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.

25th Sunday of the Year (C)

Paraphrasing the Sunday Readings

Author's note: Reformatting or Paraphrasing the Sunday gospel is a method I learned from CICM Maryhill School of Theology. The method I use in these Sunday reflections is only an adaptation of the original, which was formatted on a blackboard by a theology professor in Scripture (Fr. Ver Miranda, CICM). The method used by our theology professor was for exegetical purposes - to understand the very words of the gospel and the context of meaning in which they are situated. My purpose is to reformat it in prose form for clarity of reading, understanding, and reflection. Formatting this way makes the gospel easy to digest for reflection.

25th Sunday of the Year (C)

Liturgical readings
Amos 8:4-7
Psalm 113
1 Timothy 2:1-8
Luke 16:1-13

What the Lord says is this: that we place our trust in Him.



Jesus said to his disciples:


"A rich man had a manager
who was reported to him
        for dissiplating his property.


He summoned him
and said,


'What is this I hear about you?


Give me an account of your service,
for it is about to come to an end.'


The manager thought to himself,


'What shall I do next?
My employer is sure to dismiss me.
I cannot dig ditches.
I am ashamed to go begging.


I have it!


Here is a way to make sure
that people will take me into their homes
when I am let go.'


"So he called in each of his master's debtors,


and said to the first,


'How much do you owe my master?'


The man replied,
'A hundred jars of oil.'


The manager said,
'Take your invoice,
sit down quickly,
and make it fifty.'


Then he said to a second,


'How much do you owe?'


The answer came,
'A hundred measures of wheat.'


and the manager said,
'Take your invoice
and make it eighty.'


"The owner then gave his devious employee
credit for being enterprising!


Why?


Because the worldly take more initiative
than the other-worldly
when it comes to dealing with their own kind".


"What I say to you is this:


Make friends for yourselves
through your use of this world's goods,
so that when they fail you,
a lasting reception will be yours.


If you can trust a man in little things,
you can also trust him in greater.'


If you cannot be trusted with elusive wealth,
who will trust you with lasting?


And if you have not been trustworthy
with someone else's money,
who will give you what is your own?


"No servant can serve two masters.
Either he will hate the one
and love the other
or be attentive to the one
and despise the other.


You cannot give yourself to God and money."

25th Sunday of the Year (C) September 19, 2010 (Edited for September 21, 2025)

Liturgical readings
Amos 8:4-7
Psalm 113
1 Timothy 2:1-8
Luke 16:1-13

"You cannot give yourself to God and money."

The gospel speaks about money - something we all have to deal with in the world. Jesus teaches through the parable of the unjust steward what should be one's Christian attitude towards money.

• First, the parable teaches us to be enterprising.
• Second, it also teaches us to be faithful and responsible with small amounts, so that we can be trusted with greater.
• Thirdly, Jesus finally says after the parable: "you cannot give yourself to God and money".

In his "Spiritual Exercises", St. Ignatius of Loyola teaches that the exercitant has only one end in life: "to praise and serve God our Lord". The other things of the world are created for all humanity, to be used only as means to attain to the end of serving the Lord. From this perspective given by St. Ignatius, one can now see what Jesus means in relation to all forms of wealth: that money is only one means of serving God; it is never an end in itself.

This gospel teaching of Jesus from an Ignatian perspective can help humanity see that God is the only end, and money is only one of the means to that end. It is a clear teaching but very difficult to follow without discipline, due to humanity's basic sinfulness and the corruptibility of political and socio-economic structures. Man cannot resist the temptation to make money as an end in itself by one's own strengths alone. By his broken nature, all need Jesus and the Spirit of His strong "No", to help one resist the temptation from all forms of greed. The source of this strength to resist that temptation is always available: through prayer, the Sacraments, the Church's small communities, and a self-discipline gained from experience and a wide network of like-minded family members and friends - all mutually influencing and reinforcing each other to do what is right and just.

Scripture quotes from the readings:
"High above all nations is the Lord; above the heavens is his glory." (Psalm 113)
"God wants all men to be saved and come to know the truth." (1 Timothy)
"Petitions, prayers, intercessions and thanksgivings be offered for all men, especially for kings and those in authority." (1 Timothy)

23rd Sunday of the Year (C)

Paraphrasing the Sunday Readings

Author's note: Paraphrasing the Sunday gospel is a method I learned from Maryhill School of Theology. The method I used is only an adaptation of the original, which was formatted on a blackboard. The method by our theology professor was for exegetical purposes. My purpose is to format it in poetic/prosaic form for clarity of reading and reflection. Formatting this way makes the gospel easy to digest for one's thoughts.

