Twenty Sixth Sunday of the Year

Amos 6:1 - 7
Woe to those ensconced so snugly in Zion
and to those who feel so safe on the mountain of Samaria,
those famous men of this first of nations
to whom the House of Israel goes as client.
Lying on ivory beds
and sprawling on their divans,
they dine on lambs from the flock,
and stall-fattened veal;
they bawl to the sound of the harp,
they invent new instruments of music like David,
they drink wine by the bowlful,
and use the finest oil for anointing themselves,
but about the ruin of Joseph they do not care at all.
That is why they will be the first to be exiled;
the sprawlers’ revelry is over.

Psalm 145
Alleluia!
My sóul, give práise to the Lórd;
I will práise the Lórd all my dáys,
make músic to my Gód while I líve.
Pút no trúst in prínces,
In mortal mén in whóm there is no hélp.
Take their bréath, they retúrn to cláy
and their pláns that dáy come to nóthing.
He is háppy who is hélped by Jacob's Gód,
whose hópe is in the Lórd his Gód,
who alóne made héaven and éarth,
the séas and áll they cóntain.
It is hé who keeps fáith for éver,
who is júst to thóse who are oppréssed.
It is hé who gives bréad to the húngry,
the Lórd, who sets prísoners frée,
the Lórd who gives síght to the blínd,
who ráises up thóse who are bowed dówn,
the Lórd, who protécts the stránger
and uphólds the wídow and órphan.
It is the Lórd who lóves the júst
but thwárts the páth of the wícked.
The Lórd will réign for éver,
Zion's Gód, from áge to áge.
Alleluia!

1 Timothy 6:11 - 16
As a man dedicated to God, you must aim to be saintly and religious, filled with faith and love, patient and gentle. Fight the good fight of the faith and win for yourself the eternal life to which you were called when you made your profession and spoke up for the truth in front of many witnesses. Now, before God the source of all life and before Christ, who spoke up as a witness for the truth in front of Pontius Pilate, I put to you the duty of doing all that you have been told, with no faults or failures, until the Appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, who at the due time will be revealed by God, the blessed and only Ruler of all, the King of kings and the Lord of lords, who alone is immortal, whose home is in inaccessible light, whom no man has seen and no man is able to see: to him be honour and everlasting power. Amen.

Luke 16:19 - 31
Jesus said to his disciples, ‘There was a rich man who used to dress in purple and fine linen and feast magnificently every day. And at his gate there lay a poor man called Lazarus, covered with sores, who longed to fill himself with the scraps that fell from the rich man’s table. Dogs even came and licked his sores. Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to the bosom of Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried.
‘In his torment in Hades he looked up and saw Abraham a long way off with Lazarus in his bosom. So he cried out, “Father Abraham, pity me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in agony in these flames”. “My son,” Abraham replied “remember that during your life good things came your way, just as bad things came the way of Lazarus. Now he is being comforted here while you are in agony. But that is not all: between us and you a great gulf has been fixed, to stop anyone, if he wanted to, crossing from our side to yours, and to stop any crossing from your side to ours.”
‘The rich man replied, “Father, I beg you then to send Lazarus to my father’s house, since I have five brothers, to give them warning so that they do not come to this place of torment too”. “They have Moses and the prophets,” said Abraham “let them listen to them.”. “Ah no, father Abraham,” said the rich man “but if someone comes to them from the dead, they will repent.” Then Abraham said to him, “If they will not listen either to Moses or to the prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone should rise from the dead”.’

This week the readings are about the way we should behave towards others less fortunate than ourselves. Unlike some of the readings we've had before it's quite obvious what we're being told today!

• What do you think Amos is talking about in the first reading?
• Who is Joseph supposed to be?
• Who are the people eating and drinking, and generally living it up?
  

• What do you think of the difference between the way Lazarus and the rich man lived?
• Do you know why the rich man wears purple?
• What kind of dogs do you think Jesus is talking about?
• What do you think Luke is telling us when he only gives Lazarus a name and not the rich man?
• What does Abraham mean when he talks to the rich man?
• What do you think Abraham means when he says “If they will not listen either to Moses or to the prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone should rise from the dead”?
• What is the message of this parable?