Be Rich Towards God
Introduction: May you continue to focus your attention on the
Lord Jesus, Who is your eternal inheritance,
Most of our experience is that we hoard many things… often inherited
from our families, saving almost everything, because, “you never know when this
could be useful for us or for someone else.” Many people pile up huge supplies
of things because they want to be surrounded by their expensive items and look
important in the eyes of others. We are all tempted to focus our attention on
our possessions. What we are called to do is put the Lord Jesus in the center
of our life and realize that we will be taken care.
It’s time to take stock of ourselves. We are challenged
today to see what our priorities are. In the First Reading the author remarks
that life sometimes seems meaningless as people focus on their possessions and
seek to get more. The psalmist prays that GOD will “teach us to number our days
aright.” In the Second Reading, St. Paul addresses the Colossians (and us) and
advises that all believers “put to death the parts of you that are earthly.” In
the Gospel, Jesus also speaks about the futility of stockpiling things that
will not be going with us as we transition from this earthly existence to
eternity.
First Reading: Eccle 1:2; 2:21-23: ‘What has a man from
all his toil?’
Commentary: The
Book of Ecclesiastes is dramatically attributed to King Solomon, but it must
have been written several centuries later, even after Alexander the Great. This
late book of Wisdom is full of disillusionment and restless questioning of all
the old certainties, not even sure of the after-life. It queries whether
happiness is anywhere to be found, certainly not in hard work! In this it
partners the gospel reading about the rich fool, though the rich fool is
condemned for his selfish hoarding, while the author of Ecclesiastes
despairingly thinks that no toil can win any worthwhile result. Why is this
Book included in the collection of the revealed truth? Perhaps because it is
always useful to question our certainties again and make up our mind again.
Certainly it blows away the assumption of earlier Israel that happiness is to
be found in wealth and distinction, and that wealth is a sign of God’s
blessing.
Responsorial Psalm 90:3-4. 5-6. 12-13. 14, 17: O Lord,
you have been our refuge, from generation to generation.
The psalm today reflects a similar theme. Humans get so
wrapped up in their short-life existence on earth. Yet in GOD’s perspective,
our lifetime is but a small, minuscule moment in eternity. We are challenged to
pray to GOD so that the LORD will help us focus our attention on what is
important (relationship to GOD and doing GOD’s will – i.e., what is right)
rather than wasting our time and energy on what does not matter in the eternal
picture.
Second Reading: Col 3:1-5, 9-11: ‘Seek the things that
are above, where Christ is.’
Commentary: This
reading is full of the hope of the Resurrection. The Pauline theme of being
baptized into Christ and so sharing his risen life is familiar from the earlier
letters. Adopted into sonship with Christ, we have cast off all the old ties,
and there is no room for all the old vices. But there is a fascinating and
inspiring change of viewpoint. In the earlier letters Paul said that we were
already reconciled to God but not yet saved. In the later Colossians and
Ephesians we have already been raised with Christ, but this risen life in
Christ is still hidden in God and merely has yet to be revealed. Once we have
been baptized into Christ we have been taken on as his own, and can securely
address God with intimacy as Father. This gives us confidence in our continuing
struggle to shake of all evil and allow Christ to take control of every aspect
of our lives. We still ‘are being transformed into Christ’, but the battle is
already won.
Gospel: Luke 12:13-21; ‘The things you have prepared,
whose will they be?’
