26th Sunday of the Year (C)

Reflections from Liturgical Years 2011 (A), 2012 (B), and 2013 (C)
Sunday, September 29, 2013 (edited for 9/28/25)
Liturgical readings
Amos 6:1, 4-7
Psalm 146
1 Timothy 6:11-16
Luke 16:19-31

"Eventually...the soul of the beggar Lazarus...was carried by angels to the bosom of Abraham."

Jesus said to the Pharisees:


"Once there was a rich man
who dressed in purple
        and linen
        and feasted splendidly
        every day.


At his gate lay a beggar
        named Lazarus
        who was covered with sores.


Lazarus longed to eat the scraps
that fell from the rich man's table.


The dogs even came
and licked his sores.


Eventually the beggar died.


He was carried by angels
to the bosom of Abraham.


The rich man likewise died
and was buried.


From the abode of the dead
where he was in torment,
he raised his eyes
and saw Abraham afar off,
and Lazarus resting in his bosom."


"He called out,


'Father Abraham,
have pity on me.
Send Lazarus to dip
the tip of his finger in water
to refresh my tongue,
for I am tortured in these flames.'


'My child,'


replied Abraham,


'remember that you were well off
in your lifetime,
while Lazarus was in misery.


Now he has found consolation here,
but you have found torment.


And that is not all.


Between you and us
there is fixed a great abyss,
so that those who might wish to cross
from here to you cannot do so,
nor can anyone cross from your side to us.'


"'Father,
I ask you then,'


the rich man said,


'send him to my father's house
where I have five brothers.


Let him be a warning to them
so that they may not end
        in this place of torment.'


Abraham answered


'They have Moses and the prophets.
Let them hear them'.


'No, Father Abraham.'
replied the rich man.


'But if someone would only go
to them from the dead,
then they would repent.'


Abraham said to him,


'If they do not listen to Moses
and the prophets
they will not be convinced
even if one should rise from the dead.'"

Scripture quotes:
"The fatherless and the widow he sustains." (Psalm 146)
"Seek after integrity, piety, faith, love, steadfastness, and a gentle spirit." (1 Timothy)
"The Lord shall reign forever; your God, O Sion, through all generations." (Psalm 146)

Liturgical readings
Amos 6:1a, 4-7
Psalm 146
1 Timothy 6:11-16
Luke 16:19-31

"He was carried by the angels to the bosom of Abraham."

Last Sunday, we learned the message of the gospel on money as a means and not an end in itself. If we read the gospel for this Sunday, and place it in the context of last Sunday's gospel, we can see how the rich man's grave sin was rooted in his relationship to money as an end in itself. If the rich man saw his wealth as only a means, he would not have been blind to the plight of Lazarus and would have practiced charity with Lazarus the beggar.

Life can be uncertain at times; especially in times of crises and disruptions. We do not know what will happen next. Since the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis and the September 2008 financial crisis that forced Lehman Brothers to file for bankruptcy, many wealthy people's fortunes suddenly dwindled. But there were also others who experienced good fortune. In a time of crisis, "the tables can turn." Those who experience adversity can have a reversal of good fortune, while those who experience prosperity can have a reversal of misfortune. Whatever God wills to be the experience of each of His faithful ones, good fortune or misfortune, the call to follow His will and be kind to others (as well as ourselves) still "holds water". Those who experience good fortune are called to practice charity, while those who experience misfortune are called to practice humility. As long as each one never forsakes the path to virtue, God will never abandon nor hide His face from him. Thus, we are all called to treat money only as a means: to practice patience and respect in transactions with others that involves money.