Amos 8: 4-7 & Luke 16: 1-13 (Sunday, September 23, 2007 – Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time)

To understand the first reading of today, we need to understand the historical and social setting in which the prophet Amos was prophesying. Amos prophesied when Uzziah was king of Judah. This prophecy was given two years before the earthquake that destroyed Judah. This earthquake marked the crime of uzziah when he attempted to offer incense in the temple. These were good years for Israel. There was surplus in the land as well as prosperity. Business at this time was good and the economy was very prosperous.

Amos’ message was directed to a people who lived in prosperity, took on the external forms of religion and deprived the poor among them of justice. The people did not abandon the Lord, they continued to worship the Lord in their sinfulness as we too do today. But friends, God is more pleased with righteousness and justice than with sacrifices. We, like the people of Israel are called by the Prophet Amos to abandon our sinfulness and worship the Lord in truth and Spirit. In the first reading of today, I see three crimes Amos prophesied against, and these crimes still exist today.

The first crime is that of trampling upon the needy and destroying the poor of the Land. Amos is speaking against oppression of the poor. What were the rich doing to the poor? They placed heavy taxes on houses and land in order to force the poor to sell their houses to them. This is the greed and avarice of those who rule us. Amos is talking about those land hungry upper class citizens. They want to rob the poor of their land. Land was very important in this culture. In most cases, this land has been handed down from generations to generations and it was one thing the poor could hold unto and be proud of. Placing heavy taxes on the land made it incapable for them to pay and the wealthy bought over these lands at cheaper prices. Our society today is marked by this. We all have friends, relatives, neighbors who have been forced out of their homes because they cannot meet up the high mortgage rates. Many small family run companies have been forced out of business by wealthy leaders of our society. We have enshrined the principle, “I did it on my own, you too can do it on your own.” Saints, have you forgotten that these five fingers are not equal? Have you forgotten that your wealth is not yours, but you are holding it in custody of the poor and needy of our community? God has generously blessed you so that you may generously give to those who do not have.

Amos also attacked the crime of cheating. We have put in place all forms of laws to rob the poor. Is there anybody here that sells insurance? How many times has your insurance company refused to pay rightful benefits? If you are car dealer, how many times have you really paid too low below the value of a car as a trade-in because you know this person is desperate in getting a new car and has no cash down? If you are a loan officer, how many times have you charged too much interest on that poor person who is trying to get a loan for a house, car or college?

Amos prophesied against the crime of selling the just man for silver and the poor man for a pair of sandals. It was a very common practice in the Ancient Near East to sell people into slavery in order to pay debts. We are told that the poor fell deeper and deeper into debt to wealthy landowners that they finally had to sell their land and even themselves. In 2 Kings 4:1-7 we get a clearer picture of what Amos is saying. In this passage we see the story of a poor widow in the time of Elijah that was being forced to sell her children into slavery in payment for the deceased husband’s debt. Why did Amos use the example of a pair of sandals? This is to show us how cheap it was to buy a poor person. This was a serious crime because in Israel, there was a law against depriving a person of his basic needs even if it serves as collateral. That is why Exodus 22:25-26 tells us that, “If you take your neighbors cloak as a pledge, you shall return it to him before sunset, for this cloak of his is the only covering he has for his body. What else has he to sleep in? if he cries out to me, I will hear him; for I am compassionate.”

Saints, Amos has a message for all of us sitting here today. Our country is a rich and prosperous one. Our treatment of the poor in our society is as scornful to Yahweh as was that of Israel. The poor today are those who do not have at all, our brothers and sisters in the streets, our brothers and sisters addicted to drugs and alcohol, our sisters being abused by their husbands, our brothers and sisters who lost their jobs without any just cause or reason. Many of our people have lost their homes and property to the rich because they cannot meet the financial demands of our society. Our courts have denied justice to many of our brothers and sisters because they cannot afford the legal fees, and so they get stuck with a court-assigned attorney that is not interested in their justice. The helpless people we kill everyday through abortion. We have waged unjust wars killing innocent people. We rejoice saying God has given us victory, bring them on, in God we trust. Friends, God is telling us today that we need to do something about our land. God is giving us the responsibility of managing well the resources he has entrusted to us.

