Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Today's Mass Readings

Jesus 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.” Jesus prefaces the parable of the rich man with this saying in response to the person who asked Jesus to, “Tell my brother to share the inheritance with me.” Even though the person in the crowd is rightly owed his portion of the inheritance, Jesus reminds him, and us, that the things of this world are not important, but rather, we must prepare for what truly matters in the sight of God. If we are blessed with riches, we should not fall into greed and build larger barns, but rather, share these riches with the rest of humanity. For the riches of this world will not last but will fade away when we die. This is why to have great anxiety of the heart and to toil for the things of this world for the sake of prestige, wealth or a gain in status is, “Vanity of vanities! All things are vanity!” For the things of this world are passing away and will not sustain us.

We must instead seek what is above, for this is the true treasure that will last and bring us into everlasting life and glory with Christ. We have died with Christ to the things of this world and through our baptism, we now are raised into the life and light of Christ. This is why we must, “put to death the parts of us that are earthly” because we “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.” Because we are being renewed in the image of God, we are no longer able to be satisfied with worldly wealth and gain—we have been transformed into something new. We are no longer worldly beings but now live in the Body of Christ, though not fully. This will happen when we pass from this world into the loving embrace of our Beloved Jesus. To prepare to enter into the loving presence of God we must listen to the words of Qoheleth in his epilogue, “The last word, when all is heard: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is man’s all; because God will bring to judgment every work, with all its hidden qualities, whether good or bad” (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14).

Reflection by Br. Placid Dale, OSB