One’s Life Does Not Consist of Possessions.”

Today's Mass Readings

Today’s gospel reading and the message contained therein is very much a part of our furniture. In other words, we are used to hearing thiis gospel proclaimed in Church, and we know that as Christians we are not supposed to be attached to our possessions . And yet, though we know this reading, and see why God calls the man a “fool,” we nonetheless often live our lives as though we wanted just to rest, eat, drink, and be merry. Especially in the United States where our country is so richly blessed with material resources, and so constantly bombarded by advertisements, we are susceptible to this message of materialism and consumerism. Rest, eat, drink and be merry! the commercials and billboards seem to say. One of the beauties of our tradition is the cyclical nature of these gospel readings. It is easy to become complacent, but we may not always realize when this has happened to us. Hence this and other gospel readings appear and reappear constantly throughout our lives as Christians. Each time we encounter them, we must let their messages challenge us anew. As today’s psalm, taken from the gospel of Luke notes, our God has come to us to set us free, dying for our transgressions and being raised for our justification (as Paul notes in today’s passage from Romans).

Jesus has come to us and we shall return to God after our death for our eternal life. By striving to keep this end in mind, we might better prepare ourselves for that heavenly life, thinking less of the things of this world – not because those things are unimportant, but because they are not of ultimate importance in this larger scheme of our life. May we let these readings challenge us today, to re-evaluate our lives and to turn our eyes towards the rewards of heaven, rather than the passing enjoyments of earthly life.