In the summertime when I go to my sister\u2019s house, my nephews and niece love to blow bubbles outdoors.\u00a0 The little one especially, she gets so excited to see them.\u00a0 They run after them to pop them, and they love the really big ones.\u00a0 There is so much excitement for something as simple as a bubble which is made of water and soap; so much excitement for something that lasts for just a few seconds.<\/p>\n
\u201cVanity of vanities, says Qoheleth, vanity of vanities! \u00a0All things are vanity!\u201d\u00a0 These are the words of an old, wise man, who in his old age, has learned a valuable lesson.\u00a0 He has learned that after much work and toil, his life will come to an end, and he will not take any of his material possessions with him \u2013 all that he has worked for will be inherited by, he says, \u201canother who has not labored over it.\u201d\u00a0 Qoheleth has come to acknowledge that everything in this world is passing away.\u00a0 Everything is like a bubble; it doesn\u2019t last forever.<\/p>\n
A line of Psalm 90 has always caught my attention, it says, \u201clife is like a flower that blooms in the morning and withers at night.\u201d\u00a0 Life is quick \u2013 frail.<\/p>\n
How do we respond to this reality? \u00a0The fact we leave this world in the same way we arrived into it: naked and with absolutely nothing.<\/p>\n
There is a family squabble going on in the Gospel passage today: a brother demands his part of the inheritance from his brother.\u00a0 Jesus responds, \u201ctake care to guard against all greed.\u00a0 For though one may be rich, one\u2019s life does not consist of possessions.\u201d<\/p>\n
The value of my life does not depend on what I have, nor does it depend on what I achieve.\u00a0 My life has value because I have been created by God.\u00a0 Why do we sometimes chase after possessions, spending much precious time and energy, if ultimately, there are greater things?<\/p>\n
So often we become overly preoccupied with what we wear or how we look.\u00a0 We fear that we will be judged by others: we worry about what car we drive, sometimes we may embellish the truth to impress others so they think more of us, be it family or at work, other times we end up spending money we do not have on things we do not need, simply because we want to impress others or to fill a need for \u201cmore.\u201d<\/p>\n
When it comes to the material world, the Gospel teaches us detachment<\/em>: to enjoy the things of the world, but to realize that these will eventually leave us wanting for more because they ultimately do not satisfy. \u00a0They do not quench our thirst for more and more.\u00a0 We can enjoy pleasure, power and money to the extent that we do not sin, but recognize that these will pass away.\u00a0 We use them, appreciate them, and then let them go, without building our identity or value based on them.<\/p>\n The man in the parable built barns that were bigger and bigger.\u00a0 Likewise, don\u2019t we build bigger and bigger barns?\u00a0 Not just for our stuff, but also whenever we yearn for recognition, praise, and honor.\u00a0We always want more.\u00a0 Greed is not just about money \u2013 it\u2019s about wanting more of everything.\u00a0 We can get caught in an addictive pattern when we cling to the goods of the world, they are never enough!<\/p>\n \u201cIf only I achieve this, then I\u2019ll be happy.\u00a0 If only I have that, then I\u2019ll be happy.\u201d<\/p>\n The barns get bigger and bigger, and we fill them up.\u00a0 The more we cling to the goods of the world, the more we become imprisoned to them because we want more.<\/p>\n \u201cYou fool!\u201d God says to the man in the parable.\u00a0 Your life will end today.\u00a0 Will God ask what you kept in those barns?\u00a0 Or will he ask how you gave of yourself to others? \u00a0How you loved and sacrificed for the sake of others? \u00a0This is the paradox of our faith: we take with us only the things we give away.<\/p>\n Bishop Robert Barron proudly quotes Cardinal George of Chicago who said, \u201cThe only thing you take with you into the life to come, is what you\u2019ve given away on earth.\u201d<\/p>\n We will take with us the quality and quantity of the love we have given away. \u00a0Not our barns.<\/p>\n Picture from Public Domain<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In the summertime when I go to my sister\u2019s house, my nephews and niece love to blow bubbles outdoors.\u00a0 The little one especially, she gets so excited to see them.\u00a0 They run after them to pop them, and they love the really big ones.\u00a0 There is so much excitement for something as simple as a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2533,"featured_media":6685,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[81],"tags":[1999,30,2005,320,2008,2011,2014,2002],"class_list":["post-6682","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-homily","tag-bigger-barns","tag-catholic","tag-greed","tag-homily","tag-inheritance","tag-pride","tag-qoheleth","tag-vanity"],"yoast_head":"\n