Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time ‘C’

This Sunday’s readings offer a sober warning and are a wake-up call. They say, with unusual  clarity: enjoying God’s gifts while insulating ourselves from the poor is not a neutral choice, it  shapes our souls and our future. 

The Prophet Amos speaks to people who look very much like us: comfortable, busy, and  protected from pain. His warning is not just about luxury; it’s about indifference, the decision to  look away. 

The Responsorial Psalm answers him by praising the Lord Who never looks away, Who notices  the hungry, the stranger, the oppressed. God’s attention sets the pattern for us. 

Saint Paul in his Letter to Timothy invites us to aim our lives toward what lasts: righteousness,  devotion, faith, love, patience, gentleness. In a world of disillusionment when money, status,  and even outrage promise more than they deliver, he asks us to pick a different quest. 

Jesus makes it very concrete with the rich man and Lazarus story. The rich man is not  condemned for having wealth, but for letting a suffering neighbor become invisible at his own  gate. He knew the Scriptures but didn’t let them rearrange his habits. That is so apt for our  times… Our “gates” are apartment lobbies and office entrances, inboxes and group chats, the  stories we scroll past. Algorithms can keep need out of sight, but discipleship cannot. 

We are all rich in something… Be it money, time, health, skills, networks, citizenship, a voice  people listen to. Mercy is not a feeling or sentiment; it is the redirection of those gifts toward the  good of another person. Matthew in chapter 25 makes this the measure of our lives: Did you  feed, give drink, welcome, clothe, visit, care? Love for Christ becomes visible in love for the  least of these. 

A few questions for prayer this week: 

• Who is Lazarus at my gate: by name, by face, by address? 

• Where have I let convenience or “not my problem” override compassion? • Which gift of mine (money, time, influence, expertise) can cross the gate today? 

Eternity cannot be an afterthought. It is always the harvest of the choices we make daily. We become what we practice. If we practice mercy, we grow fit for God’s Kingdom, where no  one lies ignored at the gate. If we are unsure where to start, let us start small but start now.  Mercy, once begun, has a way of multiplying.