HOMILY FOR THE 26TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR C.

Amos 6:1, 4-7; Psalm 45:6-8; 1 Timothy 6:11-16; Luke 16:19-31. 

“THE SIN OF OMISSION!” 

By: Rev. Fr. Charles Onyeka Ezejide.

·      The sin of omission is not just a matter of simple negligence or oversight. It is a very serious sin because it is rooted in selfishness and wanton disregard for others. It is caused by one’s unwillingness to get out of his comfort zone, and the desire to remain undisturbed in his peaceful and comfortable little world. 

·      The prayer “Confiteor” which we often say as follows “I confess to almighty God and you, my brothers and sisters, that I have greatly sinned, in my thoughts and my words, in what I have done and in what I have failed to do, through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault; therefore I ask blessed Mary ever-Virgin, all the Angels and Saints, and you, my brothers and sisters, to pray for me to the Lord our God”

·      The above prayer shows that as Christians, oftentimes we run the risk of thinking we can only merit salvation by just living righteously and avoiding occasions of sin, but sometimes our inactions have even greater consequences on our journey to salvation. Unfortunately, the sin of the rich man in the gospel reading today is not because he is rich but because he took for granted the plight of the poor, he was insensitive to the poor man Lazarus, and he committed the sin of omission.

·      It is no longer news that Nigeria is currently experiencing its worst economic hardship of all time. Citizens are often called to be patient and understand, with the hope that things will get better. They are also advised to carefully manage their resources well because of the unforeseen future.

·      Amidst all these warnings, it seems it is only the poor that are always called to make sacrifices while some of the rich continue to live in share affluence and reckless debauchery at the expense of the poor. When it comes to making sacrifices, the poor are on the front line and when it comes to enjoying benefits, the rich take the centre stage.

·      Our present economic situation in Nigeria was almost the same situation the people of Israel found themselves in the first reading (Amos 6: 1, 4-7), the rich keep getting richer while the poor languish in endless penury and Prophet Amos had to speak up in defence of the poor and the weak and defenceless.

·      Nigeria is currently experiencing economic hardship, but one only must visit the Porsche areas of Abuja, Lagos, and Port Harcourt to see the number of toys (exotic cars), intimidating mansions occupied by just the security man and the gardener, the rich continue to party with expensive wines and food, visit choice and expensive places for their vacations with first-class tickets. While the poor are unsure of where their next meal will come from.

·      If Prophet Amos were to be around in this time, he would probably use harsher words on us because of our senselessness and wickedness! We need not an Amos to tell us that we are not doing well and need to have a change of heart.

·      The gospel reading (Luke 16:19-31), is not leaving anything to chance by also challenging us with the story of Lazarus and the rich man. It is not a crime to be rich, it is not a crime to celebrate and use resources that God has blessed us with. But it is criminal to be wasteful.

·      The problem is that many of us just like the rich man has rather become gods and insensitive to our environment and those in need around us. We cannot continue to say to one another “it does not concern me” or that “it is the government’s responsibility”. 

·      As Christians and children of God, it is our collective responsibility to be our brother’s keepers and be concerned about the well-being and welfare of one another. No doubt there are many “Lazaruses” on our streets today, so many in our neighbourhood in various sizes, and shapes calling for our sympathy and assistance, we must not turn a blind eye to them.

·      We will always have the poor around us seeking our help, we must not see them as a burden but as our sure path to salvation. The poor around us can either make or mar us because what ultimately counts is what were we able to do for the poor and needy around us with our resources.

·      We cannot continue to build and renovate gigantic mansions yearly where nobody lives while there are so many homeless people around us. Those who can build houses, charge insensitive rent just to keep exploiting the poor who can barely afford them. We cannot party for the flimsiest of reasons with so much waste of food while people around us keep starving and go to bed hungry every day.  We cannot continue to keep exotic cars in our garage that we do not need and have not driven for years when a greater majority of the masses are trekking and battling with the high cost of transportation.

·      As Christians, there should be something different about us, we must not continue to live as though life begins and ends here. We must remember that this world is not our home because we are heaven bound and must constantly make ourselves qualified candidates for heaven through acts of kindness and sensitivity to the loud cry of pain, poverty, and hopelessness around us.

·      We are all called to be men and women of God and that is why the second reading (1 Timothy 6:11-16), invites us to focus on pursuing righteousness, devotion, faith, love, patience, and gentleness.  We must compete well for the faith.  Lay hold of eternal life, to which you were called when you made the noble confession in the presence of many witnesses (Baptism). Put into the context of the first reading today and the Gospel, we must go out of ourselves, pay attention to those who have less than we do, and not get so caught up in our comfort that we forget others.

·      Our faith will matter less if we continue to live life with reckless abandon while others who look up to us for assistance live on little or nothing. If we continue like this, we may just have had our reward here on earth hence, we have no place in heaven.

·      Notice that Lazarus the poor man had a name while the name of the rich man was not given. Hence, it could be you and it could be me. When we refuse to care for the poor, the sick, the homeless, the needy, the imprisoned, and the marginalised, we become that insensitive rich man. We must remember that none of us is too poor not to have something to offer to those in need.

·      We must not continue to distance and dissociate ourselves from the poor because they are our responsibility since the excess of the rich is the right of the poor. We must give the poor their right now that we can else we find ourselves in places where we will greatly regret our actions and yet we cannot do anything.

·      Not only are we told to love and serve others, but we are also even told to go the extra mile at times and give more than is asked of us.  Loving and serving others must become a way of life for us, not something that we do when we have extra time!  We are invited to learn how to follow Jesus!  There is no way by which we can ever say:  I did what He asked of me and that is enough.  No, instead, we are invited to form a living relationship with God, a relationship that is ongoing, personal, and loving at every moment of our lives.  Our life must become a response to HIM.

·      We must always appreciate the poor around us as path to salvation because “this poor man called and the Lord heard him” (Ps. 34:6).

·      Happy Sunday!!!