EPIPHANY OF THE LORD : Is 60:1-6; Eph 3:2-3a, 5-6; Mt 2:1-12 

The Greek word Epiphany (epiphanos), which means appearance or manifestation or showing forth, is used to describe Jesus’ first appearance to the Gentiles.  Originally the word Epiphany referred to the visit of a king to the people of his provinces. Epiphany is an older celebration than the feast of Christmas, having originated in the East in the late second century.  In Italy and Spain, the gifts traditionally associated with the Christmas season are exchanged on the feast of the Epiphany. In the Western Church, the feast commemorates the coming of the Magi as the first manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles.  In the Eastern Church, the feast also commemorates   the Baptism of Christ. The angels revealed Jesus to the shepherds, and the star revealed him to the Magi, who had already received hints of Him from the Jewish Scriptures. 

The Magi who came to worship Jesus "from the east" - were not Jews. This shows that Christ was the promised Savior of the entire world, of both the Jews and the Gentiles.

The sixth century Italian tradition, that there were three Magi, Casper, Balthazar, and Melchior, is based on the fact that three gifts are mentioned in Matthew’s Gospel:  gold, frankincense and myrrh. The Magi may actually have been Persian priests or Babylonian astronomers or Nabataean spice-traders. Eventually, however, they were pictured as representatives of different peoples and races.  The Orthodox Church holds that the Magi consisted of twelve Kings, corresponding in number to the twelve tribes of Israel.   Commentary on the Torah by Jewish rabbis suggested that a star appeared in the sky at the births of Abraham, Isaac and Moses.  Likewise, in the Book of Numbers (24:17), the prophet Balaam speaks of “a star that shall come out of Jacob.”  Stars were believed to be signs from God, announcing important events.   

In the stories of Jesus’ birth, two special groups of people came to visit the newborn babe: the shepherds and the Magi. The Church has no special feast to commemorate the visit of the shepherds, but we have this special feast of Epiphany today to celebrate the visit of the magi. Why is that? It is because the visit of the Magi is an eye-opener. The shepherds learnt of the birth of Jesus through a direct Revelation from angels appearing in the midnight sky, and they believed the Message. This is direct and supernatural Revelation. Many of us have no problem with that. The Magi, on the other hand, learnt of the birth of Jesus by observing a star. The star did not say anything to them. They had to divine and interpret this natural sign of the star to know what it meant and where it led.

The Epiphany can be looked on as a symbol for our pilgrimage through life to Christ.   The feast invites us to see ourselves as images of the Magi, a people on a journey to Christ.     Today’s Gospel also tells us the story of the Magi’s encounter with the evil King Herod. This encounter symbolizes three reactions to Jesus’ birth:  hatred, indifference, and adoration. First group headed by Herod planned to destroy Jesus. Second group, composed of priests and scribes, ignored Jesus. The third group — shepherds and the magi — adored Jesus and offered themselves to Him.

Today, many oppose Christ and his Church because of their selfish motives, evil ways and unjust lives. Children still have Herods to fear. In the United States alone, one and a half million innocent, unborn children are aborted annually.

The scribes, the Pharisees and the Jewish priests knew that there were nearly 500 prophecies in the Hebrew Scriptures concerning the promised Messiah.  They were able to tell Herod the exact time and place of Jesus’ birth.   They were in the habit of concluding their reading from the prophets on the Sabbath day by saying, “We shall now pray for the speedy arrival of the Messiah.”   Unfortunately, they were more interested in their own selfish gains than in discovering the truth. Hence, they refused to go and see the child Jesus — even though Bethlehem was quite close to Jerusalem.  Today, many Christians remind us of this group.   They practice their religion from selfish motives, such as to gain political power, prestige and recognition by society.   They ignore Jesus’ teachings in their private lives.