Commentary: Luke’s
language and style make it clear that he comes from a reasonably privileged
background. In his stories he uses far larger sums of money than Mark. He
understands about investment banking and rates of interest. This makes it all
the more striking that he continually warns against the dangers of wealth. The
uncompromising way in which Jesus brushes aside a dispute about inheritance
leaves no doubt that he is simply uninterested in possessions; they have
nothing to do with the Kingdom. His reply is cold and stark; literally, he does
not address the man as ‘my friend!’, but simply ‘man!’. This parable of the Rich Fool is perhaps the
most condemnatory of all the parables; nowhere else in the gospels is anyone
called outright a ‘Fool!’ Salvation comes first to the poor, the shepherds of
Bethlehem, through a baby cradled in a cattle-trough. Only Luke says that the
apostles left ‘everything’ to follow Jesus. In the ideal young community of the
early Church in Jerusalem he insists that everything was held in common. The
guests invited to the Great Supper refuse the invitation because they are
distracted by their new purchases. The only hope for the rich (for example in
the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus) is that they use their wealth to make
friends in heaven.
Reflection: Have you ever tried to settle a money dispute or
an inheritance issue? Inheritance disputes are rarely ever easy to resolve,
especially when the relatives or close associates of the deceased benefactor
cannot agree on who should get what and who should get the most. Why did Jesus
refuse to settle an inheritance dispute between two brothers? He saw that the
heart of the issue was not justice or fairness but rather greed and
possessiveness.
Loving possessions rather
than loving my neighbor: The ten commandments were summarized into
two prohibitions - do not worship false idols and do not covet what belongs to
another. It's the flip side of the two great commandments - love God and love
your neighbor. Jesus warned the man who wanted half of his brother's
inheritance to "beware of all covetousness." To covet is to wish to
get wrongfully what another possesses or to begrudge what God has given to
another. Jesus restates the commandment "do not covet", but he also
states that a person's life does not consist in the abundance of his or her
possessions.
August of Hippo (354-430 AD)
comments on Jesus' words to the brother who wanted more: Greed wants
to divide, just as love desires to gather. What is the significance of 'guard
against all greed,' unless it is 'fill yourselves with love?' We, possessing
love for our portion, inconvenience the Lord because of our brother just as
that man did against his brother, but we do not use the same plea. He said,
'Master, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.' We say, 'Master,
tell my brother that he may have my inheritance.' (Sermon 265.9)
The fool who was possessed by
his riches: Jesus reinforces his point with a parable about a
foolish rich man (Luke 12:16-21). Why does Jesus call this wealthy landowner a
fool? Jesus does not fault the rich man for his industriousness and skill in
acquiring wealth, but rather for his egoism and selfishness - it's mine, all
mine, and no one else's. This parable is similar to the parable of the rich man
who refused to give any help to the beggar Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31). The rich
fool had lost the capacity to be concerned for others. His life was consumed
with his possessions, and his only interests were in himself. His death was the
final loss of his soul! What is Jesus' lesson on using material possessions? It
is in giving that we receive. Those who are rich towards God receive ample
reward - not only in this life - but in eternity as well.
Where is your treasure? In
this little parable Jesus probes our heart - where is your treasure? Treasure
has a special connection to the heart, the place of desire and longing, the
place of will and focus. The thing we most set our heart on is our highest
treasure. What do you treasure above all else?
Lord Jesus, free my heart from all possessiveness and from
coveting what belongs to another. May I desire you alone as the one true
treasure worth possessing above all else. Help me to make good use of the
material blessings you give me that I may use them generously for your glory
and for the good of others.
Daily Quote from the Early
Church Fathers: Surrounded by wealth, blind to charity, by Cyril of
Alexandria (376-444 AD)
"'What does the rich man do, surrounded by a great
supply of many blessings beyond all numbering? In distress and anxiety, he
speaks the words of poverty. He says, 'What should I do?' ... He does not look
to the future. He does not raise his eyes to God. He does not count it worth
his while to gain for the mind those treasures that are above in heaven. He
does not cherish love for the poor or desire the esteem it gains. He does not
sympathize with suffering. It gives him no pain nor awakens his pity. Still more
irrational, he settles for himself the length of his life, as if he would also
reap this from the ground. He says, 'I will say to myself, "Self, you have
goods laid up for many years. Eat, drink, and enjoy yourself." 'O rich
man,' one may say, "You have storehouses for your fruits, but where will
you receive your many years? By the decree of God, your life is
shortened." 'God,' it tells us, 'said to him, "You fool, this night
they will require of you your soul. Whose will these things be that you have prepared?"
