Sept. 26 26th Sunday. Ord. Time -C cycle. Lectionary # 139

Scripture: Lectionary 139. Amos 6:1.4-7. Psalm 146:7.8-9.9-10. I Timothy
6:11-16. Luke 16:19-31

In one of the opening verses of the prophet Amos we hear the prophet
speaking of God as a roaring lion who roars out of Jerusalem and Mount
Zion. The concerns of the prophet are imaged through that fierce
description of God's displeasure even about his holy people Israel and
those living in Judah. Their own interests lie in comfort and putting all
foreign thoughts far from their mind though they are soon to be attacked
and then exiled. More than religious issues, the prophet is speaking for
God about political and social concerns that affect the poor and take away
from the common good of the nation. A return to the Lord is needed; and a
separating of themselves from their comforts and pleasures without any
concern for others in need. Danger is imminent but they are unaware of it.

The first reading parallels in thought with the Gospel of Luke where Jesus
tells the parable or story of the rich man and the poor man named Lazarus.
The latter languishes at the doorstep of the rich man and soon dies. In the
history of the story we see that the rich man is not given a name whereas
we do have the name of the poor person who is of concern to God and the
patriarch Abraham. Nature abhors a vacuum and so, too, do those who are
responsible for handing on the tradition of this Gospel of Luke through
manuscript copying. In some of the later manuscripts we discover the rich
person is name Dives ( Rich one), in others like manuscripts made in Egypt
the name Nineveh or Neves is given for the rich person; others call him
Phineas or Finees and finally in a versified Bible written in the twelfth
century the name Amenophis is given. We are given such trends in the
history of handing on texts that show us the tendency to fill in the gaps
even in a parable from Jesus. Probably most of us know the name Dives
through what we were taught by those who explained the parable to us.

Just as the Judaites and Israelites did not listen to Amos, so, too this
rich person was oblivious to the needs of a poor man that he passed by each
day. Finally when the poor man and the rich man die there is a type of
afterlife dialogue between the rich man and Abraham. Dives or Nineveh or
whatever name we give to the rich man tries to persuade through his
dialogue that Abraham should tell the brothers of the rich one that they
should listen. Abraham clearly tells him that even if one were to be
raised from the dead they would not listen to him. They are too caught up
in themselves and their own comforts and space.

Faithful listeners and believers do listen to the timely words of Amos
today and try to keep themselves alert to the needs of the poor and the
homeless. They also raise the social consciousness of others who may be
too tied up in their own riches while being totally ignorant of the common
good. One of the statement from the Black Bishops of the United States
Pastoral Document is a good example of those who have heard the roar of the
Lion through Amos and through the parable of Lazarus and Dives. This
sentence may help us to reflect further on both the first reading and the
Gospel parable: "One who is joyful is impelled to love and cannot hate. A
joyful person seeks to reconcile and will not cause division. A joyful
person is troubled by the sight of another's sadness. A joyful person
seeks to console, strives to encourge and brings to all true peace." Taken
from What We Have Seen and Heard (Black Bishops of the United States
Pastoral Document). Amen