Amos 6:1a, 4-7; 1 Tim. 6:11-16; LK 16:19-31.
Today's First Reading
from the Book of Amos is the last of three woes that the Lord God promised to
inflict upon Judah and Israel because of their evil deeds. These nations had
rulers who were idle, insensitive to the need of the poor and lived in luxury.
Accordingly, God said that they would be taken into exile.
History tells us that
the rulers slept on extravagant beds that were inlaid with ivory panels. They
ate the costliest food, including calves that had been raised on milk alone,
this making the meat very tender. During meals, they listened to idle songs to
the sound of the harp. In this environment of indolence (avoiding work), never
mind drinking wine out of cup, they drank it out of bowls. Over and above all
this, they anointed themselves with the finest oils. While enjoying themselves
they were totally insensitive to the needs of the poor and common men around
them. The punishment that they had to face was exile.
The Gospel Reading
has a similarity. Again we heard of luxury and insensitivity. The rich man
lived like a king and was totally insensitive to the needs of Lazarus. While
the rich man may have been blessed with great luxury, he was only successful
for a time. When he died, he could not take his luxury with him in the
afterlife. None of his luxury could defend him against the judgment that
awaited him. The rich man asked Abraham to send Lazarus to his father's house
to warn his five brothers of the plight that awaited them if they continued to
live as the rich man did. Abraham answered that his brothers had Moses and the
prophets. In other words, they had the laws and the words of the prophets.
Equally today, we
have the Words of Jesus and the teachings of the Holy Catholic Church that are
continuously related to us through the ministers of the Word of God. As the
rich man had plenty of opportunities to hear the truth, today, God's creations,
within and without the Church, have all the necessary opportunities to hear the
truth.
The problem of the
rich man was that he was insensitive to the needs of his fellow
men. Insensitivity is infectious, a disease that is spreading fast
not just in wider society but also much closer to home. All
sadly traits of a modern day society when we find ourselves
consumed by social media, our own personal egos, selfishness and lack of
willingness to stand up and do the right thing.
But there are also people
who proved that their little actions can impact the world.
After needing 13
litres of blood for a surgery at the age of 13, a man names James Harrison
pledged to donate blood once he turned 18. It was discovered that his blood
contained a rare antigen which cured Rhesus disease. He has donated blood a
record 1000 times and saved 2000000 lives.
For the past ten
years, Luis Soriano, a teacher in the small town of La Gloria, Colombia, has
created a mobile library with the help of is donkeys. He then travels through
the fields to the villages beyond where children n await his visits
impatiently. He firmly believes that bringing books to people who don't have
access to them can improve the country and open up possibilities for the future
generation.
Cathy O'Grady has
always been a person whose life mission was to bring a smile to the faces of
complete strangers. But after her mother passed away 15 years ago from breast
cancer, she felt the need to embody her mother's legacy of unbridled generosity
and took her random acts of kindness to the next level. From donating $50 gift
cards to Boston families who couldn't afford a Thanksgiving dinner to leaving blankets, hats and scarves on park benches for the homeless, O'Grady
devotes every second of her spare time outside of her accounting job and online
jewellery business to giving back because it helps others and makes her feel
good.
The message of
today's readings is that God has blessed us abundantly in many ways. While
enjoying these blessings, we should not be insensitive to the needs of less
fortunate. Our little acts of kindness can bring smiles to the life of
many. And they will be our advocates to plead for us. When the rich man reached
his destiny Lazarus was there but there was nothing for Lazarus to plead for
him. Let us try to do whatever little is possible for us to alleviate the
sufferings of people around us. Not a single act will go waste. Everything will
be account for in our favour.
Satish