20191021
THE
TRULY RICH
21 OCTOBER,
2019, Monday, 29th Week, Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour:
Green.
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First reading
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Romans 4:20-25 ©
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Since God had made him a promise, Abraham
refused either to deny it or even to doubt it, but drew strength from faith and
gave glory to God, convinced that God had power to do what he had promised.
This is the faith that was ‘considered as justifying him.’ Scripture however
does not refer only to him but to us as well when it says that his faith was
thus ‘considered’; our faith too will be ‘considered’ if we believe in him who
raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, Jesus who was put to death for our sins and
raised to life to justify us.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Luke 1:69-75 ©
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Blessed be the Lord, the
God of Israel! He has visited his people.
He has raised up for us a mighty saviour
in the house of David his
servant,
as he promised by the lips of holy men,
those who were his prophets
from of old.
Blessed be the Lord, the
God of Israel! He has visited his people.
A saviour who would free us from our foes,
from the hands of all who hate
us.
So his love for our fathers is fulfilled
and his holy covenant
remembered.
Blessed be the Lord, the
God of Israel! He has visited his people.
He swore to Abraham our father
to grant us that free from
fear,
and saved from the hands of
our foes,
we might serve him in holiness and justice
all the days of our life in
his presence.
Blessed be the Lord, the
God of Israel! He has visited his people.
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Gospel Acclamation
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Ps24:4,5
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Teach me your paths, my God,
make me walk in your truth.
Alleluia!
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Or:
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Mt5:3
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Alleluia, alleluia!
How happy are the poor in spirit:
theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Luke 12:13-21 ©
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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 TRULY RICH
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ Rom 4:20-25; Luke 1:69-75; Luke 12:13-21 ]
When it comes to the
desire for wealth and possessions, there are two different motives. One is
motivated by fear and the other is motivated by selfishness. In the first instance, many of us seek to
accumulate wealth and possessions because we fear that we might not have enough
to live on and to live comfortably till the end of our days. We are
always fearful of suffering, hunger and the lack of comforts in life. So
it is natural for us to grow our wealth and our assets so that we can provide
for the needs of our family and loved ones, and especially in our old
age. Indeed, today, the world is always speaking of the need for
financial planning, especially for one’s retirement and old age, so that we can
support ourselves as we can no longer depend on our children to support us.
Growing our financial
nest is not wrong. It
is responsible stewardship. We all need money. We must not
demonize money because money can be used for many purposes, to feed ourselves,
to help us live in comfort, to help the poor and to heal the sick. So it
is right to work hard and be prudent in the way we use our money, for our good
and the good of others. The problem is, how much is enough to secure our
future? The truth is that the word “enough” does not exist in our
vocabulary. The sin of greed lives in us. We want more and
more. We do not know when to stop and say, “I have enough.” What
begins with the need for security ends up as greed. Like the two brothers
in the gospel, they wanted more of the inheritance. They became greedy,
which led to the lack of fair play.
Greed leads to many
other sins like injustice, resentment, envy, cheating, fraud and even
killing. Greed
is a form of idolatry that possesses us, our mind and our being. That is
why the bible calls greed ‘idolatry’. St Paul says, “Be sure of this,
that no fornicator or impure person, or one who is greedy (that is, an
idolater), has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.” (Eph 5:5) He also wrote, “Put to death,
therefore, whatever in you is earthly: fornication, impurity, passion, evil
desire, and greed – which is idolatry.” (Col 3:5) Greed is the worship of false
gods because what we worship possesses us. Wealth is a false god because
it is a delusion that our life is made secure by what we have. This is
where the Lord warns us in the gospel, “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.”
Indeed, we do not know
when the Lord is going to call us home. Our life on earth is transient. The truth
is that the Lord might demand for our soul at any time. Death comes often
unexpectedly, when we are least prepared. It does not mean that only
elderly people must be prepared for death. Young people too, because
death can come at any time and place. The question is: are we
prepared for death? This is why the Lord is reminding us of the need to
be always prepared for death. Just when the rich fool thought he was
secure because he had plenty of wealth, the Lord will say to him, “Fool! This
very night the demand will be made for your soul; and this hoard of yours,
whose will it be then?”