This is what the Gospel message today is all about. Stewardship, stewardship, and I repeat again, stewardship. Most of us sitting in this church today are the most lucky of our brothers and sisters in the community. Many are homeless, they have nothing to eat, but thank God most of us gathered here this morning have a home to return to and can afford our meals. Our own possessions should be able to benefit the needy. If we must be truly disciples, we have to convert mammon into heavenly capital by sharing it with others, particularly the needy. We cannot keep all we have to ourselves, less we are only building our treasures here on earth. Christ is telling us today, you cannot serve both God and mammon. You have to be loyal to God or be succumbed to mammon. He puts before you today, Life and death. Choose life that you may live. There is no middle standing. You have to choose one thing. Revelations 3: 14 tells us you are lukewarm, you are neither hot nor cold, because you are neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. We do not want lukewarm Christians, we want Christians who are active in the community. We want Christians who are ready to share their resources with the poor and needy of the community. In this way, God will bless you abundantly and you would be rewarded with eternal life.

Luke 8: 4-15 (Saturday, September 22, 2007)

The last few words in the gospel of today are the most important for us. We want to be the seed that falls on the rich soil. How do we receive the word of God? To be the seed that falls on rich ground, we must accept the word of God with a generous and good heart. Are we open when Jesus speaks to us? Perhaps when he tells us the things we want to hear, “yes” and when he challenges us to the things we do not want to hear, we do not. We get into the whole attitude of picking and choosing what we want to hear and want we want to believe. Our faith lies in accepting willingly whatever God wants to give us to us. It is not faith if we are only open to what we want to have from God. The teaching in today’s gospel does not presume that things are going to be easy. Bearing Christian fruit is not easy. However, we must persevere. Christians do not just give up when things become difficult. Christians hold firm unto the living Christ, knowing that he would lead them through the current storms to times of greater success.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus Christ, we trust in the plan you have for us. Use us as your will to accomplish the work of your kingdom. Send us crosses and sufferings, if these will make us become truly the people you have called us to be.

Matthew 9: 9-13 (Friday, September 21, 2007)

In today’s gospel, we see the call of Matthew. Jesus says to Matthew who is a tax collector, “follow me” and without questioning, Matthew stood up and followed him. Tax collectors were considered sinners and were not favorable people in the society. They were known for their cheating and exploitation of the people. Of all the people that Jesus could have called, he decided to call Matthew, a sinner. He will later do greater works with Matthew. In this encounter with the living Lord, Matthew knew the time has come for him to give up his dirty carry and follow Jesus. Matthew could not have followed any rabbi that called upon him to become his follower but they was something special about Jesus that the moment Jesus called him, he knew his time has come to become the person God has called him to be. Sometimes we let our sinfulness or our sins of the past overweigh us that we fail to accept the present invitation Jesus Christ is making to us. Jesus invites us today to leave our past alone and come to him, so that he will transform us and use us to accomplish great works.

Prayer:
Lord, I come before you repenting of all my sins. I know have failed in the past to do your will. I have lied, cheated and exploited other people. Forgive me Lord and use me as you will.

Luke 7: 36-50 (Thursday, September 20, 2007)

In the gospel of today, we learn how an encounter with the living Christ can change our lives. The sinful woman in today’s gospel encountered Christ at a dinner in Simon’s house. Having Rabbi’s at special dinners like these and even having them teach to a general audience present from all walks of life was not uncommon. Jesus’ presence could have attracted a greater crowd because of all the miracles he has been working and the radical nature of his teachings. Yesterday’s gospel gives us a glimpse into the radical life of Jesus. If he was in today’s world, he would probably be called “a liberal.” This prostitute who was present at the dinner, most probably for other reasons than listening to the Christian message of Jesus, had a conversion experience. This experience of the living Christ took away all the shame she had and she did things that were very unconventional. For once, she knew what true love means. It is reflective in the life and teaching of Jesus. She could feel that love being before the presence of Jesus. That love is forgiveness. That encounter with the living Christ brought her salvation.

