Eccl 1:2; 2:21-23; Col. 3:1-5, 9-11; Luke 12:13-21
All Things Must Pass – Only God can fill our heart
Today’s First Reading from the Book of Ecclesiastes teaches us how to find meaning in life and gives us the understanding that all things in this life, the pleasures as well as the sufferings are empty and purposeless. There is no real explanation to show how it all works. The author questions what we as mortals get from all the toil and strain that we endure under the sun when at death, we must leave everything behind, for someone else to enjoy it.
Things of the world last a relatively short period of time and they cannot fulfil the longing of the human heart. Life is brief, the greater part of it is spent in pain and suffering. Every life passes like a wind, barely a trace is left behind. In the best cases, one might amass a great fortune only for it soon to be left to others. What does all this pain and effort add up to? Is it all for nothing? In the face of this emptiness and inconsistency, all this pointlessness, God is the Rock of our Salvation.
Today’s gospel challenges us to consider one central question, what is our treasure? For the rich man in the parable the answer is obvious. His treasure is the stability provided by a plenty harvest. He even builds a storehouse for his treasure, and once it is safely tucked/ packed away tells himself to rest, eat, drink and be merry! The stability he thinks he has found is an illusion, because life is fragile and uncertain.
It is natural for human beings to seek stability and control. We want to know that we have enough to provide for our needs and the needs of our families. But at what point do we begin to place all of our faith and hope in material goods, instead of in God, the only true constant in life? And when can we say enough is enough? Greed is a sickness of the spirit that constantly urges us to acquire more and more.
The things we seek will never fill the deepest longings of our hearts, and as long as wealth or power, fame or beauty is our aim, we will never be satisfied.
The man sees no need to share his goods with others less fortunate than himself. We can ask ourselves today during this time of prayer, “where is my heart” How much time and wealth do we contribute to the apostolic of the church.
In the Second Reading Paul advises the Colossian converts that they must look for the things of heaven where Christ is. He wanted that all thoughts to be centred on heavenly things, not on the things that are on the earth. He reminded the Colossian community that in Baptism they have become new persons as they have been raised with Christ. There we find the perfect image of God in Jesus who is the perfect pattern of life for us.
Fr. Alex Osei
SSC-USA Spiritual Director