Like the third group let us worship Jesus at Mass, every day if we can, with the gold of our love, the myrrh of our humility and the frankincense of our adoration.  Let us plot a better course for our lives as the Magi did, choosing for ourselves a better way of life in the New Year by abstaining from proud and impure thoughts, evil habits and selfish behavior and sharing our love with others in acts of charity.  Let us become stars, leading others to Jesus, as the star led the Magi to Him.   Let’s pray that Jesus the light of the world help us remove or lessen the darkness of the evil around us by being, if not like stars, at least like candles, radiating Jesus’ love by selfless service, unconditional forgiveness and compassionate care.

New Year 2020.

Today we celebrate the oldest of all Marian feasts in our liturgy, most appropriate for new beginnings, with new resolutions, and renewed hopes. Today’s Feast of Mary, the Mother of God is a very appropriate way to begin a new year. This celebration reminds us that the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, is also our Heavenly Mother.  Hence, our ideal motto for the New Year 2020 should be “To Jesus through Mary!”

In today's Gospel Mary teaches us one of the most important virtues of all: wisdom. St Luke tells us how Mary responded to the wonderful things that God was doing in and around her: "Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart." Just as Mary’s womb was open to receiving God's living Word at the moment of Christ's Incarnation, so her heart was constantly open to receiving God's ongoing words and messages as He continued to speak through the events of her life.

This capacity and habit of reflecting in our heart on God's action in our lives is both a sign and a source of wisdom. That will increase our trust and faith in Him.

We do not know what the future holds, but we know who holds the future in his hands. Like the Blessed Mother, let us be more trusting in God’s providence and love. Trusting in God everyday will deliver greater things in our lives than trusting in our own strength.

A little boy and his father visited the country store, and upon leaving the store, the owner of the store offered the little boy some free Sweets... “Get a hand full of Sweets", the merchant said to the boy. The boy
just stood there looking up at his father. The owner repeated himself:- “Son get a hand full of Sweets... it’s free.” Again the boy did not move, continuing to look up in the face of his father. Finally the father reached into the candy jar and got a hand full of Sweets and gave it to his son.
As they walked back home, the father stopped and asked his son why he did not grab a hand full of the free candy. The boy with a big smile on his face looked into the face of his father and said:- “Because I know that your HAND is BIGGER than mine.”
So, whatever our needs are for 2020, please place them in the FATHER'S HAND IN HEAVEN, because HIS HAND is BIGGER THAN OURS. And so make sure we receive everything in the new year from Our Father’s hands. That will make us also rich in God’s eyes.

Some time ago someone asked Bill Gates. Is there any person richer than you?

Bill Gates replied, “Yes, there is a person who is richer than me.” He then narrated a story. “It was during the time when I wasn’t rich. I was at New York Airport when I saw a newspaper vendor. I wanted to buy one newspaper but found that I don’t have enough change. I told him of not having the change.

The vendor said, “I am giving you this for free. On his insistence I took the newspaper. I landed the same airport and again I was short of change for a newspaper. The vendor offered me the newspaper again. I refused and said that I can’t take it for I don’t have a change today too. He said, you can take it, I am sharing this from my profit.”

After 19 years I became famous and known by people. I began searching for him and after about 1½ months I found him. I asked him, “Do you know me?” He said, “Yes you are Bill Gates.” I asked him again, “Do you remember once you gave me a newspaper for free.” The vendor said, “Yes, I remember. I gave you twice.”

I said, “I want to repay the help you had offered me that time.” The vendor said, Sir, don’t you think that by doing so you won’t be able to match my help?” I asked, “Why?”

He said, “I helped you when I was a poor newspaper vendor and you are trying to help me now when you have become the richest man in the world. How can your help match mine?”

That day I realized that the newspaper vendor is richer than me. People need to understand that the truly rich are those who possess rich heart rather than lots of money.

It is very important to have a rich heart to help others. The psalmist prayed, “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.”

Let it be our resolution and prayer for the New Year: Create in me a clean heart O God.  Wish you all a very Happy New Year 2020.

The Holy Family

A:Sir 3:2-6, 12-14; Col 3:12-21;   Mt 2:13-15, 19-23

God created us in his own image and likeness. To be created in the image of God is to be created for family life. God could not have exalted the family more than he did by joining one. Just as God is a Trinity, a communion of three Persons sharing the divine nature, we also are created to find fulfillment in community, in the intricate network of relationships that makes each one of us dependent on others, and others dependent on us.

