Twenty Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C

The First Reading serves as an introduction to the Gospel Reading, where Jesus tells the parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man.  Jesus' story illustrates His concern for justice and reflects His concern and promised blessings for the faithful poor as well as His judgment of the cold-hearted rich in His Sermon on the Plain (Lk 6:20-26).  The contrast in the parable is between the rich man who had everything he could want in life and Lazarus, a poor man who had nothing.  Ironically when both men died, their conditions were reversed.  In death, God gave Lazarus the justice he lacked in life as he awaited the coming of the Messiah in the company of the righteous.  However, the rich man suffered in torment for his sins. It is a reversal of condition that Jesus uses to serve as a warning to the Pharisees of His time and to everyone who despises and neglects the poor and afflicted while only caring about the temporal and with no regard for the eternal. It is appropriate that these selected Scripture readings on the obligation of the wealthy to feed and meet the needs of the poor come during the late summer and early fall.  We tend to think of the summer months as a time of joyful activities.  However, in ancient times and in undeveloped countries in the modern world that have many poor, the late summer to early fall is called "the starving season."  In the summer and early fall, the people in ancient times had used up the last of their stores of food from the previous harvest; they had to go hungry and struggle to survive until the fall harvest.  The same situation exists in impoverished countries today.  Now is a good time to make a donation to Catholic Relief Services or Food for the Poor least you fall under the condemnation of the thoughtless and selfish rich when you face divine judgment and Christ asks you, "Did you feed me when I was hungry?" (Mt 25:31-46; Lk 6:24-25). 00:00 - Intro 00:15 - Collect 00:49 - First Reading 01:48 - Responsorial Psalm 02:56 - Second Reading 04:30 - Gospel Reading 06:54 - Recommended videos