Read Reflect Respond

Feast Days |  Sundays |  Videos | Latest

(28th September 2025) - Homily for the 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time

READ: (Amos 6:1, 4-7; 1 Tim 6: 11-16; Lk 16: 19-31)

REFLECT: Compassionate love and care for the poor

Dear friends, we are in the Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time. We speak or hear quite a lot about having material benefits and monetary gains but have we had any personal experience of sharing what we have to the needy and the poor. Jesus very clearly tells us in Lk 12:15 “Take heed, and beware of all covetousness; for a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” Yes, abundance of possessions is not all in life, rather sharing the portion of possessions that we have with others is important and worthwhile. Someone has very beautifully said, “caring is one of the best ways of nourishing and nurturing relationships with others.” I feel and believe it is true. We all of us have something or the other to share with each other apart from financial assistance and support because, all do not expect financial support or assistance. The needs or wants change from person to person just as our perspectives, others perspectives and God’s perspectives differ. So how we can considerably care for the poor in love and compassion is pointed out in the liturgy of the word by having three “don’ts” in life. So based on the liturgy of the word of God for the day, I would like to share with you three points of reflection.

1. Do not oppress the poor:

The one way to care for the poor is not to oppress or afflict them by dominance and subjugation. Today dominance and control over others has become common and much more than all, the poor and the weak have become subject and object of dominance. It is because the poor and the weak have very few good-hearted persons to support or care for them. Most often, we support the rich or the wealthy in order to get back the riches and wealth from them. That’s what is addressed in the first reading of the day.  In the first reading, prophet Amos gives a strong warning to those secure in their riches and the rich who remain idle. The life of pleasure described in Amos is not self-indulgence but the refusal to care for Israel. The rich and the ruling classes in Zion and Samaria are warned for their luxury for the lack of concern for the ruin of Joseph (Israel). Prophet Amos says that the notables or renowned sections of the nations, who anointed themselves will be the first one to go to exile.

Perhaps, what we notice in the first reading is that the sins of the rich people are not directly mentioned but their uncaring and unconcerned attitude towards the poor leads the poor to destruction. What mattered to rich people were their food, wine, comfort and amusements.  They were least worried about people who had nothing to eat or live for survival and security of life. Today, there are many among us too, who find delight in oppressing the poor and the weak by not bothering the poor; the dominance over the poor and the satisfaction of the rich within themselves too oppress the poor even harder.

The voice of Prophet Amos is an eye-opener for all today to voice over the dehumanizing and enslaving attitudes of persons or authorities. At times it makes us feel that even if we don’t care for the poor, but if we could stop oppressing the poor by way of injustice, disrespect, hatred, negligence and other dehumanizing activities, it will be of great help to the poor to be free and happy in life. Very fittingly we read in the book of proverbs, “He who mocks the poor taunts his Maker; He who rejoices at calamity will not go unpunished,” (Prov 17:5);  “He who oppresses the poor to make more for himself or who gives to the rich, will only come to poverty,” (Prov 22:16). Yes, we may be rich in money but if we don’t have the grace of God in us, we will not have entry into heaven. So let us make every attempt not to oppress the poor by words that we utter or deeds that we do rather help them in whatever ways we can to promote the life of the poor and the needy in our surroundings.

2. Do not be greedy:

Another way of caring for the poor is not being greedy but sharing with them what we can or we have. By being greedy, we don’t give to others what they deserve, we just keep on hoarding things for oneself, which at times are ruined or become useless. That’s what Mahatma Gandhi, the father of our nation has said, “The earth has enough for everyone’s need and not for everyone’s greed.” Therefore, life is meant to be happy by sharing with those who genuinely need it. The second reading from St. Paul’s letter to First Timothy very well points out ways and means to be holy and godly in life. Very emphatic and direct is the opening phrase of the second reading “but you man of God, shun all these and strive to be holy and godly.” The reference to ‘shun all these’ is seen in the previous verse of the same passage in 1 Tim 6:10, “Love of money is the root of every evil. Because of this greed, some have wandered away from the faith, bringing on themselves afflictions of every kind.”

Yes, the second reading gives us warning against being greedy and urges us to focus life on faith by being men and women of God. And so we hear Paul addressing us too today to be pure and blameless, living in faith, love and gentleness; fight the good fight of faith and win everlasting life, to which we are called. The call of each is to profess faith, confess faith and live the faith in Jesus Christ. When life does not correspond to the faith that we profess and confess, it becomes just life a castle in the air, meaningless and purposeless. Faith in Christ is the focus, because that’s what would make us men and women of God and not greedy for money. Today, to some extent money has become the motivating factor to grow in faith; faith is bought at times and not taught or fostered. When faith does not become a primary thing, money becomes a prime thing in life. When money becomes a priority, our wants, needs and desires increase more; when desires of all sorts increase, we become greedy and feel that without money we can’t live. 