Christmas break gives us a great image of what the family can be: Everyone together, in the glow of the birth of Jesus, giving and receiving gifts with each other.

Jesus, Mary and Joseph is put before us today by the Church as a model for our families to imitate. From His birth to the beginning of His public life, Jesus chose to experience all the aspects of human life. If Jesus was to help men, he must know what were men’s lives. He did not come to a protected life, but he came to the life that any ordinary man must live.  He experienced the hardships of the people who are forced to leave their home and kinsmen; he experienced the problems of an ordinary workman, while working as a carpenter in Nazareth; and He experienced the pangs of death when his foster father died. 

In our eagerness and anxiety to provide the best for our children some parents do not give them any chance to experience the world in which they live. we try to provide them the best education, so they ignore the illiteracy around. We struggle to provide them the best food, so they are unaware of the poverty that exists around them. We want to give them the best of everything, so they do not see the suffering in the world. But in our culture, children disappear into their own worlds through devices and individual pastimes, ignoring their parents.

We are human beings, our family life doesn't come ready- made. An old saying goes like this: Everyone's greatest blessing is also their greatest curse. At least sometimes, most of us probably feel that way about family life. Somehow, our greatest joys and our greatest sufferings are both linked up with family relationships.

Our families are not just centers of great peace; they are sources of enormous pain. There are misunderstandings, failings, unkindness and unforgiveness, slights small and large. Families smother us or disappoint us.

The fact that family life is tough, in fact, is paradoxically why that it is so beneficial — our families force us out of our narcissistic focus on ourselves, they solve the twin problems of pride and low self-esteem, and they give us an almost unavoidable way to live out the commandment to serve others before ourselves. This hurts us, then saves us.

The perfect family is not pre-fabricated somewhere and available for purchase on a wedding register. Family life is a task, a calling we have received from God.

Today’s first reading, from the book of Sirach summarizes the relationship of father, mother and children. Sirach reminds children of their duty to honour their parents – even when it becomes difficult. He also mentions the two-fold reward which the Bible promises to those who honour their father and mother - “riches” and “long life”. These are two things we all wish for. 

 The first thing we can do to live a healthy Christian family life is to respect family roles. Just as the natural structure of a tree includes roots, trunk, and branches, so the natural structure of the family includes dad, mom, and children. They all go together and they all need each other in order to bear the fruit of maturity, wisdom, and happiness.

In his book “My Father, My Son,” Dr. Lee Salk describes a moving interview with Mark Chapman, the convicted slayer of Beatle John Lennon. At one point in the interview, Chapman says: “I don’t think I ever hugged my father. He never told me he loved me…I needed emotional love and support. I never got that.” Chapman’s description of how he would treat a son if he had one is especially tragic, because he will probably never get out of prison and have a family of his own. He says: “I would hug my son and kiss him…and just let him know…he could trust me and come to me…and (I would) tell him that I loved him.” Dr. Salk ends his book with this advice to fathers and sons. It applies equally well to mothers and daughters. “Don’t be afraid of your emotions, of telling your father or your son that you love him and that you care. Don’t be afraid to hug and kiss him. “Don’t wait until the deathbed to realize what you’ve missed.”

The Holy Family literally centered their life around Jesus. Let’s put Jesus at the center of our families too. St. Paul says in the Second Reading “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly … singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.” Besides going to Mass together let’s read scripture together and pray the Rosary every night to make Jesus a part of daily life.

