Are we too secure, too comfortable to think about God and the poor?

Sunday | 26 | OT | C
Vancouver, September 27, 2019

​It is roughly 760BC when the Prophet Amos writes. The prophet Amos is from the south, that is, from the Tribe of Judah, but his prophetic writing he is directed to the northern tribes although the south is not excluded: “those of you who are at ease in Zion, and for those who feel secure on Mount Samaria.” Remember the north was made of 10 of 12 tribes who were the sons of Jacob. The tribe of Joseph in the north was divided between his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. Only 2 tribes were in the south, Benjamin and Judah.
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So, why does Amos reproach the people of the north. Why should stability, security, even peace become an object of criticism,  “those who lie on beds of ivory, and lounge on their couches…therefore they shall now be the first to go into exile.” In this time of peace and relative calm, the people became very comfortable, focussed on living a good life, a life of pleasure, accumulating their possessions.

When I was reading this I was thinking, how does Amos know what will happen. He is still writing in 760BC. The exile will take place, in 723 BC. Forty years after his prophecy.

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The people of Israel forgot God, they forget others. They only think about themselves. During the time of Amos there was tremendous injustice inflicted upon the poor; the poor had nothing; they were marginalised from society like outcasts -- just because of their poverty, and this injustice God does not accept.

What does Amos say -- those of you who are at “ease,” those who are “secure, but “are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph?” Remember, Joseph is tribe in the north  divided between Joseph’s two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. And the deportation, the ruin, even the loss, of Joseph’s tribes with the Assyrian conquest, is what Amos prophesis and the Assyrians will conquer the north in 723BC. Amos is critical of the spiritual indifference, the religious apathy, that prevails in the north, brought upon by comfort and security, but what is worse, the mistreatment of the poor.
The people are warned of immanent punishment of they do not change their habits.

In St. Paul’s letter to Timothy, our second reading, how does St. Paul address “a man of God”? “pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, gentleness.” St. Paul does not say that Timothy or the community have already achieved these things. We pursue these virtues until our last breath, because as long as we live, we can fail and fall, and we need to get back on track. This is why we have the Sacrament of Confession.

Notice the things we are to pursue: righteousness “doing what is good and just”; when we have choices and we reflect, what is the just or good thing to do? “Godliness,” actions that reflect a person who is inhabited by God, by Grace, by the Holy Spirit.” “Faith,” a person with faith is guided ultimately by their trust in God. When we have faith, our life has God at the center, and God shapes how we live, “godliness.”

“Love,” which for Christianity, is not self-focused, not self-centred, but the offering of ourselves, for the good of the other. That is Christian love. The modern slogan love is love is only true when love embodies the sacrificial. When we say love is love to promote and justify selfish gratification, this is not love: Love does not turn a person into an instrument of pleasure. And contemporary society has sadly corrupted the true meaning of love.

“Endurance,” to persevere, this is what St. Paul says, do not give up, in growing in holiness, because at the end this is the work of Grace. Now what is gentleness? Is it saying yes to everything? Is it never taking a firm position, to say no? Is it being agreeable over every issue, and not correcting errors? No, that’s foolishness, not gentleness. Gentleness is how we express ourselves, how we convey what is true, and correct what is wrong or false.

Now, let’s face it, when someone has irritated or annoyed us enough, with provocative comments we may be triggered into a reaction, it’s hard to be gentle. The best thing is to say a prayer, and say nothing to the person, wait until to calme down, because comments made when we are reacting, we regret later. With some personality differences it’s best to keep conversation to a manageable minimum -- because you know how it ends. And this both prudence and gentleness.
Now, St. Luke’s Gospel ch. 16, echoes the prophet Amos: the prophet’s criticism of people living in comfort and do not interested in God or people living in misery.

The Catholic Church is continuously supporting different projects to serve and help build the community; our support is channelled through different agencies the Church sponsors which we know provide legitimate care. The religious congregations that were founded in Canada, almost all began out of concern to help the poor.
In Biblical times, there was nothing. If people did not show compassion by sharing something of their wealth with the poor, the poor would have nothing. Who were the poor: the elderly who were not strong enough to work and had nobody to take care of them; widows, who did not have a husband to provide for them, and these widows had their children to care of. People with different illnesses and the one that is most notable in the Bible is leprosy. The bottom line, the poor are the most vulnerable members of our society.
The rich man in the parable has it so well on earth, and indifferent to the poor man, Lazarus, “covered with sores” who wished to eat even the crumbs of the rich man. The description is detailed: even the dogs came to lick the sores of Lazarus.

Now, at death we see the justice of God. The rich man did nothing for Lazarus. So, it sounds like the rich man is in the fire of purgatory, “he is in the agony of flames.” Now the rich man calls to have Lazarus cool his tongue. Lazarus is with Abraham at his side. The rich man had it great when he was living, and Lazarus had it pretty bad, now, in the after life, it’s the reverse. What is this chasm between Abraham, Lazarus and the rich man? They cannot cross into Purgatory or into the place of the Dead. However, Abraham and Lazarus are not yet in heaven either because the Resurrection of Jesus had not yet taken place. It seems like the rich man’s family is not even interested to hear the teachings of Moses and the Prophets because if they were, they would show some love for the poor but they are preoccupied with their own wealth.

The rich man is convinced that if a dead person warns them, they should repent, and yet, Abraham replies, if they are not listening to Moses and the Prophets, why should they change their minds because someone rises from the dead. Jesus here foreshadows his own death and resurrection. There are always people who seem to lack faith, it does not matter what you tell them.

Let us pray to Our Blessed Mother, because we are a people of hope and Jesus teaches us to be hopeful, that our faith may increase, and those who lack faith, may believe, that Jesus is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Amen.