THE WORD
Eph 2,1-10 / Lk 12,13-21
Someone in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, tell my brother to share the inheritance with me.” He replied to him, “Friend, who appointed me as your judge and arbitrator?” 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.”
Then he told them a parable. “There was a rich man whose land produced a bountiful harvest. He asked himself, ‘What shall I do, for I do not have space to store my harvest?’ And he said, ‘This what I shall do: I shall tear down my barns and build larger ones. There I shall store all my grain and other goods 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!’ 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?’
Thus will it be for the one who stores up treasure for himself but is not rich in what matters to God.”
IN OTHER WORDS
When we die, we cannot bring along with us anything that we own. That is why Jesus challenges us to focus on things that really matter. If we were going to die next week, what would we need to do so that our last day on earth would become worthwhile? I threw this question to a group of professionals at their Lenten recollection.
Their first answer was forgiveness – asking and giving forgiveness especially to those whom they had hurt and had hurt them. It feels ethereal realizing that before we die we can resolve our conflicts with people whom we have not talked with for years. The heart of Christianity, the very core of Jesus’ teaching is to forgive and be forgiven. Secondly, they mentioned the desire to spend special and quality time with their family. Most of today’s working parents are preoccupied with their jobs, distorting, in a way, emotional support for their children. The desire to be with our family gives as an assurance that whatever happens, we have our family to lean on. Lastly, they said they wanted to be happy and enjoy life to the fullest. Some people may have forgotten to live and enjoy life because of too much work. They are so preoccupied with family and workplace problems that they forget living life to the fullest. We are challenged to reevaluate our priorities in life because we only live once.
These were sentiments of people who realized that they were not in control of everything. In today’s Gospel, Jesus reminds us to focus on things that really matter. We only live once. We should be grateful for all our blessings and make the most out of them.
- Fr. Roger Solis, SVD | HNU, Bohol
An annual project of Logos Publications, The WORD in Other Words Bible Diary contains daily scripture readings and reflections written by priest, brothers, and sisters of the three congregations founded by St. Arnold Janssen (the SVD, SSpS, and SSpSAP). It hopes to serve as a daily companion to readers who continually seek the correlation of the Word of God and human experience. The Word in other words 2016
