Sunday Homily 8-1-10, 18th Ordinary Time
Readings: Ecclesiastes 1, 2; 2, 21-23; Psalm 90, If Today You hear his Voice, Harden not your Hearts; Colossians, 3, 1-11; Luke 12, 13-21
Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time – Intro to
Our first reading is from the Book of Ecclesiastes, which makes up some of the Wisdom literature. The book is concerned with the purpose and value of human life. While admitting the existence of a divine plan, it considers such a plan to be hidden from man, who seeks happiness without ever finding it here on earth.
The authorship has been attributed to Solomon, but that was just to get the book some credence. It was written long after Solomon, around 250-150 BCE. One could easily conclude that the book is rather pessimistic, as in its opening which we read today, “vanity of vanities, all is vanity”, and it concludes in chapter 12 with the following: “The last word, when all is heard: “Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is man's all; because God will bring to judgment every work, with all its hidden qualities, whether good or bad.”
This book is also the source of those well known lines from chapter 4: “There is an appointed time for everything, and a time for every affair under the heavens. A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to uproot the plant.”
Our second reading is the last for some time from Paul’s Letter to the Colossians.
The Gospel continues with Jesus’ journey up to
Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time – Homily
There are two topics, which I believe are related in today’s readings:
1. Where is God in your priorities?
2. What date is the anniversary of your death?
I believe that the topics are connected if you have faith. Because you are all here, I feel I am somewhat preaching to the choir, but maybe the question is still valid. How much of a priority is God in your life?
Let me start back with the second question, by telling a story about a job I used to have. I worked in the pathology dept of a local hospital and one day there was an autopsy of a fairly young person. What struck me that particular day was seeing the person’s clothes on the floor in the corner. They had put them on themselves that morning, never thinking that someone else would be removing them later in the day!!
We really don’t know when that anniversary date will be, which will be marked in other people’s calendars about us. There are a couple of lines in the responsorial psalm worth paying attention to:
“Teach us to number our days aright
that we may gain wisdom of heart”
Because if we do know how to number our days properly, then that anniversary date won’t be a problem. And this brings me to the first topic. If we have God high up in our priorities, then our lives will be lived in a very different way. One extreme example of someone for whom God was everything was Mother Theresa. Meeting her was an experience I will never forget. On the other extreme are folks who have loads of money. They have many worries about how it is invested, what next to purchase, all in the pursuit of the ever-illusive “happiness”.
If we live by the two great commandments, Love God and Love Neighbor, then I believe our lives will not suffer from the complaint in our first reading. All will not be vanity!
Picture 1: Rosemary's Blessing
Picture 2: Nikki with her grandmom, Mary, at offertory
Picture 3: Celeste
Picture 4: Altar Helpers