August 4th

Post date: Aug 05, 2019 12:3:32 AM

August 4, 2019 Homily by Fr. Karl Schray

When the richest man in a town died, the local news reporter asked

his pastor, “how much did he leave?” The pastor replied, ‘All of it!’

Qoheleth said, ‘Vanity of vanities, all things are vanity.’

The Hebrew word used here for vanity means “something without

substance, like a puff of fog”. The name Qoheleth means “preacher”

so, in Greek this Old Testament book is called Ecclesiastes.

Jesus offers us, not a wisp, but something that is lasting.

Jesus called the rich farmer a ‘fool’ in today’s parable because

the farmer thought he was set for life, he had all he needed.

St. Paul gives us the same message in the second reading:

“Think of what is above, not of what is on earth.”

The parable Jesus gives us follows a few comments he made

about greed and how dangerous it is. It is one of the capital sins and

gives rise to things like cheating, stealing, lying, quarreling, fighting and

even war. It doesn’t sound as if the farmer did any of these bad things.

It sounds as if he made his fortune by good weather and good old-

fashioned hard work. Is Jesus saying it is sinful to be rich and successful?

Jesus says it is if it is the focus in our life, if we build our security

only on the things this world can give us, if we forget where our blessings

come from. It is also a sin to be rich if our hearts are cold to the sufferings

of those not so fortunate as we are.

It is best to use legitimate agencies like St. Vincent de Paul and

Hope Pregnancy Center in Roseburg to help those in need.

Back to the rich farmer-- he thought he owned the future and he didn’t.

His priorities were wrong. There are two remedies to keep our priorities

in balance. First, honoring God reminds us of who God is and

that we owe God everything we have and everything we are.

Secondly, to help us not forget about the needs of others—it is called

generosity and stewardship.

This keeps us aware that what we have has been given to us.

People like to say, ‘I earned it’. Maybe so, but where did we get the

health, the talent, the energy, the education, the opportunities to earn it?

That was all given to us. Absolutely we must provide for our families and

the future, but we dare not become selfish either. We must keep things

in balance and loving God and loving our neighbor is part of the balance.

Jesus said that rather than storing up treasures, we should seek to make ourselves rich in the sight of God.

What is it that makes us rich in the sight of God? It’s not what we own

but what we are.

And how are we to measure what we are? By looking at the heart.

We are what our heart is. A noble, generous, upright heart makes us rich in the sight of God.

An American tourist, traveling in Europe, paid a visit to a wise and holy

rabbi. The tourist was surprised when he saw how simply the man lived:

in a single room with only books and a table and chair.

“Rabbi, where is your furniture?”

“Where is yours?” Asked the rabbi. The tourist answered, “My furniture?

I’m only passing through here”.

The wise rabbi responded: ‘So am I.’