In our lives, our striving should be to always encounter the living Christ. Sometimes we walk away from him. We can only encounter him by fostering families that are truly a domestic church; by reading and praying with the scriptures; by visiting him in the Eucharist and by partaking in his greatest mystery, the Eucharistic sacrifice.

Prayer:
Lord, we want to be in your presence. We want to encounter you. We believe that in your presence there is true love, true peace and true joy.

Luke 7: 31-35 (Wednesday, September 19, 2007)

John neither eat nor drink wine and the people said he was possessed by the demon. Jesus Christ who ate and drank with the people was accused of being drunkard. Who do the people really want? The gospel reflects people’s judgmental attitude. Sometimes we take so much pleasure in criticizing those who take on leadership positions in the community. It doesn’t matter whether it is a democrat or a republican; a conservative priest or a liberal priest. We always have something negative to say. Jesus does not want us to do this. He wants us to see the wisdom in the leadership of these people and help them to serve better. Related to this is the faulty move to please everyone by compromising the positions you truly believe in. No matter what you do, there are people who would still find problems with you. Our encouragement today is to be the best we can be and stand firm in the truths that we hold.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus Christ, we ask your forgiveness for the times we have been judgmental of others; the times we fail to see the good in other people. Help us to appreciate the efforts of others in serving us and may we be able to stretch out a helping hand to them in their various responsibilities of leadership.

Luke 7: 11-17 (Tuesday, September 18, 2007)

Nain was a city that was close to Shunem. Shunem is important to our gospel of today because in Shunem, the Prophet Elisha had raised a boy to life. In 2 Kings 4: 18-37, we see the story of Elisha prophesying the birth of a son to a woman whose husband is getting advanced in age and they have no children. When this child grew to the age of helping the father with farm work, he had a headache and died. Elisha however brought him back to life. This miracle testified to the fact that Elisha was truly a man of God. Given how small this whole area was, the story most likely spread to the surrounding cities such as Nain, the city Jesus performed today’s miracle. Also, as a culture rich in oral tradition, this story got transmitted from one generation to another. In today’s gospel when Jesus performs this miracle of bringing the son of the widow back to life, the people acknowledged that “a great prophet has arisen in our midst.” They are very much familiar with great prophets of old such as Elijah and Elisha who performed such great miracles as the one performed by Jesus.
One of the things that touch me so much in today’s gospel is Jesus’ words, “Do not weep.” Like the widow who has lost the only son, there are many things that we weep about in our own lives. It may be a failed marriage, a failed business, a failed relationship, etc. Jesus says to you today, “Do not weep.” He shows that he is not only Lord over life, but he is Lord over death. He is not only Lord over success; he is also Lord over failure. Trust that he will lead you through those times of failure.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus Christ, I come to you today with all my failures. I believe that you are Lord over failures. Please Lord, transform my failures into success that I may reach the potentials you have for me.

Luke 7: 1-10 (Monday, September 17, 2007)

Jesus Christ praises the faith of the centurion in today’s gospel. He says, “not even in Israel have I found such faith.” The faith of the centurion led to the healing of his slave. He believed that Jesus Christ can heal his slave. One of the amazing testimonies in this event is that, the centurion recognized first his unworthiness to receive Jesus Christ under his roof and at the same time, he believes in the power of the “Word” of Jesus. “But say the word and let my servant be healed.” There is power in the word of Jesus. Jesus’ words are healing, they are peace, they are joy, and they are fulfilling. The bible says, “By his stripes, we are healed.” He is the greatest physician. He wants to heal us of our diseases; we only need to invite him to say that word of healing, that we may be healed.

Prayer:
Lord, I am not worthy to receive you, only say the word and I shall be healed.