| First reading |
|---|
Ecclesiastes 1:2,2:21-23
Vanity of vanities, Qoheleth says. Vanity of vanities. All is vanity!
For so it is that a man who has laboured wisely, skilfully and successfully must leave what is his own to someone who has not toiled for it at all. This, too, is vanity and great injustice; for what does he gain for all the toil and strain that he has undergone under the sun? What of all his laborious days, his cares of office, his restless nights? This, too, is vanity.
| Responsorial Psalm |
|---|
| Psalm 89:3-6,12-14,17 |
| Second reading |
|---|
| Colossians 3:1-5,9-11 |
Since you have been brought back to true life with Christ, you must look for the things that are in heaven, where Christ is, sitting at God’s right hand. Let your thoughts be on heavenly things, not on the things that are on the earth, because you have died, and now the life you have is hidden with Christ in God. But when Christ is revealed – and he is your life – you too will be revealed in all your glory with him.
That is why you must kill everything in you that belongs only to earthly life: fornication, impurity, guilty passion, evil desires and especially greed, which is the same thing as worshipping a false god; and never tell each other lies. You have stripped off your old behaviour with your old self, and you have put on a new self which will progress towards true knowledge the more it is renewed in the image of its creator; and in that image there is no room for distinction between Greek and Jew, between the circumcised or the uncircumcised, or between barbarian and Scythian, slave and free man. There is only Christ: he is everything and he is in everything.
That is why you must kill everything in you that belongs only to earthly life: fornication, impurity, guilty passion, evil desires and especially greed, which is the same thing as worshipping a false god; and never tell each other lies. You have stripped off your old behaviour with your old self, and you have put on a new self which will progress towards true knowledge the more it is renewed in the image of its creator; and in that image there is no room for distinction between Greek and Jew, between the circumcised or the uncircumcised, or between barbarian and Scythian, slave and free man. There is only Christ: he is everything and he is in everything.
| Gospel | Luke 12:13-21 |
|---|
A man in the crowd said to Jesus, ‘Master, tell my brother to give me a share of our inheritance.’ ‘My friend,’ he replied, ‘who appointed me your judge, or the arbitrator of your claims?’ Then he said to them, ‘Watch, and be on your guard against avarice of any kind, for a man’s life is not made secure by what he owns, even when he has more than he needs.’
Then he told them a parable: ‘There was once a rich man who, having had a good harvest from his land, thought to himself, “What am I to do? I have not enough room to store my crops.” Then he said, “This is what I will do: I will pull down my barns and build bigger ones, and store all my grain and my goods in them, and I will say to my soul: My soul, you have plenty of good things laid by for many years to come; take things easy, eat, drink, have a good time.” But God said to him, “Fool! This very night the demand will be made for your soul; and this hoard of yours, whose will it be then?.” So it is when a man stores up treasure for himself in place of making himself rich in the sight of God.’
Then he told them a parable: ‘There was once a rich man who, having had a good harvest from his land, thought to himself, “What am I to do? I have not enough room to store my crops.” Then he said, “This is what I will do: I will pull down my barns and build bigger ones, and store all my grain and my goods in them, and I will say to my soul: My soul, you have plenty of good things laid by for many years to come; take things easy, eat, drink, have a good time.” But God said to him, “Fool! This very night the demand will be made for your soul; and this hoard of yours, whose will it be then?.” So it is when a man stores up treasure for himself in place of making himself rich in the sight of God.’
By Arthur B. Reyes
On his death bed, Alexander the Great summoned his generals and told them his three ultimate wishes:
“I want the best doctors to carry my coffin to demonstrate that, in the face of death, even the best doctors in the world have no power to heal.”
“I want the road to be covered with my treasure so that everybody sees that material wealth acquired on earth, stays on earth.”
“I want my hands to swing in the wind, so that people understand that we come to this world empty handed and we leave this world empty handed.”
In today’s Gospel, Jesus is not preaching against wealth but how wealth is to be acquired and utilized. There is nothing wrong with amassing fortunes, as the land owner wanted to do. It is normal for us humans to strive for riches because we need to provide for our loved ones. However, when we are distracted with our material needs, we tend to forget to include God in our plans.
There are three obstacles to our faith according to St. Ignatius – it is wealth, honor, and pride. He himself experienced how people wanted wealth badly so that they would be highly regarded and respected, and pride in what they possess. But we know things can change very quickly. We may become ill, lose our job, our business turns sour.
At the end of our life, God will not measure us by how many cars we had, how big our house was, or how much money we earned. Share with others our talents, our love, our time because by giving to others we are giving back to God. And when we include God in all of our plans, we are also giving God the glory.
In the end what matters most is not how much treasures we hold in our hands but how we used our heart to uplift others.
“I want the best doctors to carry my coffin to demonstrate that, in the face of death, even the best doctors in the world have no power to heal.”
“I want the road to be covered with my treasure so that everybody sees that material wealth acquired on earth, stays on earth.”
“I want my hands to swing in the wind, so that people understand that we come to this world empty handed and we leave this world empty handed.”
In today’s Gospel, Jesus is not preaching against wealth but how wealth is to be acquired and utilized. There is nothing wrong with amassing fortunes, as the land owner wanted to do. It is normal for us humans to strive for riches because we need to provide for our loved ones. However, when we are distracted with our material needs, we tend to forget to include God in our plans.
There are three obstacles to our faith according to St. Ignatius – it is wealth, honor, and pride. He himself experienced how people wanted wealth badly so that they would be highly regarded and respected, and pride in what they possess. But we know things can change very quickly. We may become ill, lose our job, our business turns sour.
At the end of our life, God will not measure us by how many cars we had, how big our house was, or how much money we earned. Share with others our talents, our love, our time because by giving to others we are giving back to God. And when we include God in all of our plans, we are also giving God the glory.
In the end what matters most is not how much treasures we hold in our hands but how we used our heart to uplift others.
Lord, teach me to be generous. Teach me to desire You as my treasure. Help me to make good use of the material riches You give me that I may use them for Your glory and for the good of others. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Tell us what you feel...