Readings for Sunday August 1st 2010

Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Summary of the Gospel from YM Central

Our Gospel passage begins with some ‘dude’ who has shown up wanting Jesus to take care of his problems. Just imagine the scene: Jesus is walking through the crowd, perhaps hundreds of people around him, and this person gets loud enough to draw all the attention to him and asks Jesus to get his brother in line. We don’t know the tone of this person’s voice when he asked Jesus the question. Perhaps he was being serious, and was really focused on getting his inheritance. Maybe he was poor and needed the money. Maybe he was already rich and wanted more. Perhaps he was serious but spoke to Jesus with a joking demeanor. Jesus seems to respond with humor as well, practically saying, ‘hey, take care of it yourself. It’s not my problem.’ But Jesus does not let the discussion end there. He uses this occasion to teach a very important point about earthly riches. No doubt this man was very concerned about his worldly condition. He wanted to be secure. While this is not wrong in and of itself, it could be if it is not properly ordered. Jesus takes time to teach us how to order our riches and possessions. Those of us who make money and earthly security our passion will eventually be wasting our time, for one day we will die. Many people spend their entire waking moments working on their net worth. They go to school to get a high paying job, they constantly monitor their bank accounts, and by their actions they show that financial gain is the most important thing they achieve. This is not the Christian vision of life. While it is important to handle our money wisely, provide for our families, and contribute to society with a good job, our real purpose in life is to get to heaven. Many people work and work as if money was their god. Jesus, the Living God, calls us to work for heaven, the treasure that will last forever. What makes it difficult is that God is not clearly visible to us, yet on earth, we have access to signs and symbols of His presence. Yet those signs and symbols, with the help of the Church, can be clearly seen. We know that everything in this world is passing; we know that one day we will die; we know that Jesus lived on this earth, died and was resurrected. Now we are invited to make a response this. Jesus invites us to make this response to Him 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Because of this response, our lives should look different than most people. Storing up riches in heaven will cause us to evaluate every decision we make and will challenge us to a healthy detachment of the things of this world. This detachment requires us to be brutally honest with ourselves. Am I too greedy? Can I do without the material things I enjoy? Would I ever let riches and material possessions get in the way of my love for Jesus? Let us ask God for the grace to abandon ourselves completely to Him, and ask Him for the strength to be courageous – so we can have the guts to get rid of anything that keeps us from Him.




Reading 1

Ecclesiastes 1:2; 2:21-23

1:2 Vanity of vanities, says Qoheleth, vanity of vanities! All things are vanity! 2:21 Here is one who has labored with wisdom and knowledge and skill, and yet to another who has not labored over it, he must leave property. This also is vanity and a great misfortune. 22 For what profit comes to man from all the toil and anxiety of heart with which he has labored under the sun? 23 All his days sorrow and grief are his occupation; even at night his mind is not at rest. This also is vanity.

Reading 2

Colossians 3:1-5, 9-11

1 Brothers and sisters: If you were raised with Christ, seek what is above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2 Think of what is above, not of what is on earth. 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ your life appears, then you too will appear with him in glory. 5 Put to death, then, the parts of you that are earthly: immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and the greed that is idolatry. 9 Stop lying to one another, since you have taken off the old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed, for knowledge, in the image of its creator. 11 Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all and in all.

Gospel

Luke 12:13-21

13 Someone in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, tell my brother to share the inheritance with me.” 14 He replied to him, “Friend, who appointed me as your judge and arbitrator?” 15 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.” 16 Then he told them a parable. “There was a rich man whose land produced a bountiful harvest. 17 He asked himself, ‘What shall I do, for I do not have space to store my harvest?’ 18 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 19 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!”’ 20 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?’ 21 Thus will it be for all who store up treasure for themselves but are not rich in what matters to God.”

Read Luke 12 13-21
• After Jesus’ response, how do you think the man who asked Jesus to settle his dispute with his brother felt?

• How would you describe the rich man in the parable?

• After dying, how would the local paper describe him in the obituaries?
*a tireless worker *foolish *a success story *enterprising

• God’s response to the rich man was so harsh because God is?

1. intolerant of self-indulgent people
2. Compassionate toward poor people
3. Down on rich people
4. jealous of other “gods”
• What is Jesus saying in this story?
1. People who try to be a financial success are motivated by greed.
2. It’s OK to be successful, but remember your highest priority.
3. To really prepare for the future look beyond finances.
4. When you think you have it made, think again.
5. You can’t take it with you
6. Life is short, so get all the gusto you can.
7. Material things provide the greatest test of our spiritual devotion.

Questions for Discussion:

1. Advertising is dedicated to making us believe the opposite of verse 15. What differences in lifestyle result from believing Jesus versus advertisements?
2. Playing the rich fool is so easy in today’s world. What are some things you need to remember today in order not to be foolish (things the rich man forgot)? are not rich in what matters to God.”

3. How do you think the person who questioned Jesus felt after Jesus’ parable? Describe.

4. What are the many ways society pressures us to pursue money over God? Describe.

5. How important is financial security in your life right now? How well do you think you are doing at storing up treasures in heaven, as opposed to treasures on earth? Describe.