18th Sunday in Ordinary TimeEcclesiastes (Qoh) 1:2, 2:21-23. Colossians 3:1-5, 9-11. Luke 12:13-21 Luke 12:13-21
Someone in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, tell my brother to share the inheritance with me." 14 He replied to him, "Friend, who appointed me as your judge and arbitrator?" 15 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." 16 Then he told them a parable. "There was a rich man whose land produced a bountiful harvest. 17 He asked himself, 'What shall I do, for I do not have space to store my harvest?' 18 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 19 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!" 20 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?' 21 Thus will it be for the one who stores up treasure for himself but is not rich in what matters to God." Ecclesiastes (Qoh) 1:2, 2:21-23 1:2 Vanity of vanities, says Qoheleth, vanity of vanities! All things are vanity!... 2:21 For here is a man who has labored with wisdom and knowledge and skill, and to another, who has not labored over it, he must leave his property. This also is vanity and a great misfortune. 22 For what profit comes to a man from all the toil and anxiety of heart with which he has labored under the sun? 23 All his days sorrow and grief are his occupation; even at night his mind is not at rest. This also is vanity. Colossians 3:1-5, 9-11 If then you were raised with Christ, seek what is above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2 Think of what is above, not of what is on earth. 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ your life appears, then you too will appear with him in glory. 5 Put to death, then, the parts of you that are earthly: immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and the greed that is idolatry… 9 Stop lying to one another, since you have taken off the old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed, for knowledge, in the image of its creator. 11 Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all and in all. MEDITATION: This weekend is about the search for genuine wealth. The fact that religious vocations take a vow of poverty isn't because of some strange masochism, but mainly because of the joy of being free. If there's a nice cake to eat on the table, we give thanks to God, and if there's nothing but hard bread and water, we still give thanks to God... for not being in need of nice cakes! I'm stuck in a bloody wheelchair, but I thank God because I've loads and loads of air to breathe - and my lungs function! Many who don't follow the Church today, like to criticize the fact that the Pope lives in what looks like a palace in Rome and I always reply that the Pope would probably much prefer live in a simple little house, but he can receive and talk to much more people from the Vatican. It's great to be free of mundane riches, honours and pleasures (so if I make mistakes here, please correct me!). We realize that the inheritance which Jesus has prepared for us is worth a lot more than any worldly wealth, and we'd be glad to share it with everyone. What Quoheleth says (in Eclesiastes today) is true. That the world is full of 'vanities'. It makes me think of an elderly millionaire-ess in the U.S.A. who asked not to be buried after she dies in a coffin, but rather in a beautiful limozine! Many brothers and sisters in our human family bury themselves alive in their riches and ambitions, and the call to give testimony of the rich poverty of Jesus, is really a call to help save lives. Of course, this isn't a call to be lazy. We want to work as hard as any businessman in the world, but in order to free the world of selfish businesses and set us all on the way to receive a huge inheritance. God can form 'riches' with a 'click of the fingers', but he can't do that with the human heart. He has to get a missionary Church to speak out (or write out!), in order to pass along what Jesus has given us. We should feel sorry for the world today which is 'quarreling' like the two brothers in the Gospel. I think that it's the only place in the Gospel where Jesus describes someone with the word 'fool'. We take vows of poverty because we don't want to be fools! We want to be really rich in the eternal kingdom, and not alone, but as part of a big family enjoying a great richness! St Paul speaks today of criticisms and challenges, but he does so for loving reasons. Fraternal love is great. We can speak very openly to each other. And it draws no division between Jew and Greek - between Spaniard and Irishman! Christ is in us all, and he begins his reply to the guy today, calling him 'friend'. That's the supreme richness for which I long! Maybe 'everything under the sun is vanity' (first reading), but it's certainly different under the 'Sun which rises from on high' (Christ)! The 'rich young man' in Mark 10 goes away sad, but we'd love to stay with you, Lord, and that joy will last forever! ...... Dara. En ESPAÑOL: 18º Domingo: Ecclesiastes 1:2, 2:21-23. Col 3:1-5, 9-11. Lucas 12:13-21 Este domingo trata sobre la búsqueda de la riqueza auténtica. Cuando me preguntan ¿para qué queremos vivir pobres? Siempre digo que no es ningún masoquismo - es cuestión del gozo de ser libres. Si hay un pastel buenísimo sobre la mesa, damos gracias a Dios, y si no hay nada más que pan duro y agua, ¡damos gracias a Dios… por no necesitar pastel buenísimo! Yo estoy en una silla de ruedas pero aprendiendo a dar gracias a Dios por poder respirar oxigeno! A muchos que no siguen a la Iglesia hoy, les gusta criticar como el Papa vive en un 'palacio' en Roma y siempre respondo que seguramente al Papa, le encantaría vivir en una casita sencilla pero puede acoger a muchos más y hablar con muchos más en el Vaticano. Es una alegría ser libres - libres de riquezas, placeres y honores (entonces si escribo cualquier equivocación aquí, ¡apórtamelo!). Reconocemos que la herencia que Jesús nos ha preparado supera cualquier 'riqueza' mundana y anhelamos poder compartir esta gran herencia con todos. Reconocemos como Qoheleth hoy (en Eclesiastes), que el mundo está lleno de 'vanidades'. ¡Me hace recordar una millonaria muriéndose en los Estados Unidos que pidió ser enterrada después sin ataúd en su limosina lujosa! Realmente muchos hermanos y hermanas en el mundo se entierran vivos en sus riquezas y ambiciones - y la llamada a dar testimonio de la pobreza riquísima de Jesús es realmente una llamada a salvar vidas. Claro que no nos llama para ser perezosos. Queremos trabajar aún más que cualquier hombre de negocios - pero lo haremos justamente para qué la humanidad esté libre de sus negocios egoístas y entonces seremos todos 'ricos' y en camino para una gran herencia. Dios hace 'riquezas' con un abrir y cerrar de ojos, pero Dios no puede hacer lo mismo con el corazón del hombre - lo hace llamando a misioneros y misioneras para contagiar lo que nos ha dado Jesús. Conviene tener lástima por el sufrimiento de la humanidad de hoy, que 'pelea' como los dos hermanos en el Evangelio. Creo que es el único lugar del Evangelio donde Jesús usa la palabra 'tonto' para describir a un hombre. ¿Porque tomamos votos de pobreza? - ¡porqué no queremos ser tontos! Queremos ser realmente ricos en el reino eterno - y no solos sino rodeados por una familia muy grande gozando de muchísima riqueza divina! Pablo habla hoy con críticas y con exigencias pero es por amor. Que bonito es el amor fraternal que no ve separación entre Judío y Griego - entre Español e Irlandés! Cristo está en todos y hoy empieza su respuesta al hombre llamándole 'amigo'. Esto es la riqueza máxima que anhelamos, Señor! Puede ser que 'todo bajo el Sol es vanidad' pero qué distinto es bajo el Sol que nace de lo alto! En Marcos 10 el 'joven rico' se va triste, pero nosotros queremos quedarnos contigo, Señor, y ¡así llegaremos al gozo que es eterno! Comments are closed.
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