Sunday Readings for Reflection: Liturgical Years 2011 (A), 2012 (B), and 2013 (C)

23rd Sunday of the Year (C), September 8, 2013

Liturgical readings
Wisdom 9:13-18
Psalm 90
Philemon 9-10, 12-17
Luke 14:25-33

"...He will send a delegation...asking for terms of peace."


On one occasion
when a great crowd was with Jesus,


he turned to them and said,


"If anyone comes to me
without turning his back
        on his father
        and mother,
        his wife
        and his children,
        his brothers
        and sisters,
        indeed his very self,


he cannot be my follower.


Anyone who does not take up his cross
and follow me
cannot be my disciple.


If one of you
decides to build a tower,


will he not first sit down
and calculate the outlay


to see if he has enough money
to complete the project?


He will do that
for fear of laying the foundation
and then not being able
to complete the work;


at which all who saw it
would then jeer at him,


saying,


'That man began to build
what he could not finish.'"


"Or


if a king
is about to march
on another king


to do battle with him,


will he not sit down first
and consider


whether,


with ten thousand men,
he can withstand an enemy
coming against him with twenty thousand?


If he cannot,


he will send a delegation
while the enemy is still at a distance,
asking for terms of peace.


In the same way,


none of you can be my disciple


if he does not renounce
all his possessions."

Scripture quotes from the readings:
"In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge." (Psalm 90)
"Teach us to number our days aright, that we may know wisdom of heart." (Psalm 90)
"And may the gracious care of the Lord our God be ours." (Psalm 90)

Reflection: 23rd Sunday of the Year (C) - September 5, 2010 (edited for September 5, 2025)

Liturgical readings

Wisdom 9:13-18b
Psalm 90
Philemon 9-10, 12-17
Luke 14:25-33

"Anyone who does not take up his cross...cannot be My follower."

The gospel for the 23rd Sunday of the Year (C) is a real eye-opener on the cost of discipleship. The structure of the gospel can be divided into three: the first is Jesus demanding full following in His mission (to "turn one's back" on family and self); the second are two parables about building a tower and a king doing battle with another king; and the last is a continuation of the first (to renounce also one's possessions in addition to family and self).

At first, it appears difficult to find the connection between the two parables and Jesus's saying on discipleship. However, Robert J. Karris, in his book, "Invitation to Luke: A Commentary on the Gospel of Luke", gives us a clue. He says that the purpose of the parables' message was to seriously weigh the costs before you embark on a project.

Jesus in the gospel is inviting his hearers to embark on a project, a life project. It is a vocation that requires sage planning so that you will not only be ridiculed or derided as the men in the parables experienced, but by the grace of God, prove yourself faithful in committing yourself to your life's project. The costs of Christian discipleship is not only material (as with building the tower) or strength (as with doing battle with a substantial amount of soldiers), but one's whole life, lifetime: 1) to follow Jesus above family and self; 2) to take up the "crosses" of one's daily tasks and responsibilities; 3) to do one's work faithfully and accomplish what God wills; and 4) to be ready to detach oneself from possessions that can hinder in following Christ.

This passage of the gospel is heard every year and reminds all that the Christian life and its demands are like a "take it or leave it" arrangement. Many of the Saints really did that. Their vocation was really a "take it or leave it". St. Anthony of Egypt gave away all of his possessions and lived in the desert. Another is St. John Paul II. As Jesus never descended from the Cross, St. John Paul II did not resign from his papacy despite his ailment.

We need not be heroic to the same degree as St. John Paul II, but we too can do as he did in following Jesus by living the Christian faith in "every area of our lives...[and allow these areas] to enter into the plan of God, who desires these areas as occasions for loving Him and serving others." This was what St. John Paul II wrote in one of his writings. He says that it is by these daily actions of commitment that every Christian learns by faith what discipleship consists of. It is a basic self-denial and taking up of one's crosses in the commitments and responsibilities of one's respective state of life. This is Christian discipleship at its simplest and most basic form and substance.

The substance of following Jesus and practicing Christian discipleship continues to remain the same throughout centuries of history, since its roots are the Words of the gospel, the liturgy of the Sacraments, and the teaching Magisterium of the Church. Only its form differs because of the cultures and historical situation wherein all the abovementioned are contextualized. But Christ, His Person, and His message will always be the same yesterday, today, and forever. He will always be the Vision of Truth, the Way to Salvation, and the Source of Life for all who have faith in Him. What every Christian only needs to remember is to let His Spirit and the gospel permeate every area of one's life, and everyone and everything he lives for or works for. As long as all Christians today faithfully commit themselves to following Jesus by taking up their crosses in all areas of their work and life, then faithfulness in all their actions will ripple and influence others to do the same. That ripple of influence can grow and become a wave of hope to inspire others to also do as Christ did: to give oneself wholeheartedly in the service of God and others.