Bible Study #5

BIBLE STUDY #5
EIGHTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
AUGUST 1, 2010

Gospel: Luke 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 is 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 all who store up treasure for themselves
but are not rich in what matters to God.”

The Gospel of the Lord

Reflection

Today’s gospel speaks about living a specific aspect of the Christian life, namely, our attitude towards material possessions and wealth. One thing to remember when reading the bible is that the gospels were written decades after Jesus death and resurrection. Each gospel was written in a time and place, for a certain audience, and to address issues confronting the community at large. It seems that Luke was addressing this issue because it was a problem in his community. People were fighting over inheritances as much then as they are now.

First of all, I want you to note what Jesus says, and what he doesn’t say. He says, “Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one’s life does not consist of possessions.”

Notice that he doesn’t say that possessions are bad. Possessions are not good or bad; they are neutral. People are good or bad, generous or greedy. Jesus never tells this man to give up his inheritance, just not to be greedy. In fact, in chapter 19 of Luke we hear the story of Zacchaeus the tax collector. He was fabulously wealthy and probably cheated a lot of people to obtain his wealth. In front of Jesus, he promised to give half his wealth away, and repay those he cheated 4 times over. Jesus was happy with that decision. He never asked Zacchaeus to give away all his money. If you take away half a billionaire’s money, he is still a billionaire. Zacchaeus was still wealthy after this, but he had a better handle on the use and (non) importance of wealth and material possessions.

I don’t ever remember anything in scripture or in church teaching that tells the general population to give up everything they have and live in poverty. That is a special calling reserved to those in religious communities who take a vow of poverty. The most the church has ever asked is for us to tithe, that is, donate 10% of our earnings to charity. What we need to think about is our generosity versus our greed – where do we stand on this?

Life does consist of possession, but not only of possessions, and they certainly shouldn’t be on the top of the ladder of importance. We all want financial security – a nice place to live, some money in the bank, a secure retirement, an ability to provide for our children, and a good job. Somehow, though, focusing on the accumulation and retention of wealth can easily become the most important thing in our lives. Greed can be like an addiction – once we have a little wealth, it can over whelm us so that no matter what we have, it isn’t enough. Why do rich people work? The more we have, the more we want. It becomes like an alcohol addiction - the more we have, the more we need to satisfy us craving.

One of my favorite TV shows is called “Pawn Stars” and is on the History Channel. The owner of the pawnshop is always talking about making money, profit margins, and the like. He wants to make as much of a profit on everything as he can, and that surrounds everything he does. Several times I’ve heard him say how much he loves making money. I’d like to write him to inform him of the error of his ways. I want to write to him and say that he is missing out on life if his sole pursuit is money. I want to tell him that life is more than what you own, it is about who you are. Our greed makes our things own us; we become a slave to them because that is the focus of our lives. What a sad way to live. He is going to accumulate all this wealth, and one day he will die. What is he going to say to God when God asks him how he lived his life? How will he respond when God shows him the opportunities he missed to do some good with his wealth? How will he feel when he realizes the shallowness and wastefulness of his life? I strongly believe that God gives some people the ability and the proper circumstances in which to make a lot of money so they have the ability and also the responsibility to aid those in need.

I use the following illustration in my wedding homily: a young man and a young women met, dated, fell in love, and decided to get married. They went through all the usual wedding preparations, and were glad when that great day finally arrived, and more than excited. They had a wonderful ceremony, and enjoyable reception, and a much needed rest on their honeymoon. After their return home, they were opening up their wedding presents, and they saved the gift from the bride’s parents until the end. (I usually stop here and tell the bride’s parents that I don’t want to put any pressure on them, it is just a story). The box was big, heavy, and beautifully wrapped. They didn’t know what it could be, and they were very surprised when they opened it. Inside, was a big beautiful bible! It was fancy, with a highly decorative cover, gold liked pages, and a family section to write in their genealogy. They appreciated the gift and placed it on the mantle over their living room fireplace.

About 10 years go by, and the not so new bride decided to ask her mother why they bought them a bible for a wedding present. The mother said for 2 reasons: 1) your father and I are people of faith, and we wanted you and your husband to be people of faith; and 2) if you ever bothered to open the bible, inside, you would have found a big, fat, check! Shall we pause while you go check your bibles?