What is even worse than
greed that springs from insecurity about our future is greed and attachment to
wealth and possessions because of selfishness. The rich fool is worse than those
who are attached to their wealth because of insecurity. He had plenty
because he had a good harvest. Instead of using his wealth for the good
of others, he said to himself, “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.” He was simply thinking
about his enjoyment, comfort and pleasure. He was completely absorbed in
himself and his indulgence. He wanted to spend the rest of his life
idling, wasting time, pampering himself, indulging in the comforts of this
world without a thought for God and his fellowmen. He had no capacity to
love, to reach out and to feel with others and for others. He lived the
life of an animal, just eating, drinking and enjoying. Such a life is
meaningless and aimless. A man without love is not a human being.
What makes us alive is when we are capable of love, of giving and of making
sacrifices. We are created for love and friendship. He might be
wealthy but his heart and interior life is impoverished. He will not find
happiness but emptiness even in his luxury.
This is precisely the
deception of the present generation because they have been brought up with the
YOLO “You only live once” and FOMO “fear of missing out” mentality. They are
taught to live life fully here and now, without a thought for the next day, or
the next generation because once we die, we are gone forever from the face of
this earth. That being the case, why care for the next generation and the
future of humanity or the protection of the earth since we will not be around
to suffer the consequences? So they are more concerned with taking
as much as they can from this earth rather than putting into the world to make
it a happier place not just for themselves but for the rest of humanity and the
future generations to come.
On the contrary, Jesus
advises us, “So it is when a man stores up treasure for himself in place of
making himself rich in the sight of God.” Happiness is not how much we have or what
we have. Happiness is not living a luxurious life with lots of food,
enjoyment and comfort. Happiness has to do with the magnanimity of our
hearts and our minds. Only when we are rich in love and mercy, can we
share in the life and love of God. Happiness is when we are able to give
ourselves to others. When we share what we have with others, whether our
resources, talents, wealth and possessions, we are enriched by the friendship,
love and bond we establish with them. In giving we receive. Love is
the greatest of riches and possessions we can have in this life because no one
can take away from us. Jesus said, “Do not store up for yourselves
treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and
steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where
neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and
steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Mt 6:19-21)
So what is your
treasure? Secondly, where is your treasure? We are called to put our priorities
in life right. What are your priorities? Is God the center and the
focus of your life or is it money and career? What are the things that
matter most to you? God, family, friends, career, wealth, status, luxury
or meaning and purpose, making a difference in the lives of our fellowmen,
helping the poor and the marginalized? The saying that we must put our
money where the mouth is will help us be honest with what we say and what we
actually believe in our heart. If we say that God is the center of our
lives, then how much time do we spend with Him? If we say “money” is not
my god, then how much time do you spend thinking about making more and more
money and how attached are you to your possessions? If we say family is
high in our scale of things, then do we always put our family before our work
and career? It is important that we spend time reflecting on our treasure
in life.
What we need therefore
to pray is faith, hope and charity, the three theological virtues. Faith in divine providence does not
mean that we just live one day at a time without a thought for tomorrow.
Faith in God like Abraham’s will help us to live each day with confidence,
doing all we can but leaving the rest to God who knows what is best for
us. If we cooperate with His grace, He will ensure that we will be able
to live a happy, meaningful and joyful life. But we also need to live
with the hope for eternity, not like those without faith who live only for
today without a thought for the life to come. With this hope to be with
Christ forever, the ultimate treasure of our life, we can persevere in
difficulties and sufferings because we know that the fullness of life lies in
heaven with God. Finally, when there is faith and hope, we can give up
our life to God and for others, living a life of love, compassion and service
to our fellowmen.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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