Breaking Open the Word

Amos 6:1a,4-7
1 Timothy 6:11-16
Luke 16:19-31
 
As we heard last week, Amos is directly pointing out the faults of the rulers, of those whom we heard last week he was speaking against. He is reminding the people, especially those who are the Kings, rulers, and those who controlled the economy, those who have been complacent in their responsibilities to the people, that they will be the first ones to go into exile.
 
Amos then gives examples of the kinds of things that the people are doing that will lead to their downfall, such as lying around on beds of ivory, stretched out on couches, eating of the best meal and drinking the finest wine and generally forgetting their responsibilities to those whom they are called to serve, the rest of the People of God.
 
Amos is saying that they have no disregard for the people when he references the “collapse of Joseph,” a term used to represent the people. He then tells them that because of their behavior, they will be the first people to go into exile, that they revelry they had engaged has led to their downfall. Wise words for us to ponder as we think about what we have done with our lives, those whom we ignored, who we turned our backs on.
 
We again hear from Paul’s letter to Timothy this week. Paul uses the term “man of God” to indicate how important Timothy is to Paul. This term was often used by the Hebrew prophets and Paul sees Timothy as one who will carry on delivering his message to the people, to carry on Paul’s prophetic messages to the new Christians in the world.
 
Paul then goes on to list and call to mind the attributes that it will take for someone to carry out the tasks that we are given at our baptism to each of us. They are virtues that we will need to keep as we live out the same virtues that Jesus did. We are to be imitators of Paul and of Jesus.
 
Paul reminds us that at the proper time Jesus will make manifest all of the things we had promised to us, all of the promises that the Father had made to Moses and to the prophets.
 
Luke gives us another parable this week and just as in the past few weeks we are called to look closely at the actions of those involved and to see where their actions and our lives intersect.
 
The contrast this week is between a rich man, who dressed well and lived the ultimate lifestyle and the poor man named Lazarus who was lying at the rich man’s door, sick, and unable to care for himself.
 
What is interesting from this story is the rich mans attempt to convince Abraham to send someone to his family to tell them they must repent or end up like himself in the netherworld. Abraham tells him that since they have Moses and the prophets to listen to, then they should follow what was taught by Moses. The rich man knew, that just like himself, they would not listen to the teachings of old, the teaching of Moses and the prophets and that he thought that if someone would be raised from the dead, they would listen to them.
 
Jesus, in this parable, is telling the Pharisees that even when He will be crucified, they will still not listen to what He and all the others before Him had been teaching. They will not believe that their actions, or lack of actions, will be their own undoing.
 
There have been many attempts to show them by word and example that they must change their ways. Every parable Jesus tells them, and us today, is an opportunity for us to reflect on our lives and see where we must change our ways, what we must repent of so that we can enter the Kingdom of God.