Waking up from Complacency: The Twenty Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

                                    Waking up from Complacency

The Twenty Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

September 25, 2022

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Amos 6:4-7; Psalm 146; 1 Timothy 6:11-16; Luke 16:19-31

 

          It is easy for us to make judgments on the rich man in the parable for not being a person concerned for others, and it is easy for us to identify with the underdog Lazarus who is injured because of the rich man’s neglect. It is easy for us to condemn wealth and the pursuit of status, honor, and indulgent pleasure. This parable presents extreme opposites, which makes it easy to condemn the nameless rich man, but there is still more to the story because it is a story that can implicate us as well as the rich man. The point is that we are subject to complacency.

 

          The reading from Amos describes the slippery slope of complacency that leads people away from caring for others. Concerning themselves with only their self-interests and worldly pursuits, they failed to see those who were in need or struggled, and the great tragedy is when we learn to not even see the person who is injured or is struggling. The sin is that we no longer bother to even care. Our salvation is not only through communion with God; it is also brought about through our communion with one another. Failing to respond to one in need creates a chasm between us and God. 

 

Perhaps you saw the Ken Burns special on “The U.S. and the Holocaust” this week that reflected America’s long history with antisemitism that continues into the present day. You would not be surprised that some of today’s movements were quite like earlier positions held in the 1930’s and the 1940’s. A most frequent American response to the plight of Jewish (and other) refugees was that there was something always more important than dealing with the poor Jews. Complacency and other interests turned a blind eye to the struggle for existence for a persecuted people. 

 

It is an important documentary so that we can learn something about ourselves and to awaken ourselves to the plight of others while becoming active to solve our own problems. We have to allow our hearts to be moved so that we can stop the progress of aggression and brutality. The National Socialists targeted many categories of people, and the first targeted people were the artists and intellectuals. Think about that. Those people who can shape human thought for the betterment of society are the ones who are targeted. We are at a loss when we target education because we fear that others may think independently. 

 

It is human nature to fear others and to fend for one’s own tribe at the expense of another, and yet our Catholic belief is that God cares of all peoples, especially those who are injured at the hands of aggressors and the influential. To follow the rule of life outlined by Jesus, we have to take risks to care for each other and align ourselves with those who bring more goodness into the world. As we find ourselves aligned with good, we see how this goodness spreads and has a power that leads to our salvation.

 

Scripture for Daily Mass

 

First Reading: 

 

Monday: (Job 1) One day, when the angels of God came to present themselves before the LORD, Satan also came among them. And the LORD said to Satan, “Whence do you come?” Then Satan answered the LORD and said, “From roaming the earth and patrolling it.” 

 

Tuesday: (Job 3) Job opened his mouth and cursed his day. Job spoke out and said: Perish the day on which I was born, the night when they said, “The child is a boy!”

 

Wednesday: (Job 9) I know well that it is so; but how can a man be justified before God? Should one wish to contend with him, he could not answer him once in a thousand times. God is wise in heart and mighty in strength; who has withstood him and remained unscathed?

 

Thursday: (Daniel 7) Thrones were set up and the Ancient One took his throne. His clothing was bright as snow, and the hair on his head as white as wool; His throne was flames of fire, with wheels of burning fire.

Friday (Job 38) The earth is changed as is clay by the seal, and dyed as though it were a garment; But from the wicked the light is withheld, and the arm of pride is shattered.

 

Saturday (Job 42) I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be hindered. I have dealt with great things that I do not understand; things too wonderful for me, which I cannot know.

 

Gospel: 

 

Monday: (Luke 9) Then John said in reply, “Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your name and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow in our company.” Jesus said to him, “Do not prevent him, for whoever is not against you is for you.

 

Tuesday: (Luke 9) On the way they entered a Samaritan village to prepare for his reception there, but they would not welcome him because the destination of his journey was Jerusalem.

 

Wednesday (Luke 9) "Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head." And to another he said, "Follow me." 
But he replied, "Lord, let me go first and bury my father."

 

Thursday (John 1) “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.”
Jesus answered and said to him, “Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than this.”

 

Friday (Luke 10) For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would long ago have repented, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.
But it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you.

 

Saturday (Luke 10) Jesus said, “I have observed Satan fall like lightning from the sky. Behold, I have given you the power ‘to tread upon serpents’ and scorpions and upon the full force of the enemy and nothing will harm you.

 

Saints of the Week

 

September 26: Cosmas and Damian, martyrs (d. 287), were twins who became doctors. They were noted because they never charged anyone a medical fee. They died in the Diocletian persecution. Great miracles have been attributed to them and the Emperor Justinian is claimed to be healed through their intercession. 

 

September 27: Vincent de Paul, priest (1581-1660), was a French peasant who selected to be chaplain at the Queen's household after his ordination. He provided food and clothing to the poor, including prostitutes, the sick, disabled, and homeless. He founded the Congregation of Missions (Vincentians) to preach and train clergy and he co-founded the Daughters of Charity with Louise de Marillac.

 

September 28: Wenceslaus, martyr (907-929), was raised a Christian by his grandmother while his mother and brother were opposed to Christianity. His brother opposed him when he became ruler of Bohemia in 922. He introduced strict reforms that caused great dissatisfaction among nobles and political adversaries. His brother invited him to a religious ceremony where he was killed in a surprise attack.

 

September 28: Lawrence Ruiz and 15 companion martyrs (seventeenth century), were killed in Nagasaki, Japan during 1633 and 1637. Most of these Christians were friends of the Dominicans. Lawrence, a Filipino, was a husband and father. He and these other missionaries served the Philippines, Formosa, and Japan.

 

September 29: Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, archangels are long a part of Christian and Jewish scripture. Michael is the angel who fights against evil as the head of all the angels; Gabriel announces the messiah's arrival and the births of Jesus and John the Baptist; and Raphael is a guardian angel who protects Tobias on his journey. Together, they are venerated to represent all the angels during a three-day period.

 

September 30: Jerome, priest and doctor (342-420), studied Greek and Latin as a young man after his baptism by Pope Liberius. He learned Hebrew when he became a monk and after ordination he studied scripture with Gregory Nazianzen in Constantinople. He became secretary to the Pope when he was asked to translate the Bible into Latin.

 

October 1: These of Lisieux, doctor (1873-1897), entered the Carmelites at age 15 and died at age 24 from tuberculosis. During her illness, Pauline, her prioress, asked her to write about her life in the convent. These stories are captured in "The Story of a Soul." He focused on her "little way" of pursuing holiness in everyday life.

 

This Week in Jesuit History

 

• September 25, 1617. The death of Francisco Suarez. He wrote 24 volumes on philosophy and theology. As a novice he was found to be very dull, but one of his directors suggested that he ask our Lady's help. He subsequently became a person of prodigious talent. 
• September 26, 1605. At Rome, Pope Paul V orally declared St Aloysius to be one of the "Blessed." The official brief appeared on October 19. 
• September 27, 1540. Pope Paul III signed the Bull, Regimini Militantis Ecclesiae, which established the Society of Jesus. 
• September 28, 1572. Fifteen Jesuits arrived in Mexico to establish the Mexican Province. They soon opened a college. 
• September 29, 1558. In the Gesu, Rome, and elsewhere, the Jesuits began to keep Choir, in obedience to an order from Paul IV. This practice lasted less than a year, until the pope's death in August, 1559. 
• September 30, 1911. President William Howard Taft visited Saint Louis University and declared the football season open. 
• October 1, 1546. Isabel Roser was released from her Jesuit vows by St Ignatius after eight months.