26th Sunday of Ordinary Time (Year C)
Scriptures: Am. 6:1a, 4-7; Ps. 145:7-10; 1 Tim. 6:11-16; Lk. 16:19-31
A story is told about a monk and his disciple who were travelling to a distant land. They reached a barren farm by the evening. The soil was good but the farmer had not cultivated it. The thirsty men decided to visit the family who was staying on the same farm for a glass of water. They noticed that the farmer and his family lived in a dire state of poverty. After talking to the farmer, they realized that the farmer and his family were much dependent on the buffalo. Its milk was their survival. It was the only source of income. As the monk and his disciple got up to start their journey, the farmer persuaded them to spend that night with them. In the middle of the night when everyone was asleep, the monk woke up his disciple. He told him that they need to start their journey but they also need to kill the buffalo.
Years later, the disciple who had grown up as a successful young man; he always felt guilty of killing the buffalo of the poor farmer. He also remained confused with the monk’s behavior. He decided to visit the farmer and pay his compensation. When he arrived at the site, it was totally changed. The barren land was transformed into a beautiful orchid. The hut was turned into a spacious house. There were few vehicles parked in the house. He thought for a while that the farmer must have sold his land and moved to another town. As he was returning, he noticed the same farmer was working in the orchid. The young man reminded the farmer about the night when they had stayed with them. The farmer quickly recognized him. He narrated the incident of that night. How did his buffalo accidently die the same night? He also told him that it was a life changing night. Once the buffalo was dead, he had to work for survival. He worked hard on the farm. He cultivated fruits. His business grew wide and now he was the successful farmer/businessman in the town. The man realized the mind of his master/monk. He had killed the buffalo so that the farmer may come out of his comfort zone. It is rightly said, life begins at the end of your comfort zone. You never change your life until you step out of your comfort zone.
The liturgy of this Sunday is centered on this beautiful message. It invites us to step out of our comfort zone. The first reading is the address of the Prophet Amos to the people who were living a comfortable life. Prophet Amos prophesied in northern Israel in 750 BCE. It was a time of peace in the land. The rich and wealthy lived a luxurious life. They slept on the ivory bed, they dined sumptuous meals, danced to the music, invented new musical instruments, drank bowlful wine, etc. One can imagine the lifestyle of rich and wealthy men during those days. They lived a self-centered life. They did not care for the poor and downtrodden. This led them to idol worship. The prophet condemned their way of living because they never stepped out of their comfort zone to help the poor. They lived snugly in their comforting towns and mountains i.e. Zion and the mountains of Samaria. As a result, they were exiled. Northern Israel was exiled in 722 BCE by the Assyrians and southern Israel was exiled in 576 BCE by the Babylonians.
St. Paul in the second reading addresses Timothy. He exhorts him with a beautiful title “man of God”. This title was addressed to holy men in the Old Testament such as Moses and the prophets (e.g., Deut. 33:1; 1 Sam 2:27; 9:6–7; 1 Kgs 13:1; 17:18). It means to say that Timothy as the leader of the community exercised great influence over his community. Timothy had taken a lot of trouble to be a follower of Christ. His mother was a Jew and his father was a gentile. His mother taught him the holy scriptures but he was not a Jew. St. Paul, who believed that faith was sufficient, not circumcision, asked Timothy to undergo circumcision for the sake of Jewish Christian in Ephesus so that they may accept him as their leader (Acts 16: 3-4). He undertook a missionary journey with St. Paul, to learn from him the faith. St. Paul being the father figure encouraged Timothy to remain steadfast to his calling. We learn from Timothy, he stepped out of his comfort zone to be the messenger of Christ.
Jesus gives us a parable of rich man and Lazarus in the Gospel today. The first scene displays the rich man who lives in luxury. His fine and purple linen shows that he came from a rich and royal family. He feasted five course meals every day. In contrast, Lazarus lived a miserable life. He longed to have dog food. He was full of sores. It means he was physically weak. He was lying at the rich man’s gate. It is interesting to note that the rich man did not abuse Lazarus physically or mentally. He had not done any harm to him. As a matter of fact, they did not even speak to each other. At last, both of them died. The second scene shows the situation is reversed. The rich man is shown in hell and Lazarus is seen in the bosom of Abraham. The rich man is suffering and Lazarus is enjoying heavenly bliss. Father Abraham is not even able to fulfil the demands of the rich man.
One begins to wonder what was the fault of the rich man? The sin of the rich man was a carefree attitude toward him. He never noticed Lazarus with his poverty and weakness. He did not do any harm but he also did not do any good. He was supposed to help the poor according to Mosaic law (Lev. 15:7-11). He portrayed Cain’s attitude; am I my brother’s keeper? The rich man forgot to share his resources with the less fortunate. He turned blind eye to the suffering of the poor. In other words, he failed to step out of his comfort zone. He was happy with his luxurious life.
Every person who lives in the comfort zone experiences a safe and secure environment. That person is confident in himself. He feels that everything is in his control. He knows how to handle the situation. His stress and anxiety level always remains minimal. Perhaps these are the reasons why people love to remain in their comfort zone. But those who have stepped out of their comfort zone, they begin to experience the change in their life. They make history in their lives. Someone has rightly said comfort is the biggest trap and coming out of the comfort zone is the biggest challenge. The farmer in the story, the people at the time of Amos and the rich man chose to remain in their comfort zones. They could not do better. They perished subsequently.
Jesus wants us to step out of our comfort zones so that we may grow as a person. It will help us to perform better with a lot of creativity. We need to step out of our comforts in our life of faith too. It is time for us to see whether we have any buffalo who is not allowing us to step out of our comfort zone. We need to kill it so that we may enjoy real life.
