HOMILY FOR THE 26TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR C (5)
HOMILY FOR THE 26TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR C
THEME: “BETWEEN US AND YOU A GREAT GULF HAS BEEN FIXED”
BY: Fr. Cajetan Anyanwu
HOMILY FOR SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 25 2022
This is the 26th Sunday in ordinary time. We live in a world of great divide between the rich and
HOMILY FOR THE 26TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR C
THEME: “BETWEEN US AND YOU A GREAT GULF HAS BEEN FIXED”
BY: Fr. Cajetan Anyanwu
HOMILY FOR SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 25 2022
This is the 26th Sunday in ordinary time. We live in a world of great divide between the rich and the poor. The rich placed great obstacle on the way of the poor so that they remain in their poverty. Most countries of the world live in affluence while others beg for food. In most places unemployment is above 50% this has caused multiple migration from the poor countries to the rich ones. Some of these migrants crossed mighty oceans, deserts, large forests and jumped mighty walls in an attempt to cross over. While some die in the process, others manage to survive but are held as criminals and illegal aliens. Some women who crossed certain borders have been separated from their children . What a wicked world? Amos laments against those who do not care for the poor (Amos 6:1.4-7).
One wonders if the oppressed will ever find a resting place. Like saint Augustine would put it, “our souls are restless until they rest in the Lord. ” The only secure place for the poor is in the presence of God. This is why Paul writes Timothy to “Fight the good fight of the faith and win for yourself the eternal life to which you were called… ” (1Tim. 6:11-16). A poor person without faith is extra hopeless.
The task of helping the poor is a moral imperative. This is illustrated today in the Gospel where the story of Lazarus and the rich man is told. While the rich man enjoyed life to its fullest when he lived, Lazarus suffered hunger and starvation on earth. Poverty caused Lazarus big sores and scars, wrinkles and cracks all over his body. The rich man ardoned himself with gold and feasted daily. He had no regard for the poor. From the torment he experienced in hell he called out for help. Abraham told him, “between us and you a great gulf has been fixed” (Lk. 16:19-31). This gulf came because the rich man neglected the poor, he looked down on those who suffer and never offered a helping hand to those in need. The lesson from this is, one in hell will never cross over to heaven! Another lesson is, while Lazarus was named in the Gospel, the rich man’s name was not mentioned. Let us be good to one another so that our good names shall be written in the book of life, amen. Happy Sunday .