OT XXVI [C]: Amos 6:1a, 4-7; 1Tm 6:11-16; Lk 16:19-31

September 27th is the feast of Saint Vincent de Paul. In the 16th century France, Saint Vincent de Paul observed the disparity between the rich and the poor. As a priest, he had the opportunity to experience the aristocratic life as well as the life of the destitute poor in Paris. He organized groups of women called Charities who gave their time and belongings to the poor. Some of these women chose the consecrated life and became the first female congregation to live a consecrated life “in the world,” and not in the cloister. Saint Vincent de Paul and Saint Louise de Marillac founded this congregation, named the “Daughters of Charity.”  Our first U.S.-born saint, Mother Elizabeth Ann Seton, founded the U.S. branch of the Daughters of Charity. Two centuries after Saint Vincent de Paul, a 20-year old college student, Frederick Ozanam, and five other students, witnessed the dire poverty of the lower social classes in Paris. They decided to dedicate themselves to the poor, after the example of Saint Vincent de Paul. In 1833, they established “The Society of Saint Vincent de Paul.”  They were determined to bring not only bread but friendship to the poor. They would not ignore the Lazaruses at their door in 19th century Paris. In today’s Gospel, Jesus gives us a warning, pointing to the destiny of the rich man who neglected his duty to show mercy to poor Lazarus. The rich man was punished, not for having riches, but for neglecting the Scriptures and what they taught.

Amos, in the first reading, issues a powerful warning to those who seek wealth at the expense of the poor and who spend their time and their money only on themselves. He prophesies that those rich and self-indulgent people will be punished by God with exile because they don’t care for their poor and suffering brothers.

The sin of the rich man in the gospel parable was that he never noticed Lazarus who represents a fact of life: the poor, the sick, and the unfortunate who are always around us. He did no wrong, but he did nothing. In the Catholic teaching, that is the sin of omission (not doing what one is supposed to do).

Jesus told this parable to condemn the Pharisees for their love of money and lack of mercy for the poor. He also used the parable to correct three Jewish misconceptions held and taught by the Sadducees: 1) Material prosperity in this life is God’s reward for moral uprightness, while poverty and illness are God’s punishment for sins. Hence, there is no need to help the poor and the sick for they have been cursed by God. 2) Since wealth is a sign of God’s blessing, the best way of thanking God is to enjoy it by leading a life of luxury and self-indulgence in dress, eating and drinking, of course, after giving God His portion as tithe. 3) The parable also addresses the false doctrine of the Sadducees denial of the soul’s survival after death. Jesus challenges these misconceptions through the parable and condemns the rich who ignore the poor they encounter.

The problem of the rich man was that he was insensitive to the needs of his fellow men. Insensitivity is infectious, a disease that is spreading fast not just in wider society but also much closer to home.  All sadly traits of a modern day society are manifested when we find ourselves consumed by social media, our own personal egos, selfishness and lack of willingness to stand up and do the right thing.

But there are also people who proved that their little actions can impact the world.

After needing 13 litres of blood for a surgery at the age of 13, a man named James Harrison pledged to donate blood once he turned 18. It was discovered that his blood contained a rare antigen which cured Rhesus disease. He has donated blood a record 1000 times and saved 2000000 lives.

For the past ten years, Luis Soriano, a teacher in the small town of La Gloria, Colombia, has created a mobile library with the help of his donkeys. He then travels through the fields to the villages beyond where children await his visits impatiently. He firmly believes that bringing books to people who don't have access to them can improve the country and open up possibilities for the future generation.

We are all rich enough to share our blessings with others. God has blessed each one of us with wealth or health or special talents or social power or political influence or a combination of many blessings. We need to remember that sharing is the criterion of the Last Judgment: Matthew (25:31ff), tells us that all six questions to be asked of each one of us by Jesus when He comes in glory as our judge are based on how we have shared our blessings from Him (food, drink, home, mercy and compassion), in our brothers and sisters, anyone in need.’ Our choices here determine the kind of eternity we will have. It has been put this way: “Where we go hereafter depends on what we ‘go after,’ here!”

While enjoying these blessings, we should not be insensitive to the needs of less fortunate. Our little acts of kindness can bring smiles to the life of many. And they will be our advocates to plead for us. When the rich man reached his destiny Lazarus was there but there was nothing for Lazarus to plead for him. Let us try to do whatever little is possible for us to alleviate the sufferings of people around us. Not a single act will go waste. Everything will be account for in our favour.

