Reflection:
The readings for the 18th Sunday in Ordinary Times should remind us of our priorities and the real meaning of life. In the gospel, Jesus warns those who are blinded by earthly possessions that these are not the most important things in life. “Storing up treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal” (Mt. 6:20) is the most important. And that leads us to this week’s theme: We seek what is above when we store up heavenly treasures.
Before joining BLD, we tended to shy away from spiritual matters, preoccupied as we were with the pursuit of worldly security and our earthly needs.  Our priorities were generally of this world, and focused on our financial success, social status, power and material possessions. These were the ‘anchors’ on which we based our sense of personal security, self-worth, and pride, even what we thought of as ‘happiness’.  Our “old self” focused on expedience, and conveniently evaded the challenges of learning about and being involved in the teachings of the Lord. The result was a confused view of our real goals and the true meaning of life.

Our ‘Encounters’ and LSS experiences served as preparations that helped demolish our pride, melt our hearts, and set the scene for us to encounter the touch, the grace, and presence of God in our lives.  However this ‘mountain top’ experience eventually fades, and in time, we come back to reality, to the routine ordinariness of everyday life.  It is imperative that we nurture the seeds planted in our hearts during those “renewal” experiences, if we are to maintain an effective and on-going relationship with our God, especially if we wish to serve God in community.

We are called to minister to God, called to change and be transformed into better persons, so we could live a truly meaningful life and make a difference, so that someday, together with all our loved ones, we may be united with our God in heaven.

We should ponder on these vital questions: What am I really seeking to attain in this life? What, for me, is the meaning of my existence in this world?  Am I striving to lay away treasures in heaven and attain the life hereafter?  Or am I a prisoner of greed and overreaching ambition? Let us keep the faith by being obedient to our God, placing Him above all our concerns and attachments in life, and be ready to share our lives and what we have with the poor and needy. “Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one’s life does not consist of possessions,” (Lk12:15).

There is nothing wrong with money, or possessions in themselves. These are gifts from God. It is the excessive love and attachment to material things and our failure to share our blessings with others that is wrong, because blessings are given to us to be used for good purposes, not to be misused, or abused.  Jesus reminds us in Lk 16:13 that, “No servant can serve two masters” and that “you cannot serve both God and mammon.”  Indeed, once money and possessions become our master, we become their slaves and we lose sight of God and His two most important commandments –  to love God above all things, and our neighbor as ourselves.

In the second reading, Paul exhorts us: “If you were raised with Christ, seek what is above, not of what is on earth,” (Col.3:1-2).  The pursuit of God’s Kingdom should always come first for us. “Above” is Christ and His message. To live as Jesus lived should be the focus and motivation behind all our strivings.  His message is to reject – not wealth in itself – but the mindless acquisition and accumulation of riches, for this is not in accord with God’s will of selfless and generous love.  As we are being renewed in the knowledge and image of Christ, we will discover that “Christ is all and in all” (Col.3:11), and everything else is “vanity of vanities” (Eccl.1:2) as, like St Paul, we come to “consider all things as rubbish that we may gain Christ,” (Phil 3:8) in our lives.

“For what does it profit one to gain the whole world yet lose or forfeit himself?” (Lk 9:25).  While it is true that in this world, we run a ‘rat-race’, we are not to allow it to obscure God’s message, or keep us from successfully running the course of the true race. When earthly voices entice us to entertain other gods, we must not lose sight of our heavenly goal to lay up treasure in heaven. We must resolve to cast away the vices that hinder us, especially greed, which is really the worship of a false god – ourselves.

Earthly possessions cannot give us genuine security. We are merely stewards of God’s grace, and our tenure on earth is brief – we are just passing through.  What we have, we cannot take to the grave.  And in the end, the only thing that will really matter is whether we have grown rich in the sight of God.  And what makes us rich in the sight of God is not who we are, nor what we own, or even what we have done, but what and who we are in Christ, and how we have lived our life.  Only then can we claim God’s promise: “When Christ your life appears, then you too will appear with Him in glory,”(Col.3:4).

Reflection Questions:
1.What do I understand about the true value and meaning of my life?
2.What do I consider as my priorities in life?
3.In the parable, why did God call the rich man a fool?

This Week’s Daily Mass Reading Guide:
August 4, 2013 (Sun)    Eccl 1:2:21-23/Ps 90:3-6,12-14,17/Col 3:1-5,9-11/Lk 12:13-21
August 5, 2013 (Mon)    Nm 11:4-15/81:12-17/Mt 14:13-21
August 6, 2013 (Tues)    Dn 7:9,10,13,14/Ps 97:1,2,5,6,9/Lk 9:28-36
August 7, 2013 (Wed)    Nm 13:6,7,25-14:1,26-29,34,35/Ps 106:6,7,13,14,21-23/Mt 15:21-28
August 8, 2013 (Thur)    Nm 20:1-13/Ps 95:1,2,6-9/Mt 16:13-23
August 9, 2013 (Fri)       Dt 4:32-40/Ps 77:12-16,21/Mt 16:24-28
August 10, 2013 (Sat)    2Cor 9:6-10/Ps 112:1,2,5-9/Jn 12:24-26

“Ignorance of the Bible is ignorance of Christ.  Read your Bible daily!”

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