORD protects strangers.
R. Praise the Lord, my soul!
or:
R. Alleluia.
The fatherless and the widow he sustains,
but the way of the wicked he thwarts.
The LORD shall reign forever;
your God, O Zion, through all generations. Alleluia.
R. Praise the Lord, my soul!
or:
R. Alleluia.
Reading 2
1 TM 6:11-16
But you, man of God, pursue righteousness,
devotion, faith, love, patience, and gentleness.
Compete well for the faith.
Lay hold of eternal life, to which you were called
when you made the noble confession in the presence of many witnesses.
I charge you before God, who gives life to all things,
and before Christ Jesus,
who gave testimony under Pontius Pilate for the noble confession,
to keep the commandment without stain or reproach
until the appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ
that the blessed and only ruler
will make manifest at the proper time,
the King of kings and Lord of lords,
who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light,
and whom no human being has seen or can see.
To him be honor and eternal power. Amen.
Gospel
LK 16:19-31
Jesus said to the Pharisees:
"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,
who would gladly have eaten his fill of the scraps
that fell from the rich man's table.
Dogs even used to come and lick his sores.
When the poor man died,
he was carried away by angels to the bosom of Abraham.
The rich man also died and was buried,
and from the netherworld, where he was in torment,
he raised his eyes and saw Abraham far off
and Lazarus at his side.
And he 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.
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.’
He said, 'Then I beg you, father,
send him to my father's house, for I have five brothers,
so that he may warn them,
lest they too come to this place of torment.'
But Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the prophets.
Let them listen to them.'
He said, 'Oh no, father Abraham,
but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.'
Then Abraham said, 'If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets,
neither will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead.'"
"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,
who would gladly have eaten his fill of the scraps
that fell from the rich man's table.
Dogs even used to come and lick his sores.
When the poor man died,
he was carried away by angels to the bosom of Abraham.
The rich man also died and was buried,
and from the netherworld, where he was in torment,
he raised his eyes and saw Abraham far off
and Lazarus at his side.
And he 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.
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.’
He said, 'Then I beg you, father,
send him to my father's house, for I have five brothers,
so that he may warn them,
lest they too come to this place of torment.'
But Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the prophets.
Let them listen to them.'
He said, 'Oh no, father Abraham,
but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.'
Then Abraham said, 'If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets,
neither will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead.'"
Theme for reflection: Listen
One of the most
interesting, shocking and pertinent statement in the scripture is this:
'If they will not listen to
Moses and the prophets, neither
will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead.'" (vs. 31)
This message of Jesus is
time tested and loaded with meaning. It
reveals a great truth of the human state, which refuses to believe the truth.
Today’s readings
communicates much of the warnings and truth and how many of us, who may not be
reading scriptures on a regular basis but at least have heard this reading
sometimes in their lifetime for a Sunday mass, are really putting the message of
these readings into practice.
The truth
communicated, especially through the second part of the statement is indeed
shocking: “neither will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the
dead.” (vs. 31b)
In other words one could say that we may even expect someone to
rise from the dead and warn us and yet not listen to them.
Do we know how fatal and self deceiving a sickness it is that we
would prefer to listen to ourselves and our logical, self righteous, sane mind
(Which in reality is illogical, corrupt and insane)?
That we would prefer to listen to some false prophets and new
age gurus and experts rather than the one who is risen from the dead?
Yes, all our confidence is based on false knowledge and we are our own enemies, walking towards self destruction. It is like a situation which the proverbs describe aptly: “There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.” Prov 14:12/ 16:25
Yes, all our confidence is based on false knowledge and we are our own enemies, walking towards self destruction. It is like a situation which the proverbs describe aptly: “There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.” Prov 14:12/ 16:25
While the first readings
shows us to what extent one could go to lead a hedonistic life style either in actuality
or in our imagination or thoughts the
second reading invites with appropriate instructions to lead a life worthy of
our call.
What is more, the second
reading reminds us that the one who invites us to choose a lifestyle of
simplicity and faith has himself given us an example in himself, even to the
extent of sacrificing himself for this truth.
If one does not follow
these instructions then the scripture even reminds us of the consequences of not
following them; a life of torment.
What is this life of
torment? When we are faced with trials and persecutions or misunderstandings or
separations from a loved one or experience false slander or put to public shame
then we all go through torment and in such a situation we prefer to run away
from it. There is sense of desperation and frustration, restlessness and
uneasiness.
Many of us experience the
depth of it when sick or have an attack of some form of infection; the body is
as if in hell and no one wants to remain in that hell but seeks the doctor.
Likewise, and in a much greater
measure, than this earthly reality, is the reality of hell. It is only a taste of the things we can experience
if we were to land there.
Therefore, compete well for the faith. (I
Tim. 6: 12a)
If such is the reality then
what sort of life should we live. Should we not lead a life of Faith in Jesus
rather than faith in self?
In other words; should we
not take his word seriously rather than our own words and thinking?
No matter how stupid and
illogical the word of God may appear to be, but it is a proven remedy to our
proven stupidity.
Proven by the resurrection
of Jesus from the dead and proven by the faith of the countless throughout the
history of Christendom and even in our time and in our midst by the many who
follow him diligently.
No longer then we need to
listen to any prophets or someone of the stature of Moses, but we have someone
who indeed has risen from the dead and speaks to us even to this day.
Some additional scripture verses for
reflection and use: (RSV)
For
what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.
20 Ever since the creation of the world his invisible nature,
namely, his eternal power and deity, has been clearly perceived in the things
that have been made. So they are without excuse; 21 for
although they knew God they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but
they became futile in their thinking and their senseless minds were darkened. 22 Claiming
to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images
resembling mortal man or birds or animals or reptiles.
24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to
impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 because
they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the
creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. Rom 1:19-25
And a voice came out of the
cloud, saying, "This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!" 36 And when
the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. Luke 9:35-36a
"By men of strange
tongues and by the lips of foreigners will I speak to this people, and even
then they will not listen to me, says the Lord." 1 Cor 14:21
Moses said, 'The Lord God
will raise up for you a prophet from your brethren as he raised me up. You
shall listen to him in whatever he tells you. 23 And it
shall be that every soul that does not listen to that prophet shall be
destroyed from the people.' Acts 3:22-23
My sheep hear my voice, and
I know them, and they follow me; 28 and I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish,
and no one shall snatch them out of my hand. John 10:27-28
