20250803 THE MEANING OF LIFE IS TO RESTORE OUR IMAGE WHICH IS HIDDEN IN CHRIST
03 August 2025, Sunday, 18th Week in Ordinary Time
First reading |
Ecclesiastes 1:2,2:21-23 |
Vanity of vanities; all is vanity
Vanity of vanities, the Preacher says. Vanity of vanities. All is vanity!
For so it is that a man who has laboured wisely, skilfully and successfully must leave what is his own to someone who has not toiled for it at all. This, too, is vanity and great injustice; for what does he gain for all the toil and strain that he has undergone under the sun? What of all his laborious days, his cares of office, his restless nights? This, too, is vanity.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 89(90):3-6,12-14,17 |
O Lord, you have been our refuge from one generation to the next.
You turn men back to dust
and say: ‘Go back, sons of men.’
To your eyes a thousand years
are like yesterday, come and gone,
no more than a watch in the night.
O Lord, you have been our refuge from one generation to the next.
You sweep men away like a dream,
like the grass which springs up in the morning.
In the morning it springs up and flowers:
by evening it withers and fades.
O Lord, you have been our refuge from one generation to the next.
Make us know the shortness of our life
that we may gain wisdom of heart.
Lord, relent! Is your anger for ever?
Show pity to your servants.
O Lord, you have been our refuge from one generation to the next.
In the morning, fill us with your love;
we shall exult and rejoice all our days.
Let the favour of the Lord be upon us:
give success to the work of our hands.
O Lord, you have been our refuge from one generation to the next.
Second reading |
Colossians 3:1-5,9-11 |
You must look for the things that are in heaven, where Christ is
Since you have been brought back to true life with Christ, you must look for the things that are in heaven, where Christ is, sitting at God’s right hand. Let your thoughts be on heavenly things, not on the things that are on the earth, because you have died, and now the life you have is hidden with Christ in God. But when Christ is revealed – and he is your life – you too will be revealed in all your glory with him.
That is why you must kill everything in you that belongs only to earthly life: fornication, impurity, guilty passion, evil desires and especially greed, which is the same thing as worshipping a false god; and never tell each other lies. You have stripped off your old behaviour with your old self, and you have put on a new self which will progress towards true knowledge the more it is renewed in the image of its creator; and in that image there is no room for distinction between Greek and Jew, between the circumcised or the uncircumcised, or between barbarian and Scythian, slave and free man. There is only Christ: he is everything and he is in everything.
Gospel Acclamation | Jn17:17 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Your word is truth, O Lord:
consecrate us in the truth.
Alleluia!
Or: | Mt5:3 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
How happy are the poor in spirit:
theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Luke 12:13-21 |
Fool! This very night your soul will be demanded of you
A man in the crowd said to Jesus, ‘Master, tell my brother to give me a share of our inheritance.’ ‘My friend,’ he replied, ‘who appointed me your judge, or the arbitrator of your claims?’ Then he said to them, ‘Watch, and be on your guard against avarice of any kind, for a man’s life is not made secure by what he owns, even when he has more than he needs.’
Then he told them a parable: ‘There was once a rich man who, having had a good harvest from his land, thought to himself, “What am I to do? I have not enough room to store my crops.” Then he said, “This is what I will do: I will pull down my barns and build bigger ones, and store all my grain and my goods in them, and I will say to my soul: My soul, you have plenty of good things laid by for many years to come; take things easy, eat, drink, have a good time.” But God said to him, “Fool! This very night the demand will be made for your soul; and this hoard of yours, whose will it be then?” So it is when a man stores up treasure for himself in place of making himself rich in the sight of God.’