OT XXIV [C] Ex 32:7-11, 13-14; I Tm 1:12-17; Lk 15:1-32

A divorced woman found herself struggling with an increasingly rebellious teenage daughter. It all came to a head late one night when the police called her to pick up her daughter who had been arrested for drunk driving.  The two of them didn’t speak on the way home or next day either, until at last the mother broke the tension by giving her daughter a small, gift-wrapped package.  The girl opened it with an air of indifference and found inside a small rock.  “Well, that’s cute, Mom.  What is it?” “Read the card, dear,” the mother replied.   As the girl did so, tears began to trickle down her cheeks, and she gave her mom a hug as the card fell to the floor.  On the card her mother had written: “This rock is more than 200 million years old.  That’s how long it’ll take before I give up on you.”  That’s what Jesus is telling us about God in today’s readings: He never gives up on us.

Today’s readings remind us that God actively seeks out the lost, wants their repentance and rejoices when the lost are found.

 Chapter 15 of Luke’s Gospel has been called “the Gospel within the Gospel,” because it is the distilled essence of the Good News about the mercy of our forgiving Heavenly Father. The whole chapter is essentially one distinct parable, the “Parable of the Lost and Found,” with three illustrations.  (We chose the optional shorter version). Loss, searching, finding, rejoicing, and sharing of the joy is the pattern in the first two parables. These parables remind us that we have a God who welcomes sinners and forgives their sins whenever they return to Him with genuine contrition and resolution.

The shepherds were famous for their dedicated, sacrificial service, perpetual vigilance, and readiness for action.  Hence, the shepherd was the national symbol of Divine Providence and self-sacrificing love in Israel. Two or three shepherds might be personally responsible for the sheep owned by several families in a village. If any sheep was missing, one of the shepherds would go in search of it, sending the other shepherds home with the flock. The whole village would be waiting for the return of the shepherd with the lost sheep and would receive him with shouts of joy and of thanksgiving.  That is the picture Jesus draws of God.  God is as glad when a lost sinner is found as a shepherd is when a strayed sheep is brought home.  Men may give up hope of reclaiming a sinner, but not so God.  

To err is human, but one requires courage to recognize the error and rise from it. To recognize our mistakes often we need the help of external agents. When David sinned against Uriah, he required the proclamation of Prophet Nathan to realize his mistake. When Israelites sinned they needed the intervention of Moses to make them realize their mistakes.

We can learn from our mistakes only if we are able to admit them. As soon as we start blaming other people we distance ourselves from any possible lesson. When Adam ate the forbidden fruit God called him. Adam put the blame on Eve, and Eve passed it on to the serpent. When Cain was asked, “Where is your brother?” he gave an elusive answer, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” It is our natural tendency to defend us.  But if we courageously stand up and honestly say, “This is my mistake,” there begins the possibility of change. Admission of a mistake, even if privately to oneself, makes a change possible. Realization of one’s own mistakes brings in the mercy of God. The prodigal son had to acknowledge his mistake before he could turn towards his father’s home.  This is what Jesus wants us to have in mind when we find ourselves lost, stuck in our sins, separated from him and from others.  He wants us to see him as our Savior, not as our punisher. Jesus came all the way from heaven to earth in order to rescue his lost sheep.

As forgiven prodigals, we must become forgiving people, for Jesus taught us to pray, “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”  We need to pray for God’s Divine mercy on all of us who have fallen away from God’s grace.  

Before we go to bed at night, let us make it a habit to examine our conscience and confess to God our sins and failures of the day, asking His pardon and forgiveness. Let us resolve to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation if we have fallen into serious sins. As we continue with the celebration of the Holy Mass, let us pray also for God’s Divine mercy on all of us who have fallen away from God’s grace.  Let us open our eyes to see and ears to hear that Jesus is welcoming us back home!

