Year C

Jan 06 2025

Scripture Study for

The story about Naaman focuses on healing, gratitude, conversion, and worship. His cure was clearly miraculous; all he had to do was submit himself to the ritual that Elisha prescribed. This cure champions monotheism and universalism. Naaman may have needed a miracle to recognize the universal power of the God of Israel, but recognize it he did! Something else makes this story exceptional. Though there were many people suffering from leprosy in Israel, God chose to heal a foreigner. This divine act demonstrates God’s love and concern for all, Israelite and non-Israelite alike.

Paul writes from prison, making his appeal to Timothy even more poignant. He exhorts his disciple to remember what is at the heart of the gospel that Paul has preached. The kind of remembering of which he speaks is a way of witnessing to the authenticity of what is remembered. In this case, it points to a twofold truth: Jesus Christ is raised from the dead and he is a descendant of David. The agony and indignity that Paul bears in his imprisonment are seen by him as a share in the “birth pangs of the messiah,” that necessary suffering that will precede the birth of the reign of God.

The Gospel narrative echoes the story recounted in the first reading. It is the story of a foreigner who suffered the pain and indignities of leprosy, was cured by the power of God, and returned to give thanks. He, along with his companions, had recognized Jesus earlier and had hoped for a cure. They all believed that Jesus had the power to heal them and they all went off to show themselves to the priests. What made this man unique was his gratitude. Furthermore, it was a Samaritan, one who was despised by the Jews, who showed gratitude to the Jewish wonder-worker. Jesus made this point quite clearly. Once again the last (a Samaritan) will be first (held up as an example).

Jan 06 2025

Ask, Then Act

The prophet Habakkuk asks God how long he (the prophet) will have to see violence, ruin, and misery. God answers with a vision to be written down and a call to wait patiently in faith. “The just one, because of his faith, shall live.”

Paul sounds a call to interior action, urging Timothy to stir into flame the gift of God: a spirit of courage, energy, and action. Though separated by over six centuries, the prophet Habakkuk and the apostles Paul and Timothy faced suffering and destruction; all three responded by witnessing to their faith in the God of Israel. For Paul, this faith finds expression in fidelity to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The Gospel answers two questions: how do we get this faith and what do we do with it in the face of trials? We get it by asking. Jesus tells the apostles it is not a matter of quantity but quality. A little faith can go a long way in producing results. While Luke’s version of this saying of Jesus is less dramatic than Matthew’s—with Luke faith can uproot a mulberry tree, while Matthew has it moving a mountain—the basic point is the same.

After his response, Jesus calls them to action. Faith flowers into service. Serving Christ, especially in the least and the needy, flows from faith. The vision faith provides carries us into making this world a better place, embodying the faith, hope, and love that can transform the world.

Consider/Discuss

How have you experienced the power of faith?
Has it helped you to get through difficult times, giving you strength to uproot any obstacle and toss it in the sea of God’s mercy?

Responding to the Word

Give us faith, generous God, to carry us through whatever trials and suffering might come in the future. We believe you are with us in all life’s circumstances and events, but darkness can sometimes cloud our vision. At those times, help our unbelief. Send your Spirit to strengthen us.

Jan 06 2025

Scripture Study for

The circumstances within which Habakkuk finds himself are overwhelming: violence, ruin, misery, and destruction. He faces strife and discord. It seems to be more than he can handle, and so he cries out to God: Why? Why do I have to be a witness to all of this desolation, especially since you do not seem to be open to my call for help? Finally, God responds with a vision, not an answer. Without telling the prophet why he has had to carry the burden of suffering or how long he will have to wait, God instructs him that the righteous wait in faith.

Paul appeals to Timothy to be courageous in the face of hardship. He admonishes Timothy to renew his zeal, to be unashamed of the gospel that he preaches, to bear his share of suffering, to adhere to Paul’s teaching, and to safeguard it. Paul is aware of the risk that one takes in publicly professing faith in Jesus Christ. There is a stigma attached to such bold testimony. Despite this, Timothy should be willing to accept and to embrace the suffering that will inevitably befall him as a minister of the gospel. Nothing should undermine Timothy’s confidence, for he can be strong with the strength that comes from God.

