Amos 6.1a,4-7 | 2 Timothy 6.11-16 | Luke 16.19-31

Today, with Mother Church, we begin the twenty-sixth week of Ordinary Time, in September, the month of the Bible.

The Word of God is more than letters, words, and phrases written in books. The Sacred Scriptures are life and truth. Jesus is the Word made flesh. He fulfilled all Law and prophecy. God continues to speak today through the life and teachings of Christ. The apostles and their immediate successors, helped by the Holy Spirit, had a perfect understanding of the Word of God. Therefore, the apostolic Church had the authority to interpret and teach the Sacred Scriptures, according to Jesus' original intention. The apostolic Tradition is fundamental to understanding the Bible.

Today, the Evangelist Luke tells us about the parable of the rich man and poor Lazarus, told by Jesus to the Pharisees. The rich man dressed in fine, elegant clothes and feasted sumptuously every day. When he died, he was buried and, in the realm of the dead, was tormented, suffering in the flames.

Poor Lazarus, covered in sores, lay on the ground at the rich man's door. He wanted to satisfy his hunger with the scraps that fell from the rich man's table. When he died, he was carried by angels to Abraham's side and was comforted.

The rich man begged Abraham for mercy, asking him to send Lazarus to cool his tongue. Abraham reminded him that during his lifetime, he had received good things and Lazarus had received bad things. Abraham said that there was a great gulf between them, preventing him from passing from one side to the other.

The rich man again begged Abraham, asking him to send Lazarus to warn his five brothers so they would not also go to that place of torment. Abraham told him that his brothers had Moses and the Prophets to listen to. In desperation, the rich man urged Abraham, saying that his brothers would repent if one of the dead came to them. But Abraham told him that if they did not listen to Moses or the Prophets, they would not believe even if someone rose from the dead.

With this parable, Jesus was telling the Pharisees that their present attitudes would have consequences in eternity. The man ended up in that place of torment because he allowed his wealth to make him selfish and indifferent to the needs of the poor, opening an unbridgeable chasm of isolation. He did not recognize that Lazarus was his seventh brother (a number that indicates plenitude).

Let us listen to Moses and the Prophets and believe in the One who rose from the dead, Jesus, and convert urgently, before selfishness and indifference also cause us to lose Heaven and deserve hell. The concentration of wealth instead of solidarity is a mortal sin that corrodes social harmony. May generosity overcome greed. It is to Jesus that we do good when we meet the needs of the poor.

Today, the prophet Amos speaks to us of the moral decadence of the wealthy Israelites, who were unconcerned about the needs of the poor.

In the 8th century BC, in Samaria, the capital of Israel, the wealthy Israelites lived in luxurious homes, perfumed, eating and drinking the best of the best, amidst singing and musical instruments.

Amos prophesied the invasion of Israel by the Assyrian Empire and the exile of the wealthy Israelites to Assyria. According to the prophet, God permitted the invasion due to the Israelites' unfaithfulness to their religious covenant and the indifference of the rich to the needs of the poor. In reality, Israel was invaded because Assyria wanted to expand its empire and because its king Hoshea allied with Assyria's adversaries, failing to pay them taxes. The concentration of wealth, consumerism, and a luxurious lifestyle can lead individuals and peoples to trust their wealth more than God, to find more pleasure in enjoying material goods than in being in God's presence. Such behavior can lead to distancing oneself from God and from brothers and sisters in need.

Wealth can be a blessing when used to meet the needs of the poor and support their human and material development; but it can also be a curse when it makes individuals and peoples insensitive to God and the poor.

Christ became bread and gave himself as food to those in need. Let us be true Christians, overcoming selfishness and sharing who we are and what we have.

Today, the apostle Paul speaks to us in his first letter to Timothy about perseverance in serving Christ and the Church until His glorious coming.

Paul chose Timothy as bishop of Ephesus and instructed him on how to carry out this important ministry with personal and pastoral virtues. It would be a difficult task, like a fight, that would require love, perseverance, and fidelity to the promises made publicly.

Service to the Church is a calling from Christ and a responsibility assumed out of love. The Church is a visible sign of the Kingdom of God in the world. While contemporary society views power and money as privileges, the Church must joyfully witness to free service and the sharing of goods with the poor.

Let us learn from Paul and Timothy to fight the good fight of faith, to gain eternal life, where Christ already is, dwelling in unapproachable light.