Announcements: 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Dear Holy Rosary Parishioners, here are a few announcements:

Bible Study: This Sunday before Mass, starting at 11:30 AM, Spruce Lynch will lead a bible study on the Sunday readings. All are welcome to participate in this spiritually rewarding and enlightening event.

Gospel: The rich man and Lazarus are in the spot light this Sunday. The message is about living our lives on earth. Do we live our lives as if there were no life after death? Or do we live our lives like there is an after-life? Please see homily below.

Thank you: Thanx to Pat Durbin for mowing the cemetery and for lining up people to fix our septic system. We are going to have a steal 1000 gallon tank made here in Dillingham by Osborne Tank with holes in it and have it buried by Jackson McCormick on the East side of the rectory. The rectory basement washer and utility sink and the upstairs kitchen sink will drain into this gray water/leach field system.

Rosary: Letters recently went out to those Archdiocesan Anchorage parishes who donate to our fuel fund. Please join us after Mass the first Sunday of every month to pray for these generous parishes.

Potluck: Our next potluck will be the last Sunday in October.

Have a fantastic week and see you Sunday…Fr. Scott

HOMILY

26 Ord C DLG 2007, After-life, Amos 6: 1 & 4-7; 1 Timothy 6:11-16; Luke16: 19-31

Back in the days of Christ, many people believed things like (1) there is no way that the way I live my life today will affect what will happen after I die; (2) There is neither reward or punishment in the after-life; (3) At death, everyone, good or bad, went to Sheol or Hades, the shadowy underworld of the dead.

In AD 507, Pope Gregory the Great sent missionaries to England to convert the Angles and Saxons there. The missionaries taught about the hope of an after-life…a better life after death.

After hearing this gospel message from the missionaries, King Edwin of Northumbria got together all his noblemen and discussed after-life.

One noblemen said this: “It seems to me your majesty,” he said, “that our human life is like a banquet hall. You are sitting at table feasting, with the warm fire blazing in the hearth, while outside the wintry storm rages. A sparrow enters through a window, flies the length of the hall, enjoying the light and the warmth, and then flies out back into the cold wintry darkness from which it came.” The noblemen continues, “So with us, at birth we emerge from who knows where, and for a short time we live here on earth, with its light and comfort, but then we fly out back into the darkness. We know nothing of what went before and what comes after.”

He concluded his remarks with this, “If this new teaching about having a better life after death can lighten the darkness for us, let us follow it.”

The rich man in gospel this Sunday had no interest in the after-life. He lived for the moment. His motto was “eat, drink, and be merry…all the time.” He had an attitude like this, “I want to get the most out of life for myself because when I am dead, I am dead.”

The rich man in the gospel would fit right in our 21st century culture…a culture of materialism…a culture that defines people by how much they earn, or consume, or spend.

The rich man Knew who Lazarus was. We know this because he recognizes Lazarus when he was standing at the gates of hell. He even calls him by name. But on earth, he simply does not care about him. He is totally caught up in his own pleasures. He does not harm Lazarus and is not violent or abusive to him. He simply ignores him.

Here are the messages that Jesus wants us to hear: (1) Actions in this life have meaning, significance, and lasting consequences in the after-life. (2) We now have a choice, we can either believe that there is not an after life and live like the Rich man or we can believe this new message from Moses and the prophets, there is an after-life.

To me, to reduce life to physical pleasure and consumerism is to live a life of poverty. To live only for self, and purely for this life, is to cheapen what it means to be human. That is why I became a priest…found a vocation. Because I was living a single life only for myself…I made money, I spent it on myself, I made more money. What fun!

I am here to tell you that being truly human means living with a commitment to, and concern for, one’s fellow human beings. Choose the new message! The new message reveals the true meaning of life: That is, loving thy neighbor leads to a fuller and more satisfying experience of life in the here and now, as well as in the life to come (603 Words).

Amos 6: 1 & 4-7
Woe to the complacent in Zion, to the overconfident on the mount of Samaria, Leaders of a nation favored from the first, to whom the people of Israel have recourse! Lying upon beds of ivory, stretched comfortably on their couches, They eat lambs taken from the flock, and calves from the stall! Improvising to the music of the harp, like David, they devise their own accompaniment. They drink wine from bowls and anoint themselves with the best oils; yet they are not made ill by the collapse of Joseph! Therefore, now they shall be the first to go into exile, and their wanton revelry shall be done away with.

1 Timothy 6:11-16
But you, man of God, avoid all this. Instead, pursue righteousness, devotion, faith, love, patience, and gentleness. 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.
I charge (you) before God, who gives life to all things, and before Christ Jesus, who gave testimony under Pontius Pilate for the noble confession, to keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ that the blessed and only ruler will make manifest at the proper time, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, and whom no human being has seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal power. Amen.

Luke16: 19-31
"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. Dogs even used to come and lick his sores. When the poor man died, he was carried away by angels to the bosom of Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried, and from the netherworld, where he was in torment, he raised his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. And he cried out, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me. Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am suffering torment in these flames.' Abraham replied, 'My child, remember that you received what was good during your lifetime while Lazarus likewise received what was bad; but now he is comforted here, whereas you are tormented. Moreover, between us and you a great chasm is established to prevent anyone from crossing who might wish to go from our side to yours or from your side to ours.' He said, 'Then I beg you, father, send him to my father's house, for I have five brothers, so that he may warn them, lest they too come to this place of torment.' But Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the prophets. Let them listen to them.' He said, 'Oh no, father Abraham, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.' Then Abraham said, 'If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead.'"