Amos 6:1a, 4-7

Our first reading is from Amos, the prophet of social justice. In today's passage, he denounces the hollow prosperity of the rich, a self-indulgent life-style maintained at the expense of the poor.

1 Titus 6:11-16

Although the author attributes second Timothy to St. Paul, it was probably written as much as 30 years after Paul's death. This was an acceptable practice at the time. One important theme of this letter is the need to be faithful to the Gospel and not to be swayed by false teachings.

Luke 16:19-31

Bishop Untener's Homily

Now here's the question: Is this a consoling parable... or is it a threatening parable? Is it comforting, or frightening?

A homilist could make it frightening. They could warn us that we'd better be careful how we live our lives and especially how we use our money and the things we own. Here we are living in comfortable homes, with plenty of food on our table, and if we want, we can get into our comfortable cars and go to a McDonald's drive-through and get whatever we want. Well, we'd better be careful. When we die we will stand before the Lord who will judge us, and we could end up being sent to a place of torment with flames that burn forever... and so forth and so on.

Now, we do have to take note of how we use our possessions. Jesus talks about that at different times, particularly in Luke's Gospel. But let's look at today's passage. Is it consoling or threatening?

Did you notice how Jesus talks about death, or rather, life after death? Jesus takes it as a given that when we die, we live. When we die, we go to God. That is very comforting. I've noticed in these past two weeks that death is on everyone's mind. We all had a brush with death, and we know that even though we survived, it could happen to us at any time. There's no safe place.

This raises the question that has always been the question: Is there life after death? Do we go out of existence when we die? Are we absorbed into a black hole where we dissolve into nothingness if we take this Gospel passage seriously. Here is Jesus telling us as clearly as we'll find anywhere in the Gospels that there is life after death. Now that is consoling, reassuring. The Lord takes care of his little ones when they die.

Here's another question. Whose shoes do we put ourselves in when we hear this Gospel? That's an interesting thought. When we hear the parable of the 100 sheep, I don't think any of us identify with the 99 who were left behind. We all think of ourselves as the lost sheep. When Jesus tells the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector who went up to the temple to pray, and the Pharisee boasts of his goodness while the tax collector simply says, "O God, be merciful to me a sinner," with whom do we identify? We identify with the tax collector. When people were bringing children to Jesus to have them blessed and the disciples became indignant, and Jesus says, "the kingdom of God belongs to such as these," with whom do we identify? The children.

Isn't that interesting. Here in today's parable, when Jesus talks about how God will care for one of the "little ones" of the world, all we tend to think of is the great chasm that separates the good and the bad, and the flames, and the thirst of the rich man.

The problem with the rich man is that he didn't think he needed God's help. Does anyone here think they don't need God's help?

That's the key to this parable. Jesus assures us that he takes care of us, if only we will let him. And furthermore he teaches that it's not all that complicated as though we have to have special knowledge and status. He says that it's simple - just listen to Moses and the prophets - to what is set before us in Scripture.

We've got more than Moses and the prophets. We've got the Gospels. And we have the Spirit - God's own Spirit poured upon us. We have sacred symbols - water and oil and rituals that are simple and clear. We've got the Eucharist, the Body and Blood of Christ.

We're not surrounded by fire and brimstone and terror. We're surrounded by the healing, forgiving, comforting touch of the Lord. Listen to the prayers we say here at the Eucharist. Our gathering prayer at the beginning is very comforting:

Father, you show your almighty power in your mercy and forgiveness. Continue to fill us with your gifts of love. Help us to hurry toward the eternal life you promise and come to share in the joys of your kingdom. Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen."

In the Eucharistic Prayer we remember the Lord's words the night before he died: "Take this all of you and eat it. This is my Body which will be given up for you... Take this all of you and drink from it. This is the cup of my blood, the blood of the new and everlasting covenant which will be shed for you for the forgiveness of sins."

Then we pray to God: "We thank you for counting us worthy to stand in your presence and serve you."

When we recognize that death is not the end, when we open ourselves to the Lord's forgiving, comforting love... then we live differently. But we have to know this good news first. And those of us in ministry are sent to announce this good news, live it in our lives.

I commission you and send you out in that spirit. The Lord takes care of his little ones, and the truth is, we all feel like the "little ones."

Let the psalm we sang in this Mass be the song in our hearts as we minister to others:

Praise the Lord, my soul!

Happy the one who keeps faith forever,
secures justice for the oppressed,
gives food to the hungry.
The Lord sets prisoners free;
the Lord gives sight to the blind.
The Lord raises up those who are bowed down;
the Lord loves the righteous.
The Lord protects the stranger,
sustains the orphan and the widow,
but thwarts the way of the wicked.
The Lord shall reign forever,
your God, Zion, through all generations!
Hallelujah!"

Originally given on September 30, 2001