Readings: Ecclesiastes 1:2; 2:21‑23
Colossians 3:1‑5,9‑11 Luke 12:13‑21
Today's readings present a shocking challenge to the very foundation of our capitalist society which values a person simply on the basis of financial worth. As we are reminded of the folly of spending our lives in the accumulation of wealth, let us take to heart the refrain of our responsorial psalm, "If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts" (Ps 95).
Ecclesiastes, or Qoheleth, is a wisdom meditation on the "vanity of vanities," or complete emptiness, of all human striving which would fashion a meaning out of life apart from God. Perhaps the ultimate example of such vanity is the man who uses his all "wisdom and knowledge and skill" to acquire property which he must leave to another. Qoheleth even uses the language of business to remind us of the futility of such a life. "For what profit comes to a man from all the toil and anxiety of heart with which he has labored under the sun?" When we add up the ledger sheet, we discover that he has gained nothing but days filled with "sorrow and grief" and nights when "his mind is not at rest." Qoheleth appropriately concludes, "This also is vanity."
In contrast to the futility of Qoheleth's meditations, the Epistle offers a hopeful and transcendent vision of life based on belief in the resurrected Christ. Paul is exhorting the Colossians to live out the consequences of their baptism. "Since," in baptism they "have been raised up in company with Christ," they are now to set their hearts "on what pertains to the higher realms . . . rather than on the things of earth." Their ultimate destiny is to "appear" with Christ "in glory." In the meantime, baptism mandates that they "put to death" the earthly life of "fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desires, covetousness . . ." Their new life is to "be formed anew in the image of the Creator." In the new creation wrought by the resurrected Christ all human categories of status and division have been eliminated. "There is no Greek or Jew here, circumcised or uncircumcised, foreigner, Scythian, slave, or freeman. Rather Christ is everything in all of you."
The Gospel returns to the favorite Lukan theme of the vanity of trying to find security through the accumulation of material possessions. Jesus is asked by someone in the crowd to act as an arbiter in a property dispute. He rejects such a role and instead proceeds to warn the crowd of the danger of greed through the parable of the rich fool. The insidious character of wealth is best illustrated by the rich man's soliloquy. After he has a particularly abundant harvest, he thinks that he has a plan to provide lasting security and the license to pursue a life of luxury. He says to himself,
‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my harvest.
I know . . . I will pull down my grain bins and build
larger ones. All my grain and my goods will go there.
Then I will say to myself: You have blessings in reserve
for years to come. Relax! Eat heartily, drink well.
Enjoy yourself.’
In contrast to the rich fool's carefully crafted plans, God says: “You fool! This very night your life shall be required of you. To whom will all this piled‑up wealth of yours go?”
In the next section of Luke Jesus gives his disciples advice on the proper use of their material wealth.
"Sell what you have and give alms. Get purses for
yourselves that do not wear out, never‑failing
treasure with the Lord which no thief comes near
nor any moth destroys. Wherever your treasure lies,
there your heart will be." (Lk 12:33‑34)
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