OT XXI [C] Is 66:18-21, Heb 12:5-7, 11-13; Lk 13:22-30

Venerable Bishop Fulton J. Sheen tells us that we will have three surprises in Heaven. The first surprise: We will be surprised to see that many people we expected to be in Heaven are not there. The second surprise: We will be surprised to see that the people we never expected to be in Heaven are there. The third surprise: We will be surprised to see that we are in Heaven! In today’s Gospel, Jesus answers the question, as to how many will be saved, by answering how to enter into salvation and how urgent it is to strive now, before the Master closes the door. Jesus clearly explains that anyone who follows him through the narrow gate of sacrificial serving and sharing love will be saved. Jesus also admonishes his followers to concentrate on their own salvation instead of worrying about the salvation of others.

When the questioner asked Jesus “How many will be saved?” he was assuming that the salvation of God’s Chosen People was virtually guaranteed, provided they kept the Law. In other words, the Kingdom of God was reserved for the Jews alone, and Gentiles would be shut out.  

Hence, Jesus’ answer must have come as a shock. Jesus affirms that God wants all persons to enjoy eternal life with Him. But he stresses the need for constant fidelity and vigilance throughout our lives. Thus, Jesus reminds us that, even though God wants all of us to be saved, we all need to work at it. Entry into God’s kingdom is not automatically granted, based purely on religious Faith or nationality.

How many will be saved in the end is a decision that rests with God and depends His Justice which includes His Mercy.  Jesus came to bring God’s love and freedom to the whole world. The message of his Gospel is that there is not a single person, people, nation, race, or class, which will be excluded from experiencing the love and liberation that God offers. Hence, the role of the Christian community, from the beginning until now has been, first and foremost, to proclaim to the whole world the Good News of God’s love for the world, and then to show this Good News to be real, reflected in the loving, sharing and serving lives of individual Christians.

Eternal salvation is the result of a struggle: “keep on striving to enter.”It is like the effort one would make in swimming against the current in a river.  A man must ever be going forward or else he will go backward.   We must enter through the “narrow gate” of sacrificial and selfless service.

Entering through the narrow gate denotes a steady obedience to the Lord Jesus — overcoming all opposition and rejecting every temptation.  It is the narrow way of unconditional and unremitting love. Mere faith in Jesus and membership in His Church by Baptism cannot guarantee salvation.  Some of the Fathers of the Church interpreted the narrow door as that small place in the heart where one says “yes” or “no” to what one knows to be true.  It is the one place through which no external force can enter to shape or coerce one’s choices.

“Being saved’ is the end-result – seeing God face to face in Heaven. Jesus explains that Salvation begins with Faith.  But it is also the result of how that Faith is lived.  We cannot “earn” our way into Heaven by good works, but we also believe that we must allow God to work in our lives through His grace, a grace that is reflected in our actions.

Hence, our answer to the question: “Have you been saved?” should be: “I have been saved from the penalty of sin by Christ’s death and Resurrection.  I am being saved from the power of sin by the indwelling Spirit of God.  I have the hope that I shall one day be saved from the very presence of sin when I go to be with God.”  Therefore, the Catholic faith is not like that of some Evangelicals who believe, once you receive baptism in faith you are saved for ever; you cannot lose your salvation.  This is not what the Bible teaches in today’s gospel.

We need to make wise decisions and choose the narrow gate.  God allows us to decide every day what road we will walk down and what gate we will choose.  He encourages us, however, to choose His way:  “Choose life” (Moses – Dt 30:19-20); “There are two paths: one of life and one of death, and the difference between the two is great.”(Didache);   “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me” Says Jesus (Lk 9:23).   This means a consistent denial of self and the steady relinquishing of sinful pleasures, pursuits, and interests. 

The “narrow road” or “narrow gate” concerns our everyday—pursuing the Kingdom and God’s justice instead of fame and fortune; and it involves not condemning others. It involves repentance, obedience, humility, righteousness, truth and discipleship.  Hence, let’s strive to enter through the “narrow gate” by prayer and supplication, diligently seeking deliverance from those things which would bar our entrance, and acquiring those things which would facilitate our entry.