I tell the bride and groom that material things are important, but as time goes by, and life brings you kids, bills, jobs, and the like, it is easy to forget why you marry in the first place – because you love one another. And love, as we all know, is an action; it’s how we treat one another. The more we do loving things for each other, the more we love one another, and that bond begun at marriage becomes so strong that no one or no thing can ever break that bond. When we do loving things for each other we feel the emotional bonds of love that is like a reward for being good to one another.

Keeping love first in our lives keeps everything in perspective and allows us not to put the accumulation and retention of wealth first. Keeping love first keeps us from being greedy, except for the things that matter – the love of God and of each other.

What is implied here is our relationship to God and the promise of eternal life. When we die and go to meet God, what do we say when he asks us how we loved one another? The implication is that one cannot be a person of faith and be greedy at the same time. God’s grace and peace come to us when we are generous, not greedy. If we find God distant, prayer dry and uninspiring, and are flagging in our faith, it may be because we are greedy. This sin of greed blocks the channels of God’s grace in our lives and separates us from the love of God. On the other hand, there is hardly anything more inspiring, more faith building, than being generous. If you want to find God, do something for someone.

From the collected sermons of King Duncan, www.Sermons.com,

“The Dollars Are in the Way”

”Henry Ford once asked an associate about his life goals. The man
replied that his goal was to make a million dollars. A few days later
Ford gave the man a pair of glasses made out of two silver dollars. He
told the man to put them on and asked what he could see. "Nothing,"
the man said. "The dollars are in the way." Ford told him that he
wanted to teach him a lesson: If his only goal was dollars, he would
miss a host of greater opportunities. He should invest himself in
serving others, not simply in making money.

That's a great secret of life that far too few people discover. Money
is important. No question about that. But money is only a means by
which we reach higher goals. Service to others. Obedience to God. God
comes to the rich man and says, "You fool! This very night your life
will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared
for yourself?" The answer was clear. The rich man had put his trust
in things. Now he was leaving these things behind.”

I pray that we all watch out for greed, and work for things that never perish.

Fr. Phil

Bible Study #4

BIBLE STUDY #4

SEVENTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

JULY 25, 2010

Gospel – Luke 11: 1-13

Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he had finished,
one of his disciples said to him,
"Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples."
He said to them, "When you pray, say:
Father, hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come.
Give us each day our daily bread
and forgive us our sins
for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us,
and do not subject us to the final test."

And he said to them, "Suppose one of you has a friend
to whom he goes at midnight and says,
'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread,
for a friend of mine has arrived at my house from a journey
and I have nothing to offer him,'
and he says in reply from within,
'Do not bother me; the door has already been locked
and my children and I are already in bed.
I cannot get up to give you anything.'
I tell you,
if he does not get up to give the visitor the loaves
because of their friendship,
he will get up to give him whatever he needs
because of his persistence.

"And I tell you, ask and you will receive;
seek and you will find;
knock and the door will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks, receives;
and the one who seeks, finds;
and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
What father among you would hand his son a snake
when he asks for a fish?
Or hand him a scorpion when he asks for an egg?
If you then, who are wicked,
know how to give good gifts to your children,
how much more will the Father in heaven
give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?"

The Gospel of the Lord.

Reflection

The three paragraphs above in Luke’s Gospel are all about prayer. The first paragraph is the Lord’s Prayer, or the Our Father; the second paragraph is about persistence in prayer; and the third paragraph is about the effectiveness of prayer. There is a lot of information here, and a mistake a preacher can make is to try to cover every point of the gospel in a homily. The homily then becomes too long and sometimes confusing. A preacher needs to pick a theme from the gospel and stick with that one idea.

The first theme from today’s gospel is the Lord’s Prayer. Many of John’s disciples had gone over to Jesus, as well as other Jews and many Gentiles. As God’s Son, Jesus has a direct, personal and deep relationship with the Father. They see Jesus at prayer, and want to have that kind of connection with the Father, also. Asking Jesus how to pray is asking him for this connection to the Father.

We can also call God our Father, just like Jesus does, because we are incorporated into the body of Christ through our baptism, and have that connection to the Father through the Son. Jesus bridges the gap between us and the Father through his death and resurrection. As church, whose vocation it is to continue Jesus mission and ministry, we also bridge the gap between God and other people.

We also participate in Jesus deep and personal relationship with the Father through our own participation in prayer like the Our Father and through sacraments. Our relationship with the Father isn’t nearly as close as Jesus relationship is, but we mirror that relationship because the Father can and should be an intimate part of our lives. Just as Jesus was strengthened in his own vocation in life by the grace of the Father, so are we.

