Monday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time
Sometimes I find it difficult to live as a disciple in the midst of this world. I am bombarded with newspaper ads, TV commercials, billboards, and people around me all telling me I need the newest, nicest cell phone, car, clothes, house and lifestyle. I find it so easy to slip into this mindset where if I want something, then it must be OK to pursue having that item. Yet, if I am a follower of Jesus and walk in His ways, I think that my choices of what I buy and what I do with my possessions should be something that I always try to see from His perspective. I believe that today’s scripture readings remind me “what matters to God.”
Today’s gospel is the story of the rich man who with his overflowing harvest decides to build larger storehouses to keep all of his bounty. He says to himself, “You have so many things stored up for many years, rest, eat, drink, and be merry.” (Luke 12:19) The rich man’s focus is on himself and his welfare alone. The rich man dies and God reminds him “all the things you have prepared to whom will they belong?” (Luke 12: 20) This definitely hits home for me as I look around to all the things that I have accrued throughout the years. So is Jesus saying that all of our material possessions are bad? Jesus sheds some insight on this when he says, “Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one’s life does not consist in possessions.” (Luke 12: 15) Jesus explains that it is not our possessions that make us rich. So what does Jesus want us to do? Jesus completes the story with the rich man by saying, “Thus will it be for the one who stores up treasures for himself but is not rich in what matters to God.” (Luke 12: 21) It seems to me that the key to what Jesus is saying is that everything that we have is given to us as a gift. It is through God’s blessings that we have all that we are and own. I believe that we are called to recognize that God is the giver, and in our recognition we are called to be grateful to Him. With this sense of gratitude, we are then called to prayerfully recognize how we are called to use all that He has given to us to share with others. I do not think that Jesus implies that possessions are evil, but when we fail to keep our focus on God and His will for us, then we lose sight of what is important and our things become the focus instead.
So what does this mean for me in how I live my life as His disciple? I believe that I need to start with a prayerful awareness of God in my life. When I make decisions, then I can look to Him to direct these choices. Everything I do should have a God-centered basis. I need to begin all of my actions with a deep sense of gratitude to God for his abundant love and blessings. Then, I need to attentively remember how I use the gifts and resources that He gives me. E.g. the amount of water I use daily- this is a gift from God and I should use it in a way to not squander this precious commodity. When I go to purchase something, I need to stop and ask myself, “Is this really something I need? Is this the best way to use my money? Does this conform with how I am called to live my life following Christ?”
I know that what really matters to God is that I have faith in His love and trust that He will provide all that I need. In His provision for my needs, He calls me to be generous just as He is and share what I have with others. Being rich is having the ability to be open to God’s grace and blessings, be grateful for all that He provides and then sharing what you have with others. As a disciple I am called to imitate Christ and His life. Jesus lived a life always open to the Father’s love, and He was grateful for all that He received. He shared all that He had, including His life, as His response to the Father’s love for Him. Of all of the people who have ever lived on this earth, Jesus epitomizes what it means to be rich in what matters to God, since He lived His life completely for others and thereby gave His Father glory. I do not think that God wants us to be discouraged or overwhelmed with how we make decisions about our life and our possessions. Jesus reminds us that if we begin to practice becoming aware of God and our decisions in the small details of our lives- how we use our time, money, possessions, then we will grow rich in what really matters- using all that we have and all that we do to give God glory.
"Heavenly Father, you give us so many blessings and we are grateful to You. Your Son, Jesus shows us how we are called to use what we have to serve and share with others. May the Spirit that you give us provide the understanding to know how we can best use all that we have, so in our giving we may share Your love with others and give You all the glory. We pray this through Christ our LORD. AMEN."
- Marylynn Herchline