OT XVIII [C] Eccl 1:2; 2:21-23; Col 3:1-5, 9-11; Lk 12:13-21

Dr. Carl Menninger, the world-renowned psychiatrist, was talking on one occasion to an unhappy but wealthy patient. He asked the patient what he was going to do with so much money. The patient replied, “Just worry about it, I suppose.” Menninger asked, “Well, do you get that much pleasure from worrying about it?” “No,” responded the patient, “but I get terrified when I think of giving some of it to somebody else.”

Then Dr. Menninger went on to say something quite profound. He said, “Generous people are rarely mentally ill.” “People who cannot share with others have deep-seated problems. If our level of giving to the work of God and the service of others requires no sacrifice, then we have Jesus locked in a cupboard, and he is not really living in every part of our life. In today’s Gospel parable, God calls such people “fools.”

The common theme of today’s readings is the futility of the greedy acquisition of wealth and power because everything and everyone is “here today and gone tomorrow.” Therefore, the meaning of life cannot be found in possessions but in the sharing of time, treasure and talents with the needy.

The Jewish rabbis were often asked to settle disputes among their countrymen. They judged cases using the Mosaic Law as given in the Torah – the Jewish book of civil, religious and liturgical laws.   In matters concerning the distribution of property in a family with two children, the Torah (Dt 21:15-17, Nm 27:1-11, 36:7-9), granted two-thirds of the wealth to the elder son and one-third to the younger. If there were several sons, the first-born would receive double the inheritance of his younger brothers and would serve as the patriarch of the family and executor of his father’s estate.  In the case related in today’s Gospel, either the older brother had delayed the partition of property, or the younger brother was greedy. Jesus refused to be an arbitrator in this property dispute between two brothers because he had come to bring people to God by preaching the Good News of God’s forgiving and sharing love.  But he used the occasion as a “teachable moment,” instructing the audience on the folly of greed and selfishness, while contradicting the Epicurean motto: “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.”

Jesus challenged his followers to learn from the experience of the foolish rich man. We are called to look at our own lives, our own “riches” and to evaluate our true needs and wants. St. Gregory the Great taught that when we care for the needs of the poor, we are giving them what is theirs, not ours. We are not just performing works of mercy; we are paying a debt of justice. Life does not consist in possessions but in sharing what we possess with others. The goods of the earth have been given to everyone.

Bible does not condemn wealth altogether. In the Old Testament there are many examples of people who God blessed with material possessions. Abraham, Job, David, Solomon, Jacob are some examples of people who were indeed owners of much material wealth, which came from God.

It is not therefore wrong for somebody to have possessions. Job was the wealthiest man of the East but his wealth was not his joy! He didn’t put his trust in wealth.  Job’s trust was in God. That’s why he reacted the way he did when he lost everything: “God gave it, God took it”.

 Both the man of the parable and Job were rich men. But this is their only similarity. While Job’s joy was not dependent on his wealth, and his gold was not his confidence, this man here is the exact opposite. He is the picture of a worldly wealthy man.

It was not the plenty that was bad.  The problem with this man was his reaction towards this. He failed to recognize the provider of the good crop. He failed to give glory to the owner of everything. Instead he considered everything as belonging to him. This was his folly.

In the book of Malachi (3:10-12) we read: Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this,” Says the Lord of hosts, “If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it. Therefore everything that we own is God’s.

We must be generous in sharing our time, our treasure, and our talents, the three elements of Christian stewardship.  Every one of us is rich in one thing or another.  The parable instructs us to share these gifts. Even if we are poor financially, we may be blessed with intelligence, good will, a sense of humor or the ability to encourage, inspire and support others. 

We should strive to avoid anything that could possibly separate us from Christ, anything that could break our friendship with him by violating his command to love God and love our neighbor.

There is a beautiful prayer in the book of Proverbs which the Jews used to say and which we can adopt too.  “Give me neither poverty nor riches but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’ Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God.” (Prv 30:8-9).

Jesus asked the rich fool, "And the things you have prepared for, whose will they be?" Are we prepared to deal with that question? Let’s try to become rich in matters that belong to God.