THE MEANING OF LIFE IS TO RESTORE OUR IMAGE, WHICH IS HIDDEN IN CHRIST
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ECCL 1:2; 2:21-23; COL 3:1-5, 9-11; LK 12:13-21]
What do you live for? Some live for work – but this is vanity. If the meaning of life is found in work, then life becomes drudgery. Indeed, the author of Ecclesiastes bemoans, “for what does he gain for all the toil and strain that he has undergone under the sun? What of all his laborious days, his cares of office, his restless nights?” Perhaps you live for power and status. But this, too, is vanity. Great leaders, presidents and prime ministers, famous movie stars and singers have all come and gone. One day, we will have to relinquish our offices and positions to someone else. And once out of office, like those once great and famous people, we will quietly languish and fade from the world.
What if you live for money and wealth? That, too, is vanity. The truth in life is that nothing lasts. In any case, money cannot buy everything. It cannot buy love or peace. In fact, the more money one has, the more worries and anxieties arise. Most of all, you cannot bring your money with you to the grave. Once again, as the author laments: “a man who has laboured wisely, skilfully and successfully must leave what is his own to someone who has not toiled for it at all.” Lastly, perhaps you live for pleasure. But can one find fulfilment in sensual pleasure alone? Are we mere animals, satisfied only by physical and material needs? Do we not have spirits that cry out for something deeper? So, pleasure too is vanity!
The stark truth is that even when we possess status, power, money, and the luxuries of life, we are not necessarily much happier. In fact, surveys have shown that increases in status, power, wealth, and luxury do not lead to a corresponding increase in happiness. There is a limit to the satisfaction that power, money, and luxury can bring. Once the limit is reached, greed begins to take control of our lives. We become increasingly dissatisfied, and this unchecked greed will eventually destroy our happiness and peace.
What is most frustrating in life is that after all the hard work accumulating wealth, power, and status, we often end up living in fear and anxiety. Quite often, those who benefit from our wealth and inheritance turn out to be ungrateful. Even on our deathbed, we may hear our loved ones fighting for their share of our property and possessions.
In the light of all this, the author of the first reading could not but be pessimistic in the face of life’s great injustices. Life is unfair! Ironically, many of those who commit suicide are not the poor, but the rich, powerful, and famous. Despite their success and fame, they find life meaningless. Having attained all they ever wanted, they discover that success a disillusion – it has not brought them real happiness. So why invest so much energy in working for something so transient? Why spend our whole lives making a living, when we have not learned how to truly live?
For this reason, Jesus warns us: “Watch, and be on your guard against avarice of any kind, for a man’s life is not made secure by what he owns, even when he has more than he needs.” Security and happiness in life are not determined by our possessions. While what we own may offer a degree of security, it cannot fulfil our emotional, affective, and spiritual needs. Life is surely vanity if we believe it is simply about physical wealth, prestige, power, or even pleasure.
Where, then, can we find true happiness in life? We must live for a higher purpose. The truth is, we cannot live only for this world or for ourselves alone. Such a life is constantly under threat – and ultimately meaningless. What is this higher goal that St Paul invites us to pursue? We are called to live for others by living for God. We must go beyond ourselves. We must live in a transcendent way, embracing transcendent values. As St Paul writes, “since you have been brought back to true life with Christ, you must look for the things that are in heaven, where Christ is, sitting at God’s right hand. Let your thoughts be on heavenly things, not on the things that are on the earth, because you have died.”
It is the life of the Spirit – the life of God. This is what Jesus is inviting us in today’s Gospel. He warns us not to store up treasure for ourselves, but instead to make ourselves rich in the sight of God. The only treasure that endures is being rich in God, which means sharing in His life. The good news is that this treasure has already been given to us in Christ. St Paul reveals that the true meaning of life is found in sharing in the life that is “hidden with Christ in God. But when Christ is revealed – and he is your life – you too will be revealed in all your glory with him.”
In other words, what is the meaning of life and its happiness if not to become Christ and to share in His life? The goal and purpose of our life is to be restored in the image and likeness of God. As St Paul writes: “you have put on a new self which will progress towards true knowledge the more it is renewed in the image of its creator.”
