Words of Spirit and Life

Ecclesiastes 1:2; 2:21-23; Psalm 89 (90): 3-6. 12-14. 17. R/ v. 1; Colossians 3:1-5. 9-11

Luke 12:13-21

Theme: WE ARE NOT TO BE GREEDY, BUT WE ARE TO SHARE OUR

 POSSESSIONS WITH OTHERS, ESPECIALLY WITH THE POOR  

1. Today is the 18^th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Liturgical Year C. The gospel today tells us not to be greedy, because possessions cannot give us life, even if we have more than enough! More importantly, the gospel today tells us to share our possessions with others, especially with the poor and the needy, because it is only in sharing our possessions with the poor and the needy that we find life, love and happiness!  

    The gospel today tells us of the parable of the rich fool. The gospel today tells us that there was once a rich man who had a good harvest, but instead of thanking God for the good harvest and sharing it with others, he built bigger barns to store his abundant harvest in order to enjoy himself into the far future!

    The rich man used only two words, that is, “I” and “My”! He never thought of God and he never thought of his neighbor. But that very night he died. The question is who will own all his possessions! In other words, what is life all about? What is the meaning of life? The gospel tells us that life is all about trusting in God and sharing our possessions with others, especially the poor and the needy, and we will find life, love and happiness! (Lk 12:13-21(-34); NJBC)

    In fact, the life of Jesus which we continue to celebrate in the Eucharist every Sunday is “to thank God for the gift of life and to give our lives to others”. Thus the four essential elements of the Eucharist: take and thank, break and give, that is, we thank God for the gift of life and we give our lives to others as Jesus did! 

2. The first reading follows the theme of the gospel. The first reading tells us that all is vanity. Vanity of Vanities! All is in vain! All is empty, futile, useless, absurd, and meaningless! The first reading tells us that a man works hard and he earns a lot of money, but he dies and he leaves all his possessions to someone who never worked for it and never earned it! Vanity of vanities. Vanity of vanities. All is vanity! The first reading tells us in a negative way that life without God and without concern for neighbor is vain, empty, useless, futile, absurd and meaningless!

3. The responsorial psalm follows the theme of the first reading. The responsorial psalm tells us that God is eternal and man is frail, that is, man can die. (CSB; HCSB) More importantly, the responsorial psalm tells us that man needs God to have eternal life! Thus the response of the responsorial psalm:

    “O Lord, you have been our refuge from one generation to the next.” (Ps 89 (90): 1; SM)     

    The responsorial psalm has four stanzas. The first and second stanzas tell us that God is eternal and man is frail. The third and fourth stanzas ask God to intervene in our lives (CSB; NJBC) to give us eternal life, that is, a life of love and joy! Thus the fourth stanza of the responsorial psalm:

    “In the morning, fill us with your love; we shall exult and rejoice all our days. Let the favor of the Lord be upon us: give success to the work of our hands.” (Ps 89 (90): 14. 17; SM)

4. Finally, the second reading tells us to look for the things of heaven and not to look for the things of the earth. The things of heaven are love, life and happiness. The things of earth are money, power and fame. The second paragraph of the second reading tells us not to commit sin, “especially” the sin of “greed”, “which is the same thing as worshipping a false god”. The second paragraph also tells us to live in unity with other people of other races and nationalities, because Christ is everything and Christ is in everything!

5. Today in the Eucharist, we celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and we eat his body and drink his blood, and the Risen Lord will give us the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will help us not to be greedy, but to share our possessions with others, especially the poor and the needy. The Holy Spirit will help us look for the things of heaven and not for the things of the earth. The Holy Spirit will help us not to sin, especially the sin of greed, and the Holy Spirit will help us live in unity with one another, because Christ is everything and Christ is in everything!

                                                                                                                                    Amen!

Fr. Nicholas Ong, Holy Trinity Church, Tawau, Sabah, Malaysia.

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