As it is said, an inordinate love of money is wrong not only because it poisons our faith, but also because it leads to injustice against our neighbor. Further, St. Maximus tells us, “The person who is avaricious always takes advantage of someone else; he feasts himself on others’ downfall.” Above all, after noting that greed is restricted not only to money, but also to a desire for honor and status, St. Anthony of Padua tells, “The more a greedy person possesses, the more he strive to ascend. And so it happens that when a greedy, ambitious person falls, his fall is disastrous.” So It is a time to think and act on better situations in life. Instead of having a disastrous fall by greed, let us have glorious liberty and freedom by having faith in Christ and by caring for one another in our world.

3. Don’t ignore the poor

We tend to ask sometimes, is ignoring the poor a sin? Is doing nothing to the poor a sin? Yes, knowing the fact that the other is poor, if we ignore them or do nothing to overcome the state of poverty, it is a sin, because knowing the state of poverty of another, yet choosing to remain silent is an unjust act done to the poor.  Today’s gospel reading is about the parable of a Rich man and Lazarus. It points out how the rich man feasted everyday sumptuously, clothed in purple and fine linen without even being mindful of the poor Lazarus at the gate.

The man was so rich that he was even blinded to see the poor Lazarus at the gate. The root cause of becoming blind to see Lazarus was his greediness. Because of greed, he ignored the poor Lazarus, he was blind to see poor Lazarus. The rich man was full of himself, ate good food, and wore good and fine clothes, the gate where Lazarus implies perhaps a palace like place. Naturally, when the rich man had food, clothing and shelter to the extreme, he forgot, ignored or lost sight of poor Lazarus. The mistake of the rich man was not being full of himself but being full of himself he failed to share with the poor Lazarus and ignored him completely. That’s what richness and greed can lead us as well to ignore people.

It is told that St. Dominic once sold his valuable parchments to buy food for the poor when his town suffered from famine; as the saint said, “I will not study on dead skins, when living skins are dying of hunger.” We see here the true spirit of compassion and care for the poor. St. Dominic did not ignore the poor who suffered in famine but cared for the living who were dying of hunger. The fate of the rich man’s richness and ignorance of poor Lazarus made him lose his place in the company of angels and Abraham in heaven. The rich man was not even given an opportunity to cool his tongue by the dip of water from the finger of Lazarus. It is all because of the rich man’s lack of love and concern for the poor Lazarus and added to that ignoring Lazarus to his fatal end.

Let us recall the words of St. Mother Teresa of Kolkatha, “We think sometimes that poverty is only being hungry, naked and homeless. The poverty of being unwanted, unloved and uncared for is the greatest poverty. We must start in our own homes to remedy this kind of poverty.” Yes, this could have been the experience of poor Lazarus of being unwanted, unloved, uncared, unnoticed and ignored completely. Today, let us make every attempt not to ignore those in poverty at different levels. Let us love them, give them all that we can generously and compassionately. Let us continue to see the face of Jesus in the poor, the weak and the uncared and unconcerned in our society.

I would like to conclude the reflection with the words of our beloved Pope Leo XIV, who on World day of the poor very powerfully exhorts and encourages us to have love and concern for the poor. The following are Pope Leo’s words: “The celebration of the World Day of the Poor is meant to remind our communities that the poor are at the heart of all our pastoral activity. This is true not only of the Church’s charitable work, but also of the message that she celebrates and proclaims. God took on their poverty in order to enrich us through their voices, their stories and their faces. Every form of poverty, without exception, calls us to experience the Gospel concretely and to offer effective signs of hope.” Yes, as Christ’s followers, we are called to give hope to the poor, the weak, and the marginalized of the society, so that we too participate in the preferential option for the poor that Jesus had and concretely reach out to them in love and compassion. May God give us the courage and strength to help and support the weak of our society.

RESPOND:

Do I oppress the poor in my words and deeds?

Do I have greedy for money or help the needy and the helpless?

Do I ignore the poor or make every step to ignite the poor to smile and be happy in life?

Let us care for the poor, share with them all that we can within our limits and limitations. Let us show the poor the face of God by act of care, concern and consolation. Amen.

“There is always a difference between keeping poison and being poisoned. The pharmacists almost all keep poisons, to make use of them in different circumstances. But they are not for that matter poisoned because they do not have poison in their bodies but only in their shops. So too you can own riches without being poisoned by them.”  (St. Francis de Sales, IDL, Part III, Ch. 14, p. 182)

God bless us all…