First reading Romans 4:20-25
We must believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead
Since God had made him a promise, Abraham refused either to deny it or even to doubt it, but drew strength from faith and gave glory to God, convinced that God had power to do what he had promised. This is the faith that was ‘considered as justifying him.’ Scripture however does not refer only to him but to us as well when it says that his faith was thus ‘considered’; our faith too will be ‘considered’ if we believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, Jesus who was put to death for our sins and raised to life to justify us.
Responsorial Psalm Luke 1:69-75
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel! He has visited his people.
He has raised up for us a mighty saviour
in the house of David his servant,
as he promised by the lips of holy men,
those who were his prophets from of old.
A saviour who would free us from our foes,
from the hands of all who hate us.
So his love for our fathers is fulfilled
and his holy covenant remembered.
He swore to Abraham our father
to grant us that free from fear,
and saved from the hands of our foes,
we might serve him in holiness and justice
all the days of our life in his presence.
Gospel Luke 12:13-21
Fool! This very night your soul will be demanded of you
A man in the crowd said to Jesus, ‘Master, tell my brother to give me a share of our inheritance.’ ‘My friend,’ he replied, ‘who appointed me your judge, or the arbitrator of your claims?’ Then he said to them, ‘Watch, and be on your guard against avarice of any kind, for a man’s life is not made secure by what he owns, even when he has more than he needs.’
Then he told them a parable: ‘There was once a rich man who, having had a good harvest from his land, thought to himself, “What am I to do? I have not enough room to store my crops.” Then he said, “This is what I will do: I will pull down my barns and build bigger ones, and store all my grain and my goods in them, and I will say to my soul: My soul, you have plenty of good things laid by for many years to come; take things easy, eat, drink, have a good time.” But God said to him, “Fool! This very night the demand will be made for your soul; and this hoard of yours, whose will it be then?” So it is when a man stores up treasure for himself in place of making himself rich in the sight of God.’
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To share, not hoard
In today’s gospel, a man from the crowd asked Jesus to settle a family dispute over inheritance. Instead, He used this situation as an opportunity to teach the crowd about the dangers of hoarding wealth. He told a parable about a rich man who, instead of being grateful to God for his good fortune and sharing with those who were less privileged, focused his time and energy on building bigger barns to store his excess crops. He believed that by accumulating more wealth, he would be able to enjoy life. However, God addressed him, saying, “Fool! This very night, the demand will be made for your soul; and this hoard of yours, whose will it be then?” The man’s sudden death rendered his wealth worthless to him, illustrating the uselessness of his plans.
Jesus calls us to strive to be rich in God’s sight by generously sharing everything we have with those in need. We are merely stewards of all that we possess, including our time and talents. Today, let us open our eyes to the needs of others around us and share what we have with them.
Reflective question:
How can I be rich in God’s sight?
Acknowledgment: Reflections are based on “Prayer for Living: The Word of God for Daily Prayer Year C” by Sr Maria Jose FMVD.
