Greetings on this the Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Readings: Amos 6:1a, 4-7; Psalm 146:7, 8-9, 9-10; 1 Timothy 6:11-16; Luke 16:19-31
In our gospel portion today, we are given the insight to be able to say:
The opposite of love is not hate. The opposite of love is indifference.
Consider the Rich Man (Dives) in the Parable of Lazarus and Dives.
Each Day, every day
He 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.
Knew but Ignored
He knew Lazarus but cared not. Until he would be potentially useful. Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am suffering torment in these flames.’
Indifference is deadly decay
So indifferent were they, that when Lazarus died, noone buried him.
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.
Indifference blinds
Indifference blinds us to Grace and salvation.
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.'”
Kindness endures
Nobody is perfect. You may be having a bad day and aiding others is the furthest thing from your mind. This story is about someone who day-by-day had a life practice of indifference, advantage, resources, intelligence and the nascent capacity to be kind (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).
This indifference of one man caused the death of another, Lazarus, and doom for his five brothers.
Nobody can complain they are unable to be kind. Lapses? Sure. A way of life? Never!
Kindness saves
Kindness can be painful. Those who were kind were made ill by the collapse of Joseph.
They shared their home, food, music, eine and oil. This is the contrasting kindness to the vile images of those ‘with’ taken in the Book of the Prophet Amos.
Kindness Praises Kindness
Blessed is he who keeps faith forever, secures justice for the oppressed, gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets captives free.
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.
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.
Our calling
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.
Appalachian Trail
I ended the day yesterday in Holy Mass (of Thanksgiving) for a successful 241 mile hike through Massachusetts and Vermont, end-to-end, entering New Hampshire on Saturday.
Kindness Abounds in Water
The severe drought made water management a critical task. There were days I had to restrict my water intake to two gulps every 70 minutes (set a timer on my phone). Thanks be to God for kindness. Water caches along some routes helped. I even begged a State Forestry Firefighters for a pint when passing each other. In payment I had to promise to stamp out any campsite firepits smoldering that I come across.
Kindness Abounds in Food
The distance between roadcuts made food management difficult. Thanks be to God for kindness.
One day hiker saw me at a forestry parking lot and gave me her snack bar, “you need this more than me”. Still others, while hiking extra miles to town to get food, simply stopped their truck offering a ride to town! I always apologized for my smell. Yes, it was bad. Like damp laundry waiting a week to be washed… times 10.
You see, I was Lazarus. Food, water, shelter, and kindness in small, yet for me, significant amounts… praise the Lord O my soul, as our responsorial psalm goes.
Your Kindness is in the Image and Likeness of God.
Peace be with you,
Deacon Gerry
