Homily for 18th Sunday in Ordinary time

Ecc 1:2; 2:21-23; Col 3:1-5, 9-11; Lk 12:13-21

We all have lots of stuff. We have things we have purchased that we use all the time and need replacement, we have things we bought that we thought we would use but used it once and there it sits. We have things that were given to us as family heirlooms, and we have things that we would like to become family heirlooms. All this stuff keeps us occupied with things of this world.

When we watch TV all we see are ads for us to buy more stuff. That new car that will make life easier, the new cereal that is all the rage, those products that are advertised that we would prefer not to hear about in a public forum. There are even ads for drugs that may help us with whatever we may be suffering from.

All of this stuff and we still want more, does any of this remind you of the story we hear in today’s Gospel? The story of the rich man, that instead of helping others with all his excess grain decides he needs to build bigger barns to store it rather than easing the burden of those less fortunate. Jesus has a name for him, he calls him a Fool. He believes he will live long enough to enjoy the fruits of excess he has accumulated, yet God has decided that this night that he has stored it all away for himself, he will pass away never getting the chance to enjoy it.

We all may know a person or two that always has the latest and greatest thing. They need to be the first with the new technology, the new car, the new house, or whatever else they seem to think will make them happy. There is one thing we need to remember though, and I see it on a daily basis, when we leave this world, none of that stuff matters. It doesn’t matter at the funeral home or the cemetery and it certainly does not matter to the family left behind.

As we hear in the first reading; vanity of vanities!  All things are vanity!  All of the things we obtain on this earth are indeed vanity. We go after more and more thinking more stuff will make us happy. We see where that has gotten the world. When we move toward believing in things and wanting just those material goods that we think will make us better, we move away from God and begin to worship at the altar of consumerism.

While seeking things to help us live more comfortably is not a bad thing, if can lead us down a path to distance ourselves from what we are called to be. We are called to be the people who show compassion and empathy to those around us. We are called to help those in need. The church has given us a great way to do this with the Corporal and Spiritual works of mercy. While we may not, on a daily basis, be able to visit the imprisoned, or instruct the ignorant. We can on a daily basis pray for the living and the dead and forgive those who have hurt us.

This is what Saint Paul is calling us to do when he says;

If you were raised with Christ, seek what is above,
where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.
Think of what is above, not of what is on earth.

When we do this we begin to lead a life that is more centered on Christ and less on the material world. These things will allow us to store things up, not for this life, but for the next. This is the goal for all Christians, get to heaven. While we agree God’s mercy, forgiveness and compassion are freely given, there are some who believe that all they need to do is say they take Christ as their Lord and Savior and they have punched their ticker to heaven. This seemingly with some leads to them mistakenly believing that they are now free to live their life their way. We often hear such folks ask us if we are saved. MY response to that is I’m working on it.

The more we participate in the Corporal and Spiritual works of Mercy, the more we store things up in heaven, which is where we should want most of our “stuff” Accomplishing these tasks and then being able to show the joy that comes from doing so will lead us to a place where we are in communion with God and His church.

Jesus taught us that God’ mercy is freely given, he has also taught us that we need to do these works of mercy to remain in communion with God. If we choose to ignore this calling we are essentially turning our back on God, in order to live a life based on our beliefs not on Christ’s teaching. He reminds us of this in the story today about the foolish rich man. He also reminds us when he tells the story of separating the sheep and the goats. The sheep assisted those in need and the goats ignored those in need. If you read this passage you can see where some of the works of mercy are founded on.

Which would we rather be, the foolish rich man, or the sheep? Me personally I would like to be counted among the sheep, though I have made many mistakes and acted more like the foolish man we hear about today.