Bound in Love

The readings this week are a call against complacency.  The readings of the last weeks in the church year are all pointing to the reality that there will be a day of judgment and we will not get advance notice of that day. We have been warned in multiple ways. Last week we had the parable of the dishonest steward. After telling the story about the crafty but dishonest steward, Jesus told his followers that they had to make their peace with dishonest wealth because one could not serve God and also Mammon. Dishonest wealth runs the world because the world is fundamentally dishonest thanks to the King of Lies who runs it until the King of Love comes back to claim it. Those readings last week were a call to choosing. They said to us that if we cannot serve both God and Mammon then we must choose to serve one or the other.

The readings this week warn us against the danger of not keeping that ultimate choice at the forefront of our minds. Let’s look at the gospel story, which is a famous story about the rich man and the poor man Lazarus. In this telling of the rich man’s life, we do not get a sense that he was malicious. But he was complacent. He went about his daily life of material blessings to the point that he didn’t even notice the poor beggar at his doorstep. If we spend our lives caught up in hustle and bustle, we could easily lose sight of the important decision about where our lives will ultimately end up. The rich man didn’t think about that ultimate destination until he reached it. He wanted a second chance, but the decision by then is already made and cannot be changed. This story is told so that we do not make the same mistake as the rich man did.

If we claim to be good Catholic Christians but we are taking our kids to their sports teams or playing golf or eating out or whatever it might be that gets in the way of our consistent attendance at weekly Mass, then those good things actually pull us away from the one really good thing which is God. Fighting complacency is hard work. The risk is remote. The reward is remote. And the distraction is right in front of us and looks like harmless fun.

The epistle today emphasizes the work of salvation already done by Jesus Christ. St. Paul is suggesting that if we focus on “the testimony [Jesus] gave under Pontius Pilate for the noble confession [of faith],” then we might more easily take up the work of discipleship, which he says is “to keep the commandment without stain or reproach.” That commandment is in the words of St. Paul, to “lay ahold of eternal life to which you were called.” Another way to say that is that the job of a Christian disciple is to accept and hold onto the gift of salvation Jesus gave us through the Cross.

If you are given a precious gift, you cannot become complacent, or you will drop that gift and lose it and not be able to find it again. We Christians are guardians of the gift we were given at our baptism. We were welcomed into the family of God, and we were set on the path to eternal life with him. If we want to be with him like Lazarus, then we cannot lose sight of him as the rich man did.

In his letter to Timothy, St. Paul gives practical instruction advice about the habits that will help you lay a hold of eternal life. We should pursue righteousness, which we will see if we stay close to the Church and maintain a life of prayer. We should grow in devotion, which we will receive if we prayerfully attend Mass and see what is truly happening at Mass. We should ask for an increase in faith and love, which are gifts God gives us so we can be more like him. With those gifts, we should practice patience and gentleness, which is how we can love our neighbor as we would like to be loved.

All of those steps require effort, and success in those steps requires regular effort. It’s not one and done; it’s one day at a time for the rest of our life. St. Paul reminds us why this is important: we were set aside for eternal life through our baptism. The real purpose of our lives is to get ready for that day when the King of kings and Lord of lords makes himself manifest in God’s good time.

The complacent people the prophet Amos is correcting this morning are busying themselves with vanities. They might be TikTok influencers as they lie upon beds of ivory and devise their own musical entertainment. Because they focus on themselves and the passing desires of their hearts and minds, they are not ready for what is coming.

Let us not be like the people in the time of Amos. Let us be like St. Paul, always trying to keep our focus on our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Let us see him and feel his presence today at Mass, and let us stay close to him every day lest we die from complacency.