18th Sunday of Ordinary Time
First Reading: Ecclesiastes 1:2,2:21-23
Vanity of vanities, says Qoheleth, vanity of vanities! All things are vanity! 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. For what profit comes to a man from all the toil and anxiety of heart with which he has labored under the sun? All his days sorrow and grief are his occupation; even at night his mind is not at rest. This also is vanity.
Second Reading: Colossians 3:1-5,9-11
Brothers and sisters, if you were raised with Christ, seek what is above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Think of what is above, not of what is on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ your life appears, then you too will appear with him in glory. Put to death, then, the parts of you that are earthly: immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and the greed that is idolatry. Stop lying to one another, since you have taken off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed, for knowledge, in the image of its creator. Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all and in all.
Gospel Reading: Luke 12:13-21
Someone in the crowd said to Jesus, "Teacher, tell my brother to share the inheritance with me." He replied to him, "Friend, who appointed me as your judge and arbitrator?" 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." Then he told them a parable. "There was a rich man whose land produced a bountiful harvest. He asked himself, 'What shall I do, for I do not have space to store my harvest?' 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 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!" 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?' Thus will it be for the one who stores up treasure for himself but is not rich in what matters to God."
Reflection: Fr. Sahaya G Selvam
The Word of God on this Sunday invites us to “look for the things that are in heaven” (Col 3:1). To help us deepen this conviction about the primacy of God, Jesus tells us the parable of the Rich Fool. What was wrong with this man? Why is he called a fool? May be he was a hardworking man, or he was just lucky. He has had a good harvest. But surely, he is a man of future-orientation. He plans to expand his stores, and he looks forward to relax and enjoy his life. After all, there is nothing morally wrong with this enjoyment.
But there is only one grave mistake that the man is making – at the spiritual level: not only that his stores are full of wealth, but it is also that his soul is full of material concerns. He falsely consoles his soul. He does not realise that, after all, the good harvest was the gift of God. He does not appreciate the fact that these gifts are to be used to know God deeply. But if any of these gifts become the centre of our lives, they displace God and so hinder our growth toward our goal.
But there is only one grave mistake that the man is making – at the spiritual level: not only that his stores are full of wealth, but it is also that his soul is full of material concerns. He falsely consoles his soul. He does not realise that, after all, the good harvest was the gift of God. He does not appreciate the fact that these gifts are to be used to know God deeply. But if any of these gifts become the centre of our lives, they displace God and so hinder our growth toward our goal.
