Monday, Twenty Ninth Week in Ordinary Time

The parable Jesus tells in today’s gospel reading is the story of a man who sought to make his life secure by holding on to and enhancing what he owns. At the beginning of the story he is already a rich man; he has more than he needs. When he has an even bigger harvest than expected, his only problem is how to store this unexpected bonus. The answer he comes up with is to tear down his perfectly good barns and to build bigger ones. His preoccupation with storing his surplus blinds him to other more important considerations, such as, ‘What might God be asking me to do with my surplus?’ ‘How can I serve others with this surplus?’ He was looking for security in the wrong place. He thought that a greater abundance of possessions would make his life more secure. However, death came to him in the midst of his abundance; his life could not be secured in the way he thought. Jesus is saying to us that what makes our life really secure is making ourselves rich in the sight of God. We become rich in the sight of God by recognizing that all we have is ultimately a gift from God to be shared with others. God graces us so that we in turn can grace others.  If we make ourselves rich in the sight of God by living generously out of the abundance that God has given us, then our lives will be truly secure with a security that endures beyond this earthly life into eternity.

Saint John the Baptist Parish, Clontarf, Dublin, Ireland

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