When we say ‘hallowed be thy name’, we are acknowledging God’s holiness, far and above over any holiness we may possess, which is only by the grace of God anyway. We acknowledge God’s superiority, and our need to worship him, and let him direct, guide, and strengthen our lives. Since God is holy, we need to listen to what he says and let that be our guiding light.

When we say ‘your (thy) kingdom come’ (I can’t get used to saying your rather than thy; I was taught to say thy, and it sounds funny if I don’t), we are putting the Kingdom of God over any earthly kingdom. We are committing ourselves to the building up of God’s Kingdom, over and above building any earthly kingdom. God told us in the book of Genesis to subdue the earth, but not without listening to how God would want the earth subdued. In other words, God’s dominion should be reflected in human life and society.

When we say, ‘give us this day our daily bread’, we are referring to the Eucharist, the bread of life and the cup of eternal blessing. We are praying that this meal will help overcome differences between people, and help to establish the Kingdom. Since we can’t have Eucharist without priests, this prayer is also a prayer for vocations, that God inspire young men to the priesthood, so we can have the eternal bread that guides us on our way to the kingdom.

This phrase says daily bread; it isn’t praying for a stockpile of bread, or to get a bakery, but what we need to live every day. Life isn’t about amassing and preserving wealth. We are asking God for what we need, and if we are lucky to have more than we need, it is incumbent upon us to share with those in need.

Forgiveness is one of the most important concepts in scripture. It is mentioned over 100 times in the Old Testament and over 100 times in the New Testament. In this prayer, we ask God to ‘forgive us our sins’. We are acknowledging the obvious, that we are sinners and need God’s forgiveness. Unforgiven sin not only prevents us from eternal life, it also blocks the channels of God’s grace in this life. When someone tells me that God seems distant to them, I ask them when was the last time they went to confession. Invariably, it has been awhile.

In this prayer, we are also telling God to forgive us to the extent that we forgive others. This is quite an incentive to forgive others, I would say. God forgives us just because we ask. His Son has paid the price for our sins, and freely offers forgiveness to all. Given this great gift, how can we fail to forgive others?

When we pray ‘do not subject us to the final test,’ we are asking that we might not succumb to temptation. We know that, at times, we will, but we pray that it be minimized. Sin becomes a habit. The more we sin, the easier it is to sin, and we can easily lose our way. It is only with God’s strength that we can resist the urge to sin. And it is only God’s forgiveness that allows us real freedom.

The second theme in the Gospel is in the second paragraph and talks about persistence in prayer. Is it saying to nag God? Is it saying that if we persist in our asking, God will grant what we want? Do we give God our ‘to-do’ list, expecting quick results if we are to continue to believe in him?

God doesn’t need our prayers or worship. We pray and worship because we need it. We relate to God as we would to other people. We need to spend time, getting to know each other, and we develop a bond between each other. When we persist, then this bond becomes unbreakable, such as in a good marriage.

Our relationship with God works like this. The more we pray, the more we get to know God, grow in his grace, and become holy. The closer we get to God, the more God inspires us to be good disciples, and then our prayer turns from what we want, to what God wants for us. That’s when we have turned an important corner – when we are more concerned about serving God and others than serving ourselves.

This kind of prayer also makes us put things in perspective: regardless of what happens to us in life, that God has won; what pain we have, what are struggles are, God has won. The final word is that God has won. If we are faithful to God, He will be faithful to us. That is the only thing that is important in life; everything else pales in comparison.

The third theme is in last paragraph and talks about the rewards of prayer. It sounds kind of greedy to expect a reward, but that is just human nature. Not only does God promise us a reward when we are faithful, this reward is our motivation to continue on the Christian journey. If our only reward was the promise of eternal life sometime in the future, I’m afraid most of us would fall by the wayside.

The reward we get for a faithful life is the peace and happiness that only comes from God. I’ve often said that scripture is God’s owner’s manual. If we want to know the best way to live, we need only look in the bible. Gods knows us much better than we know ourselves, and he tells us about ourselves and how we are to live. God doesn’t always give us what we want, but he’ll give us what we need. ‘No’ is a perfectly good response from God. Our problem is that when a door is closed to us, we stare at the closed door and fail to see the open door God is providing for us.

The rewards for living a good life are God’s peace and happiness in this life, and eternal life in the next. What could be better than that?

I hope that this reflection helps you to prepare for Sunday. God bless all of you, and I’ll see you in church.

Fr. Phil