What is the life of Christ? It is a life of love and selfless service. It is a life grounded in values and virtues. Such is the life of the Spirit – being rich in the sight of God. Indeed, when we look at the life of Christ, we see that it is centred on relationship, love, and service.
Relationship makes life meaningful. Only a right relationship with God, others, and ourselves can bring true fulfilment and happiness. One of the main reasons for our unhappiness in life is disunity within our families, workplaces, and communities. Quarrels, misunderstandings, and broken relationships leave us feeling upset and incomplete. What use is it to bring home so much money if there is no peace in the house – if your spouse is fighting with you, and your siblings are quarrelling among themselves or even refusing to speak to you?
Indeed, it is for relationship that Christ came into this world – to put us in right relationship with God and with each other. St Paul reminds us, “there is no room for distinction between Greek and Jew, between the circumcised or the uncircumcised, or between barbarian and Scythian, slave and free man. There is only Christ: he is everything and he is in everything.” In Christ, we become one. This is the essence of Christ’s reconciling work.
Besides relationship, what brings us happiness is the ability to go beyond ourselves and care for others through selfless service. St Paul urges us: “you must kill everything in you that belongs only to earthly life: fornication, impurity, guilty passion, evil desires and especially greed, which is the same thing as worshipping a false god; and never tell each other lies. You have stripped off your old behaviour with your old self.”
Hence, Jesus’ advice to us all is to store up for ourselves the riches of God. We do this by cultivating virtues such as love, forgiveness, and compassion. We must realize that what we do in life shapes our character, for better or for worse. Every time we act wrongly, selfishly, or evilly, we reinforce negative attitudes within ourselves. Conversely, when we do good works – even small acts of kindness – we increase our capacity to love. Our whole life is truly a pilgrimage, a pedagogy, in which we learn to grow in love and selflessness through struggles in relationships and the difficulties of loving. If we pursue this path, we will build up our Christian character and be restored in the image in Christ.
With the invitation to a life in Christ as our goal comes also a warning – not to procrastinate and live in false security. Whatever time, talents, and money we have should be used for personal sanctification through a life of charity, without expecting any return. In this way, when the time comes for us to leave this world, we can depart in peace, without any unfinished agenda or unresolved issues. If not, we will endure the restlessness and the pain of not being able to let go of this life and return to God. At the end of our lives, what remains is only the soul – that is, the “I”: our thoughts, feelings, mind, and heart. If our hearts remain resentful and selfish, we cannot leave this world in peace. Our attachments, anger, and unforgiveness will return to haunt us.
One thing is certain in life: death. The question we must ask ourselves today is, How do you want to die? How we respond to this question will determine how we live our lives now. Do you want to end your life in misery, anger, resentment, and bitterness, feeling that life has been unjust to you? Or do you want to let go of all that you hold – whether riches or negative feelings – so that you can be free from selfishness and open to love and service? It is better that we die poor and be rich in heaven. We die poor when we have given our lives in service and love to others. In emptying ourselves for others, we enrich ourselves with love, generosity, goodness, and kindness. A rich life is one filled with love, compassion, and detachment. This is the life of God. So if we want to avoid falling into disillusionment at the end of our lives, we must start living now – loving, serving, and sharing until we extinguish ourselves. For when we do this, Christ lives in us, and everything is in Christ.
Best Practices for Using the Daily Scripture Reflections
- Encounter God through the spirit of prayer and the scripture by reflecting and praying the Word of God daily. The purpose is to bring you to prayer and to a deeper union with the Lord on the level of the heart.
- Daily reflections when archived will lead many to accumulate all the reflections of the week and pray in one sitting. This will compromise your capacity to enter deeply into the Word of God, as the tendency is to read for knowledge rather than a prayerful reading of the Word for the purpose of developing a personal and affective relationship with the Lord.
- It is more important to pray deeply, not read widely. The current reflections of the day would be more than sufficient for anyone who wants to pray deeply and be led into an intimacy with the Lord.
Note: You may share this reflection with someone. However, please note that reflections are not archived online nor will they be available via email request.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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