(excerpt from COMMENTARY ON LUKE, HOMILY 89)
me, myself, and i: “You
have blessings in reserve for years to come.” —Luke 12:19
The rich man in today’s parable stored up grain “for years
to come” (Lk 12:19). Joseph, in the Old Testament, likewise stored up grain for
years to come (Gn 41:48-49). Why is one man commended in Scripture as a model
steward while the other is presented as a warning against greed?
The man in the Gospel parable thought only of growing rich
for himself (Lk 12:21). Notice how often this man speaks of himself; in three
verses, he uses words which refer to himself ten times (Lk 12:17-19). He
planned to become his own provider for the years to come. Not once in the
parable does this man think of God or other people. Joseph, however, did not
think of himself. He thought of the poor who would need food for years to come.
He thought of providing for his own starving family (Gn 45:11), even though
they had sold him into slavery in a most cruel manner (Gn 37:18-35). He thought
of God’s purpose (Gn 45:5-8) and acted faithfully to fulfill God’s plan.
“Be intent on things above rather than on things of earth.
After all, you have died!” (Col 3:2-3) If we live for Jesus, we have died to
growing rich for ourselves. We are consumed with what is rich in the sight of
God (Lk 12:21). If we aren’t living for Jesus, we may be intent on growing rich
for ourselves and relying on the things of this world (Lk 12:21; Col 3:2). That
is “vanity” (Eccl 1:2). Deny your very self, take up your cross, and follow in
Jesus’ footsteps (Lk 9:23).
Prayer: Father, I surrender myself to You. “Your kingdom
come, Your will be done” in my every thought and action (Mt 6:10). “When Christ
our life appears, then you shall appear with Him in glory.” —Col 3:4. Praise
the Risen Jesus, Who is seated at the right hand of the Father and lives
forever to intercede for us! (Heb 7:25)
The personal action for
today: What priorities and values
control my life? What aspect of my old self must I again take off and replace
it with the new self that is renewed in the image of its Creator? What/Who is
the center of my life? Do I need to get re-aligned and balanced by moving
Christ into the center? Can people experience a smoother, more balanced ride
with GOD by the way I treat them with my Christ-centered attitudes?
*Saint Peter Julian Eymard: Born in La Mure d’Isère in southeastern France,
Peter Julian’s faith journey drew him from being a priest in the Diocese of
Grenoble in 1834, to joining the Marists in 1839, to founding the Congregation
of the Blessed Sacrament in 1856.
In addition to those changes, Peter Julian coped with
poverty, his father’s initial opposition to Peter’s vocation, serious illness,
a Jansenistic overemphasis on sin, and the difficulties of getting diocesan and
later papal approval for his new religious community.
His years as a Marist, including service as a provincial
leader, saw the deepening of his Eucharistic devotion, especially through his
preaching of Forty Hours in many parishes. Inspired at first by the idea of
reparation for indifference to the Eucharist, Peter Julian was eventually
attracted to a more positive spirituality of Christ-centered love. Members of
the men’s community which Peter founded alternated between an active apostolic
life and contemplating Jesus in the Eucharist. He and Marguerite Guillot
founded the women’s Congregation of the Servants of the Blessed Sacrament.
Peter Julian Eymard was beatified in 1925 and canonized in 1962, one day after
Vatican II’s first session ended.
In every century, sin has been painfully real in the life of
the Church. It is easy to give in to despair, to speak so strongly of human
failings that people may forget the immense and self-sacrificing love of Jesus,
as his death on the cross and his gift of the Eucharist make evident. Peter
Julian knew that the Eucharist was key to helping Catholics live out their
baptism and preach by word and example the Good News of Jesus Christ.
