Word to the Wise
Sunday, September 28, 2025 - 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time - C
[Amos 6:1a, 4-7; 1 Tim 6:11-16; Luke 16:19-31]Thus says the Lord of hosts: Woe to the complacent in Zion! Lying upon beds of ivory, stretched comfortably on their couches....[Amos] There was a rich man who dressed in purple garments and fine linen and dined sumptuously each day. And lying at his door was a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who would gladly have eaten his fill of the scraps that fell from the rich man's table..[Luke]
The Gospel According to Luke and the Book of the Prophet Amos are quite vivid in describing what Abraham, in today's gospel, calls the "great chasm" that can form between wealth and poverty. That chasm (one might call it a "grand canyon") becomes, ultimately, an eternal one. The chasm is not formed overnight. It is the result of the erosion of sensitivity to needs of the poor around us that can occur when wealth becomes a gradual insulation. The gospel asks the uncomfortable question: "Who is on your doorstep?"
The challenge is immense. I live in a very large city, Houston, TX, that has a large population of homeless people. Our Dominican priory/parish is not far from the center of the city and homeless beggars are a regular presence on our doorstep. Our parish offers food help and the St. Vincent De Paul Society does what it can. A danger of the challenge is found in efforts to remove the homeless from the doorsteps. Some efforts are the equivalent of "sweeping the problem under the carpet." Others are more successful, depending on the sociopolitical environment. What can each person do, faced with the size of the challenge and fear of the one on the doorstep?
Acting collectively through one's parish, perhaps through the St. Vincent DePaul society, can be very helpful. Individual generosity can raise one's own awareness. Giving according to one's resources at least helps to prevent the erosion of awareness of the one on our doorstep. The erosion that creates the great chasm is an ever present reality. Abraham speaks with Jesus' voice in the parable. Amos speaks with the prophetic voice inspired by God. Who is on our doorstep? AMEN