Two independent sayings constitute the Gospel reading: the power of faith and the responsibilities of discipleship. Jesus’ attitude is so different from that of the apostles. They ask for an increase of faith; Jesus speaks about its nature. They are interested in quantity; Jesus is concerned about quality. Using the image of a household staff, he insists that though it is relatively small, it is still expected to perform several tasks—plowing, tending sheep, preparing food, and serving at table. The householder might appear unreasonable, but the story is not about being considerate. This is a teaching about the obligations of the one serving, not of the one being served.

Jan 06 2025

Open the Gate

Being complacent means being pleased with yourself. The prophet Amos paints a vivid picture of a pampered people, lying on couches, snacking and sipping to soothing music, massaged into a state of lethargy. Then he lowers the boom: “Party’s over. Get ready for exile.”

Jesus also paints a portrait of ongoing indolence. Rich Man lies on his couch, dressed in luxuriant purple and soft linen, eating rich foods and drinking choice wines “each day.” The problem is that he has become so anesthetized that he can’t move, not even to go out to the gate where poor Lazarus lies, smelly, starving, and sickly. Then, suddenly, death pulls down the curtain. Next scene: a reversal. The gate has become a gap, an abyss. Rich Man is on one side, Lazarus on the other. What is the point? If you enjoy this life, you will pay for it in the next? More that gates have an expiration date and we need to go through the gates life gives us now. The Latin word for gate is porta. The word opportunity comes from it. Every opportunity is a gate for entering into a world where we can make a difference. Who is on the other side can vary: a sick person, a sore person, a helpless person, a poor person.

And someone has come back from the dead to tell us this is our calling—Jesus, Resurrection Man. There is always some gate nearby. Open it and look at what’s in front of you.

Consider/Discuss

Who is “outside the gate” in your life?
When have you heard the voice of the Risen One call you to care for the poor?

Responding to the Word

Lord Jesus, the age to come should start now. Now is the time to hear your word calling us to make this world a place of hospitality and gracious care for all. If we are complacent in any way, break through our indifference and move us to act.

Jan 06 2025

Scripture Study for

The prophet Amos does not denounce wealth itself, but the complacency that often accompanies it. He is distressed because the affluent entertain themselves with wantonness while the social structure of the northern kingdom of Israel disintegrates. He censures the habit of self-indulgence at feasts. The wealthy dine on the meat of lambs and calves, the very animals that were used for sacrifice. Their fastidious tastes expose their arrogance. Perhaps the most excessive example of dissolute dining is their manner of drinking wine. Not content to sip from goblets, they guzzle from wide-mouthed bowls. One can only imagine the result of such drinking.

Paul’s address to Timothy contains a fourfold message. He exhorts him to pursue virtue, to fight for the faith, to grasp eternal life, and to keep the commandments. While these are responsibilities of all Christians, Paul expects that Timothy will fulfill them in ways that reflect his pastoral office. He employs an image from athletic competition in order to illustrate the struggle that being faithful often entails. The prize that Paul has in mind is eternal life. Underscoring the seriousness of his admonitions, he charges Timothy, before God and before Christ, to obey the commandments in anticipation of Christ’s glorious manifestation.

The Gospel paints a picture of radical reversals. The man who was treated as a castoff enjoys the bliss of heaven, while the one who savored life’s pleasures ends up in great torment in the netherworld. The reversal of the rich man’s fortune was not the consequence of the lack of moral rectitude; it resulted from his indifference to the needs of the covenant brother who lay at the gate of his home. When he asked that Lazarus be sent to warn his brothers to change their way of life (metánoia), he was told that if they did not heed the religious tradition that charged the wealthy to meet the needs of the poor, they would not listen to a resurrected Lazarus.