Reading 1 Ecc 1:2; 2:21-23
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 are his occupation;
even at night his mind is not at rest.
This also is vanity.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 90:3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 14, 17
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. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
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. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
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. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
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. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Reading 2 Col 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.
Alleluia Mt 5:3
Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
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 all who store up treasure for themselves
but are not rich in what matters to God.”
A BOMB
"Relax! Eat heartily, drink well. Enjoy yourself." –Luke 12:19
The late Fr. Rick Thomas said that the verse quoted above, Luke 12:19, is the most obeyed verse in the Bible. However, God's reaction to those who live out this verse is: "You fool! This very night your life shall be required of you. To whom will all this piled-up wealth of yours go?" (Lk 12:20) The Lord does not consider the "good life" of relaxation and enjoyment to be that good. This comes as a shock to us who have been taught to base our lives on, and save our money for, entertainment, relaxation, and enjoyment.
Today's Gospel reading is like a bomb which would destroy our whole lives if we let it explode by believing it. Yet, if we don't lose our lives now, they won't be saved for eternity (see Lk 9:24). "What profit does he show who gains the whole world and destroys himself in the process?" (Lk 9:25) We can believe God's Word now and let it be like a hammer shattering our lives (see Jer 23:29), or we can maintain the status quo, hoping today's Gospel reading doesn't mean what it seems to mean.
As we look to the future, we naturally have feelings of insecurity. We know that death awaits us, if Jesus doesn't return first. We know that suffering, sickness, and pain probably lie ahead. These prospects will leave us insecure unless our lives are built on the rock of obedience to God's Word (Mt 7:24). The best thing we can do is to obey God's Word, no matter what the immediate consequences.
| PRAYER: | Father, may my life be based on Your Word, which will last forever (see Lk 21:33). |
| PROMISE: | "Since you have been raised up in company with Christ, set your heart on what pertains to higher realms where Christ is seated at God's right hand." –Col 3:1-2 |
| PRAISE: | "Give thanks to the Lord for He is good, for His mercy endures forever" (Ps 118:1). Alleluia! |
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