HOMILIES

Dear Audience,
For better understanding of the spiritual message behind this homily I kindly remind you to first read and contemplate the biblical texts before reading or listening to my preaching - a human reflection on the Word of God!

Eighteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Year C)

Jul 31, 2016

1842

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First Reading

A reading from the Book of Ecclesiastes (1:2; 2:21-23)

Vanity of vanities, says Qoheleth, vanity of vanities! All things are vanity!

Here is one who has labored with wisdom and knowledge and skill, and yet to another who has not labored over it, he must leave property. This also is vanity and a great misfortune. For what profit comes to man from all the toil and anxiety of heart with which he has labored under the sun? All his days sorrow and grief is his occupation; even at night his mind is not at rest. This also is vanity.

(P) The word of the Lord.
(R) Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalms of David (90:3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 14, 17)

(R) If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

You turn man back to dust, saying, "Return, O children of men." For a thousand years in your sight are as yesterday, now that it is past, or as a watch of the night. (R)

You make an end of them in their sleep; the next morning they are like the changing grass, which at dawn springs up anew, but by evening wilts and fades. (R)

Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain wisdom of heart. Return, O Lord! How long? Have pity on your servants! (R)

Fill us at daybreak with your kindness, that we may shout for joy and gladness all our days. And may the gracious care of the Lord our God be ours; prosper the work of our hands for us! Prosper the work of our hands. (R)

Second Reading

A reading from the Letter of Saint Paul to the Colossians (3:1-5, 9-11)

Brothers and sisters: If you were raised with Christ, seek what is above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Think of what is above, not of what is on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ your life appears, then you too will appear with him in glory.

Put to death, then, the parts of you that are earthly: immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and the greed that is idolatry. Stop lying to one another, since you have taken off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed, for knowledge, in the image of its creator. Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all and in all.

(P) The word of the Lord.
(R) Thanks be to God.

Gospel

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (12:13-21)

Someone in the crowd said to Jesus, "Teacher, tell my brother to share the inheritance with me." He replied to him, "Friend, who appointed me as your judge and arbitrator?" Then he said to the crowd, "Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one's life does not consist of possessions."

Then he told them a parable. "There was a rich man whose land produced a bountiful harvest. He asked himself, "What shall I do, for I do not have space to store my harvest?" And he said, "This is what I shall do: I shall tear down my barns and build larger ones. There I shall store all my grain and other goods and I shall say to myself, "Now as for you, you have so many good things stored up for many years; rest, eat, drink, be merry!"" But God said to him, "You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you; and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?" Thus will it be for all who store up treasure for themselves but are not rich in what matters to God."

(P) The Gospel of the Lord.
(R) Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Homily

Once, two friends met in the street. One said to the other, "Hey friend, what happened to you? You look so sad and gloomy as if the whole world has caved in. The sad fellow said, "Three weeks ago, my uncle died and he left me 50 thousand dollars. Two weeks ago, a cousin whom I never knew died and he left me 100 thousand dollars. Last week, my grandfather passed away. I inherited almost a million." The friend said, "Well! You are lucky to have such generous people in your life. But why are you still so glum and unhappy?" The sad fellow replied, "I am sad because this week is almost over and I have not received any money yet."

The man was just waiting for someone else to die so he can inherit more wealth. Some of us are never satisfied with what we have. We always want something more. Some have all the material things life can bring and yet are still not satisfied with that. In today's gospel, Jesus warns us against all types of greed, because greed leads to selfishness, envy, anger, hatred, dissension, violence and war and takes our focus away from God and away from serving and loving others.

As Jesus was speaking to the crowd a man asked Jesus, "Teacher, tell my brother to share the inheritance with me." Why did this man in the first place approach Jesus to settle a personal dispute with his brother? The text does not provide us with much detail except that the man wanted his share of the inheritance, but his brother would not give it to him. It is likely that the man took Jesus to be a Rabbi, for the Rabbis customarily interpreted Jewish law and settled disputes.

According to the Law of Moses the first born son was entitled to receive a double portion of his father's inheritance and the remainder was divided among other family members. In the Book of Deuteronomy (21:15-17), we read something interesting about the rights of the first born son. It says that if a man has two wives, one loved and the other unloved, and both women bear him children, and the first born were sons, then the man must acknowledge the son of the unloved wife as the first born son and give him a double share of the property. So, more than likely, the man who approached Jesus was not the first born of the unloved wife and, wanting an equal share of the property, he wanted Jesus to get involved in his dispute.

Jesus, however, declined to mediate in the dispute. Instead He warned the man and others, against all forms of greed. He said, "Take care to guard against all greed; for though one may be rich, one's life does not consist of possessions." In other words, Jesus reminded them that life is much more than the abundance of possessions. And then in order to reinforce His warning against greed Jesus told them a story of an unwise rich farmer. The farmer was materially blessed by God. His land "produced a bountiful harvest" (v.16). When he was blessed with a large harvest instead of looking for ways to share his harvest with others or using it in a way that would benefit others on earth, he decided to tear down his barns and build larger ones to store all his grains and produce for himself. He said to himself that he would "rest, eat, drink and be merry."

The farmer believed that with his wealth his future would be secure. But he did not know that he would die that very night and would never live to enjoy what he had saved for the future. Jesus then ended the story by saying, "Thus will it be for all who store up treasure for themselves but are not rich in what matters to God."

What lessons can we learn from this portion of the gospel?

In the story, Jesus neither said that it is wrong to have things nor said that the rich farmer was a fool because he was rich. Jesus only pointed out that the man was a fool because he only cared about himself and thought that his possessions would last indefinitely.

God gives different gifts or talents or possessions to different people. And He gives them to us not to keep or hoard them for ourselves but to use them to pursue God's purpose. That is, we are to use the surplus as God intends - to provide for others in need and further His kingdom. Today, let us take this opportunity to fill our hearts with gratitude and praise for the gift of grace given by God and, be generous and share whatever extra we have with those in need and those who have less.
In the story, Jesus pointed out three simple truths:

a) Possession often arouses the desire for more.

b) Greed can make us self-centered and insensitive to people in need.

c) Greed can lead us away from God and others. Let this story serve as a gentle reminder for us to be content with our possessions. As the Bible, 1 Timothy (6:8), says, "If we have enough food and clothing, let us be content."

Let us be on guard against greed which leads us toward envy, selfishness, anger, hatred, meaninglessness, emptiness, competition, aggression and destruction. Instead let us set our hearts on God and the things of God which lead us to true happiness and peace.

(P) Amen.

God Bless You!

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