First reading Ephesians 2:1-10
Sinners are saved in Christ Jesus
You were dead through the crimes and the sins in which you used to live when you were following the way of this world, obeying the ruler who governs the air, the spirit who is at work in the rebellious. We all were among them too in the past, living sensual lives, ruled entirely by our own physical desires and our own ideas; so that by nature we were as much under God’s anger as the rest of the world. But God loved us with so much love that he was generous with his mercy: when we were dead through our sins, he brought us to life with Christ – it is through grace that you have been saved – and raised us up with him and gave us a place with him in heaven, in Christ Jesus.
This was to show for all ages to come, through his goodness towards us in Christ Jesus, how infinitely rich he is in grace. Because it is by grace that you have been saved, through faith; not by anything of your own, but by a gift from God; not by anything that you have done, so that nobody can claim the credit. We are God’s work of art, created in Christ Jesus to live the good life as from the beginning he had meant us to live it.
Responsorial Psalm 99(100):2-5
The Lord made us, we belong to him.
Sing joyfully to the Lord all you lands;
serve the Lord with gladness;
come before him with joyful song.
The Lord made us, we belong to him.
Know that the Lord is God;
he made us, his we are;
his people, the flock he tends.
The Lord made us, we belong to him.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
his courts with praise.
The Lord made us, we belong to him.
Give thanks to him; bless his name, for he is good:
the Lord, whose kindness endures forever,
and his faithfulness, to all generations.
The Lord made us, we belong to him.
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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Planning with God
“Master, tell my brother to give me a share of our inheritance.” We can see that during Jesus’ time, as well as now, inheritance has been and continues to be a problem for siblings. In the gospel, Jesus did not give a solution to the man. Instead, He used a parable to teach His listeners a lesson on greed. The parable is about a man who became wealthy due to a successful harvest. Jesus called him a “fool!” because he planned to secure his life with wealth, relying on riches but not on God. “Greed is a form of idolatry’ (Cf. Col 3:5). Therefore, a fool is a person who replaces God for his own possessions.
We all face the danger of accumulating more than we need and feeling insecure about having enough for our old age. However, Jesus invites us to a different path, one of trust and security in God’s hands. No matter how much wealth we amass, we cannot buy a single day. God the Father knows what we need and cares for us, providing a comforting contrast to the insecurity of wealth.
Reflective question:
Is God the treasure of my life where I feel secure or my own wealth?
Acknowledgment: Reflections are based on “Prayer for Living: The Word of God for Daily Prayer Year B” by Sr Maria Jose FMVD.
