by Fr. Tommy Lane
Those who have God and Our Lady in their lives have everything even if they have nothing, and those who do not have God and Our Lady in their lives have nothing even if they think they have everything!
We can see that in the book from which our first reading today is taken—the book of Ecclesiastes, or Qoheleth as it is also called. Qoheleth simply means “Preacher.” A well-known part of his book elsewhere (chapter 3) says there is a time for everything: there is a time to be born, a time to die, a time for tears, a time to laugh. Qoheleth could be seen as somewhat pessimistic because for him everything happens at a time that is fixed and decided. For that reason, Qoheleth finds life meaningless. Why? Because everyone must die. That is why he says repeatedly in the book, and as we heard today, “Vanity of vanities.” (Eccl/Qoh 1:2) He was struggling with the meaning of life because he lived a couple of centuries before Jesus and did not know about Jesus. Even though Qoheleth did not know, he was really searching for Jesus. What is translated as “vanity” in our Bibles, in the original Hebrew is really “mist/fog/breath.” Qoheleth finds life misty and foggy because he does not know Jesus.
Life was certainly not misty or foggy for Paul. Our second reading today from Paul’s letter to the Colossians ended beautifully: “Christ is all and in all.” (Col 3:11) Jesus is all. It means Jesus is everything that matters; Jesus is all that matters. Secondly it says Jesus is in all which means Jesus is in everyone who has accepted to live the new life of Jesus after baptism. That is why just before this, the letter gives a list of actions that should not be part of the lives of anyone following Jesus: “Put to death, then, the parts of you that are earthly: immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and the greed that is idolatry. Stop lying to one another.” (Col 3:5, 9) These are not part of the life of someone living the life of Jesus after baptism. That is why the reading said,
If you were raised with Christ, seek what is above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God (Col 3:1) and
you have taken off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self. (Col 3:9-10)
That is because “Christ is all and in all.” (Col 3:11) Jesus is all, Jesus is in all. Jesus is everything that matters, Jesus is in everyone who has accepted to live his new life.
Those who have God and Our Lady in their lives have everything even if they have nothing, and those who do not have God and Our Lady in their lives have nothing even if they think they have everything! In the parable Jesus told in our Gospel today (Luke 12:13-21), the man was one of those who seem not to have God in their lives and have nothing even if they think they have everything. We are not to judge them—we leave judgement to God—but we can pray for them and let them see that we are happy with God and Our Lady in our lives even if we don’t have much. For those who accept that Jesus is all and in all, meeting Jesus at Mass is the most important part of the week. In John 6:53 we hear Jesus say, “unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you.” Praying every day, reading the Bible, regular confession are also important ways to allow Jesus to be all and in all.
Those who have God and Our Lady in their lives have everything even if they have nothing, and those who do not have God and Our Lady in their lives have nothing even if they think they have everything!
© Fr. Tommy Lane 2022
This homily was delivered in a parish in Ireland.
More Homilies for the Eighteenth Sunday of Year C
Become rich in the sight of God and trust in Jesus
Related Homilies: Enlightened to our Calling and Destiny
stories about money