Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Today we celebrate the feast of the Archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael. Raphael is patron of our parish community. He’s also a patron of health professionals and travelers (including snowbirds) , the blind and the sick. In fact, the name “Raphael” means “God heals” in Hebrew. So, whenever we’re traveling or sick, or when we can’t see our way clearly, we might pray to Raphael for protection and guidance and healing. His statue is in our courtyard and his story is in the biblical Book of Tobit.

We have heard the slogan “carpe diem” or “seize the day.” Seize every opportunity to do good for others. Someone wrote: “Years from now we will be more disappointed by the things we didn’t do than by the ones we did.” Think about it. Try to live an everyday life of no regrets. Don’t put off for tomorrow what you can do today.  Just do it now.

Today’s Gospel parable describes two contrasting lifestyles. One of the characters is the guy who “has everything.” He lives splendidly like a king. But outside the gatehouse, at a distance, is a poor man who has nothing. Even in death they differ. The rich man probably is buried with pomp and circumstance. Poor Lazarus is likely left unburied.

But then there’s a dramatic reversal. Where do we find the rich man? In Hades, the netherworld. A tormented dead man! And where do we find poor Lazarus? In the embrace of Abraham. A happy man! A chasm separates the two. Why is the rich man condemned? Not because he’s wealthy. He is condemned because he ignored this needy street beggar.

The rich man committed a sin of omission. He didn’t listen to the prophets of ancient Israel—for example, Amos, in today’s first reading.

Amos excoriated the rich and famous who pampered themselves at the expense of others. Their conspicuous consumption was at the expense of those who lacked the basic necessities of life. They never heard the phrase live simply so that others can simply live.

The rich man forgot the prophet Micah who said, “You have been told what the Lord requires of you:
Only to do the right and to love goodness
and to walk humbly with your God.”

Yes, sometimes we too don’t listen to the prophets. Sometimes we don’t even listen to what St. Paul in his letter to Timothy tells us to do today: practice virtue so that we may have eternal life through Jesus Christ.

The wealthy in the readings we heard today forgot that many people hunger not only for bread, but for justice, for peace, and yes, for God.

The word challenges us to care for one another, especially the needy. A blueprint for doing this can be found in the seven so-called “corporal works of mercy.” You heard these:

Feed the hungry. Every day millions of people, especially 70 plus million refugees according to the United Nations, are hungry. Countless children suffer starvation and malnutrition, and thousands die each day.

Jesus commands us to feed the hungry. In doing so, we feed Jesus himself. How? We might contribute to organizations such as Catholic Relief Services. Or closer to home, we might feed intellectually hungry children by mentoring them in reading or writing skills. Or we might volunteer in religious education to nurture youngsters in their hunger for God. There are countless opportunities to feed the hungry: physically, intellectually, spiritually and socially.

Give drink to the thirsty. When we pollute the air, when waste makes water undrinkable, we put lives at risk. We have a responsibility to care for this planet of ours, to be good stewards of God’s universe.

Pope Francis in his letter, “Laudato Si” (Praise Be to You) urges us to care for our common home, this planet of ours. Not littering, cleaning up, fixing up, can demonstrate that we do care.

Clothe the naked. Jesus says we should clothe the naked, i.e., do what we can to create a better life for the poor. What about a “closet cleaning?” Do we really need all those clothes? Why not donate them to St. Vincent de Paul or Good Will?

Shelter the homeless. In cities around the world, homeless people are on the streets. Human beings deserve the dignity and decency which come from having a place to come home to. Yes, government should provide systemic solutions, e.g., meaningful work incentives. But we also can volunteer to help, e.g., St. Vincent de Paul or Habitat for Humanity which creates homes for needy families.

Visit the sick. Jesus commands us to visit and comfort them with hope. Yes, their illness requires better attention. The sick, especially the terminally ill, need our presence. A short visit can do wonders. Our presence allows them to talk about their fears and anxieties, and to transcend feelings of loneliness.

Ransom the captive. Connected to this is the fight for human rights: including political and religious freedom, the right to seek the truth, the right to economic conditions that foster dignity and the right to an environment conducive to raising a family. We need to stand up for the right of the unborn to life in this world, and the right of the elderly to die with dignity.

Another dimension of this call is concern for people in our prisons. We can visit to show someone cares, to share faith, to teach, to pray, to give hope.

Finally, Bury the dead. We Franciscans celebrate every year the Transitus (or passing) of St. Francis of Assisi on October 3. It is a moving celebration about our own pilgrimage from this earth through the mystery of death into eternal life. It’s natural to mourn someone’s passing. We might reach out to mourners, not just at the wake and funeral, but through the grieving process by participating in the bereavement ministry.

With lively imagination, we can think of a hundred and one ways to practice the corporal works of mercy in our daily lives as Jesus calls us to do.

On the day of judgment, our prayer is to hear God say to us: Come, inherit the kingdom. For I was hungry and you gave me food; thirsty and you gave me drink; a stranger and you welcomed me; naked and you clothed me; ill and you cared for me.

Yes, how we live today has profound–indeed eternal–consequences on our tomorrow. Carpe diem. Seize the opportunity every day to do good for others.