26th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall; Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. All the king's horses  And all the king's men Could not put Humpty dumpty together again! This nursery rhyme reminds us that most often in life,  there are things which we cannot undo especially the evil effects of what we have decided to do. In the case of Humpty Dumpty, he knew he was an egg yet he put himself in danger when he sat on the wall. It was his decision. And when he had his great fall, of course as an egg, his life was over. He could not turn the clock back to decide otherwise.This rhyme has a similar lesson when we read today's Gospel,  Luke 16:19-31. A rich man could not undo the evil effects of the decision he made when he was living on earth. This is clear in the Scripture quoting Abraham as the one who said this to the rich man, "Son, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things; but now he  is comforted here, and you are in anguish. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us." The rich man was indifferent though he could be compassionate to Lazarus. It was a matter of making a good decision to do good to Lazarus. But the rich man decided otherwise, he remained indifferent. This bad decision brought him to hades where he found himself in anguish. He could not undo such evil effects of his decision. My dear friends, today we are reminded to reflect first before we make some decisions in life. We reflect not because we wish our decision becomes favorable to us here and now but above all it is favorable for our life hereafter. To go to heaven or hell is a matter of decision at present. We need to ask God's guidance then so that whatever decision we make here and now will all be for His glory and our salvation. Amen.