Lectionary: 473
Reading 1
eph 2:1-10
Brothers and sisters:
You were dead in your transgressions and sins
in which you once lived following the age of this world,
following the ruler of the power of the air,
the spirit that is now at work in the disobedient.
All of us once lived among them in the desires of our flesh,
following the wishes of the flesh and the impulses,
and we were by nature children of wrath, like the rest.
But God, who is rich in mercy,
because of the great love he had for us,
even when we were dead in our transgressions,
brought us to life with Christ (by grace you have been saved),
raised us up with him,
and seated us with him in the heavens in Christ Jesus,
that in the ages to come
he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace
in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.
For by grace you have been saved through faith,
and this is not from you; it is the gift of God;
it is not from works, so no one may boast.
For we are his handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for good works
that God has prepared in advance,
that we should live in them.
Responsorial Psalm
ps 100:1b-2, 3, 4ab, 4c-5
R. (3b) The Lord made us, we belong to him.
Sing joyfully to the LORD all you lands;
serve the LORD with gladness;
come before him with joyful song.
R. The Lord made us, we belong to him.
Know that the LORD is God;
he made us, his we are;
his people, the flock he tends.
R. The Lord made us, we belong to him.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
his courts with praise.
R. The Lord made us, we belong to him.
Give thanks to him; bless his name, for he is good:
the LORD, whose kindness endures forever,
and his faithfulness, to all generations.
R. The Lord made us, we belong to him.
Gospel
lk 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 the one who stores up treasure for himself
but is not rich in what matters to God.”
REFLECTION
SOURCE: One Bread One Body
THEME: CULTURE-WARS
"That is the way it works with the man who grows rich for himself instead of growing rich in the sight of God." –Luke 12:21
The man in today's Gospel reading decided to save for the future. He said to himself: "You have blessings in reserve for years to come. Relax! Eat heartily, drink well. Enjoy yourself" (Lk 12:19). In today's culture, we would call him a wise man, "but God said to him, 'You fool!' " (Lk 12:20) Unless we receive a special revelation as did Joseph (Gn 41:35), we are not to save our money and possessions; rather, we are to distribute them. This comes as a terrible shock to a society full of savings accounts.
Every culture has its strengths and weaknesses, its insights and blind spots. Every culture clashes with the Gospel in some areas. Jesus is a Sign of contradiction (Lk 2:34). If we are true followers of Jesus, we are not trapped in our culture, but by grace we are freed to see and accept the full truth of the Gospel.
What will you do with today's Gospel reading? Rather, what will you let it do with you? What are we to do with Jesus, Who refuses to let us make Him in our image and likeness? The message of today's Gospel reading is a fantastic opportunity or a terrible stumbling stone. Jesus said: "Blest is the man who finds no stumbling block in Me" (Mt 11:6). Accept Jesus as Lord of your life and your culture.
PRAYER: Father, may every culture bend at the name of Jesus (see Phil 2:10-11).
PROMISE: "We lived at the level of the flesh, following every whim and fancy, and so by nature deserved God's wrath like the rest. But God is rich in mercy; because of His great love for us He brought us to life with Christ when we were dead in sin." –Eph 2:3-5
PRAISE: St. Paul advised: "Conceal yourselves in Jesus crucified, and hope for nothing except that all men be thoroughly converted to His will."
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