Luke 11:1-13 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time July 24, 2022 … and when he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray”
July 23, 2022
Luke 12:32-48 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time August 6, 2022 Blessed are those servants whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival.
August 6, 2022
18th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Ecclessiastes 1:2, 2:21-23
Collosians 3:1-5
Luke 12:13-21
A. Text/Context
• The gospel begins with a request to Jesus from someone in the crowd to help him settle with the sharing of inheritance
• Apparently conflicts arising from inheritance is already common during the time of Jesus and even very common even at the present time
• Matters concerning inheritance are bitterly fought whether it’s big or small
• Neighbors living in a family compound would fight each other because of boundaries in their houses
• We hear of children of landed families fighting against each other because of frictions brought about by the division or distribution of properties or inheritance from their parents
• Disputes concerning inheritance never seem to end siblings against siblings, parents against children, even nation against nation
• In the Mediterranean culture where this gospel is set upon, an inheritance is frowned upon. A person who is rich is considered a thief
• They believed in a spiritual philosophy that what God has given is enough for everyone and what is in excess is stolen
• Anyway in fairness to the man who asked help from Jesus he did not actually received an answer but the answer is a parable about the rich man who got all the money in preparation for his future
• And so the parable of the fool rich man followed. The man has produced a bountiful harvest but he doesn’t know where to put them and planned to construct a big storage for the grains
• So he can just rest eat drink and be merry but God said to him: this night your life will be taken from you for all the things you prepared where shall they belong?
• In the first reading, Ecclesiastes calls it as vanity, where even at night the mind cannot rest
• In other words, storing up wealth will not be of much use as a form of security because God can take our life anytime
• In the end Jesus gives the final warning the same fate will happen to all those who store treasures for themselves alone selfishly
• And that they are not worthy in the eyes of God because they have not stored up things that matters to God it is more important to them to store treasures of the world rather than the treasures of heaven
• The 2nd reading in Collosians also reminded us to think of what is above and not what is on earth
B. Human Situation
• In our life as Christians what are the practical applications that we can derive from the lessons of the gospel today?
• First of all, let us make it clear that money is not evil in itself nor it is bad to prepare financially for the future for our security
• Future financial security is part of a good plan in life but we must always be cautious that along the process of doing we do not become a slave or becoming obsessed to it
• Meaning, if we become rich and secured later on, or if we are financially stable right now, we must not use it for our own self- aggrandizement or to exploit others or to trample the rights of others
• You see, a lot of people more often than not have forgotten charity because they have already been enslaved by money
• Because if you have money, you have power. If you have power you can exploit others. Money and power go together
• It is now very clear that money becomes evil if we use it to exploit others
• The consequence of the story in the parable is that the man who has a rich harvest will store up grains for the lean season
• When famine comes, what will he do? He will open the barns and sell the grains at an exorbitant price
• And people will have no choice except to pay the expensive grain in order to survive adding more money to his wealth while making others more poor
• This is hoarding. Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia is now hoarding gas supply of Europe by 80% that is why gasoline today is very expensive because we are affected because of international trade and commerce.
• These are the people who hoard stocks and sell them when the supply is very tight
• These are loan sharks who levy high interests because there is very little money in circulation
C. Challenge
• The challenge for us today is that even in the process of building up our financial security for the future, we will still continue to assist others according to our capacity
• For example you have a net income in your sari-sari store of 300 per day. You cannot afford to help others and donate 350 unless you can really afford
• The essence is that if we are rich then we also have a big obligation to help those who are in need
• If we are poor, God will not demand us to give more
• And those who received help, they must be thankful to God
• And also you should know what are the boundaries of giving help, be sure that you do not breed a culture of dependency so that others will no longer work or help themselves
• Kung gipautang ka mangita kag paagi nga mabayran, kay ngano?
• Ang imong giutangan dunay say mga obligasyon. Wala ka makahatag ug kalipay kon imo nang gikalimtan ang pagbayad
• Kay kon natabangan man gud nimo ang nanginahanglan magpasalamat man siya sa Ginoo, moluhod sa Ginoo tungod nimo. Magkabaga ang grasya kon dunay mga tawong mag-ampo sa imo tunod sa imong kaayo
• This is actually the theology of prosperity. When we give to others God will return it to you more than what you expect
• The lessons of today’s gospel is very practical in our lives as Christians
• We are reminded that in the process of storing up wealth or building financial security in the future, we have to do it with our hands that are clean
• We are also reminded that if we store up money for ourselves in the future we must not forget charity
• Because charity will be our vehicle towards prosperity, the real treasure in heaven
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