18th SUNDAY, 31 JULY 2022, QOHELETH 1. 2, 2. 22-23; COL 3. 1-5, 9-11; LUKE 12. 13-21
Thrust: Vanity of vanities!
Indicative: Intelligence, knowledge, competence, big money, position, and fame are no guarantees for wisdom. They can often lead one to vanity and shallowness
1. In the gospel, Jesus narrates a parable of a rich fool. The parable of the rich fool is not just one story among many, narrated by Jesus. But it is a live story because there are many such fools today and none of us is exempt from such foolishness to some degree or other. It is not a soft lesson but a serious warning! It is not only the fate of the rich man in the parable but the fate of each present fool. Jesus is very clear and stern: "It is the fate of those who are rich in the sight of the world, but not in the sight of God".
2. Just imagine the miserable fate of the rich fool. One who toiled so hard but could not enjoy the fruits of his labor; one who made fantastic plans but did not have the future to implement them; one who had abundance for generations but had no life to enjoy it; one who had the intelligence to acquire for the passing world but failed to procure for the eternal life; one who thought all for himself to possess and enjoy but had to leave to others to own and enjoy.
3. How similar is the life and fate of many in our times! So many are literally slaves to money and pleasure. So many spend their whole time and energies with the least concern for family and good human relationships. So many scorn the right values for the sake of profit and self-interests. So many defraud and cheat to amass wealth and to maintain shallow and false status and dignity. So many are much bothered about the temporary and temporal but neglect the spiritual and eternal. Are these not traces of folly?
4. How to eliminate such signs of folly? Grow wise. First and foremost, realize that the worth and beauty of life do not consist in greedy accumulation or material abundance, or economic affluence. Rather life is beautiful and meaningful in the richness of heart, in the abundance of goodness, in the growth in virtues, in the orientation toward heaven and eternity. Not goods but good, not greed but the need for good, should be the motto of life.
5. St Paul reminds us clearly, "The Kingdom of God does not mean food and drink but peace and righteousness" (Rom 14. 17). Jesus too challenges us squarely: "What does it profit a person to gain the whole world but lose the soul" (Mt 16. 26), for, nothing can be equal to the wellbeing and saving of the soul.
5. Now How to grow wise? The answer too is given in the parable: "Become rich in God's sight". Become acceptable and pleasing to God. It is better to obey and surrender to God rather than succumb to evil. The answer is quite straight in the Wisdom spirituality: "Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom" (Prov 1. 7). So the more one has a loving reverence towards God, the more one becomes wise. The more devotion increases, the more wisdom increases. The more spirituality, the less temporality.
6. Therefore the crucial reason for the misery of today's society is very clear: on one hand, the increase of greed and materialism; the decrease of God and altruism, on the other hand. Let us not evade the issue or find temporary solutions or shallow remedies in worldliness. The only solution, remedy, and antidote is God and good!
Imperative: Those who set their hearts on higher things, will also live higher lives. To be practical and to be concerned about the present life does not mean to be earth-bound and to be guided by lesser motives
(REFLECTION 2 FROM 2020, OCTOBER 19)
Focus: The value of life depends not on the abundance of things but on the abundance of heart and the radiance of goodness
The gospel of the day presents before us the parable of the rich fool. It is a familiar lesson and is a clear indicator of today's society. It is a society that sets the material aspect as the most important priority of life. The value, importance, greatness, happiness, success, and fulfilment - all these are measured in terms of material wellbeing. In consequence, the value of the human person, human dignity and respect, human relations, and the primary place for God and spirituality - all these take a back seat. Man becomes more earth-bound, selfish and perpetually dissatisfied, and interiorly restless.
It is in this context, Jesus cautions against such folly and calls for wisdom. Wisdom is a God-given gift that enables us to discern between what is primary and what is secondary in life. It is better to be rich in God's sight, rather than in the world's sight. It is better to gather riches of faith and kindness for heaven, rather than material riches. It is better to be free and generous of heart, rather than to be enslaved to greed and self-interests.
Apparently, the rich man in the gospel seems to be with no fault: he worked hard, he amassed wealth, he desires to enjoy the fruit of his hard work, and he makes plans for the future. But if we reflect a little deeper, we can discover many traces of folly in him. He did not realize that all his prosperity is “God’s gift and not the result of his own work. What we are, is God’s work. So we are not to feel proud. God has created us in Christ Jesus for the good works he has prepared, and we should devote ourselves to them”. He totally neglected all these rules of a good life.
Direction: Better to be spiritual and benevolent and thus be worthy to stand upright in the sight of God, rather than to be worldly and self-centered and stand the severe judgment of God.
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