{"id":1198,"date":"2013-09-29T09:53:35","date_gmt":"2013-09-29T13:53:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/?p=1198"},"modified":"2013-09-29T09:53:35","modified_gmt":"2013-09-29T13:53:35","slug":"26th-sunday-in-ordinary-time-year-c-homily","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/26th-sunday-in-ordinary-time-year-c-homily\/","title":{"rendered":"26th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C – Homily"},"content":{"rendered":"

26th<\/sup> Sunday in Ordinary Time<\/a>
\nAmos 6:1a, 4-7
\n1 Timothy 6:11-16
\nLuke 16:19-31
\nSeptember 29, 2013<\/p>\n

Paul writes to Timothy to offer him guidance as the leader of a community.\u00a0 Paul\u2019s instructions to Timothy might sound simple.\u00a0 \u201cCompete well for the faith\u201d and \u201ckeep the commandment without stain or reproach.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not a long list of rules that seems impossible.\u00a0 Basically, Paul is telling Timothy to live in accord with God\u2019s plan, avoiding sin.\u00a0 It is what we want to do but it isn\u2019t as easy as we would like.<\/p>\n

The fact of the matter is that we fall short at times.\u00a0 We sin.<\/p>\n

Generally, I think when we talk about sin we tend to focus on what we did wrong.\u00a0 The commandments follow this approach, don\u2019t steal, don\u2019t kill, and don\u2019t lie.\u00a0 We also think of sin in terms of feelings like angry and greed.\u00a0 This still focuses on what actually happens (emotions).<\/p>\n

Our readings today point to another type of sin, sins of omission.\u00a0 What is it that we should do but don\u2019t?<\/p>\n

The rich man in the gospel is an excellent example.\u00a0 He\u2019s rich with fine linens and extravagant food.\u00a0 Yet, there is poor Lazarus is sitting right at the rich man\u2019s door but he does nothing to help Lazarus.\u00a0 How much could he have done?\u00a0 We don\u2019t know except that since he was rich, he clearly could have done something.<\/p>\n

So, in examining our conscious we need reflect on what we could have done?\u00a0 Would there be any end to this?\u00a0 We could second guess ourselves on everything and then some.\u00a0 I don\u2019t think we need to do this on everything.<\/p>\n

Our conscience will help us to realize what we need to think about.\u00a0 First and foremost, if we feel bad about something we didn\u2019t do, then we need to reflect on it.<\/p>\n

We can ask ourselves why we did or didn\u2019t do something?\u00a0 The rich man didn\u2019t help Lazarus.\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 Was it because of greed (desiring to keep his riches for himself)?<\/p>\n

Or was he complacent, like those that Amos talks about?\u00a0 Do we look at the poor and say we don\u2019t care?\u00a0 Maybe this is the way the rich man felt about Lazarus.\u00a0 He only seemed to care about Lazarus when he realized he was sent to Hell instead of Heaven.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t mean to make anyone feel bad by pointing out sins you had never thought of.\u00a0 We are basically good.\u00a0 We are created in God\u2019s image.\u00a0 We are created to be good and to do good.\u00a0 We just mess up along the way and need forgiveness.<\/p>\n

The good news is God wants to forgive.\u00a0 If there was no hope of God forgiving us, God would never have sent his son to die for us on the cross.\u00a0 What possible benefit could there be in Jesus\u2019 death if not for the forgiveness of our sins?<\/p>\n

Jesus\u2019 death is the ultimate expression of God\u2019s love.\u00a0 There is nothing God won\u2019t do for us.\u00a0 God\u2019s forgiveness knows no limit.<\/p>\n

However, there is something we must do to receive God\u2019s forgiveness. I believe God is always ready to forgive but God doesn\u2019t force his forgiveness on us.<\/p>\n

To receive God\u2019s forgiveness, we must ask for it.\u00a0 To ask for God\u2019s forgiveness, we must first admit we have done something wrong.<\/p>\n

To do so, Jesus has given us the gift of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, commonly known as \u201cconfession\u201d but it is most than just confession.\u00a0 This sacrament is all about fixing what has been broken by sin.\u00a0 The point is to be reconciled to God.\u00a0 God is the only one who can make this happen.<\/p>\n

We should not dread the sacrament but rather see it as a gift.\u00a0 In December, we will have twenty-four students in our parish receive this sacrament for the first time.\u00a0 Today they begin their final preparations by pledging in prayer and study.\u00a0 Their parents pledge their support and<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

26th Sunday in Ordinary Time Amos 6:1a, 4-7 1 Timothy 6:11-16 Luke 16:19-31 September 29, 2013 Paul writes to Timothy to offer him guidance as the leader of a community.\u00a0 Paul\u2019s instructions to Timothy might sound simple.\u00a0 \u201cCompete well for the faith\u201d and \u201ckeep the commandment without stain or reproach.\u201d It\u2019s not a long list …<\/p>\n

Continue reading ‘26th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C – Homily’ »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[82],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pMTPk-jk","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1198"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1198"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1198\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1199,"href":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1198\/revisions\/1199"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1198"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1198"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1198"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}