Stewards of God’s blessings

Monday, October 17, 2016
29th Week in
Ordinary Time
1st Reading: Eph 2: 1-10
Gospel: Luke 12:13-21
Someone in the crowd spoke to Jesus, “Master, tell my brother to share with me the family inheritance.” He replied, “My friend, who has appointed me as your judge or your attorney?” Then Jesus said to the people, “Be on your guard and avoid every kind of greed, for even though you have many possessions, it is not that which gives you life.”
And Jesus continued with this story, “There was a rich man and his land had produced a good harvest. He thought: ‘What shall I do? For I am short of room to store my harvest.’ So this is what he planned: ‘I will pull down my barns and build bigger ones to store all this grain, which is my wealth. Then I may say to myself: My friend, you have a lot of good things put by for many years. Rest, eat, drink and enjoy yourself.’ But God said to him: ‘You fool! This very night your life will be taken from you; tell me who shall get all you have put aside?’ This is the lot of the one who stores up riches instead of amassing for God.”
D@iGITAL-EXPERIENCE
(Daily Gospel in the Assimilated Life Experience)
A dog saunters across a bridge with a bone between its jaws. Seeing its own image reflected on the water below, he barks ferociously because he also wants the bone of his own shadow. As he barks, down goes the real bone to water where his shadow is. Selfishness gets the better of him.
When one thinks too much of himself he forgets that others too have rights over this world’s resources. In worst cases he even envies his own shadow. But if one is greedy about things he doesn’t own, what can we expect from him of the things already in his possession? He will keep anything and hoard everything to secure his future. Bad for him, life is short. When life is over he will have to leave, naked and alone.
Awareness of the shortness of life will reorient our paradigm to the truth that we are mere stewards of what we have. We hold everything in trust for God. As trustee, any manner of exploiting material possessions that is not in accordance with God’s purpose amounts to culpable misappropriation. Such is the case of a man who amasses wealth without intending to do something with it to uplift the poor.
Today’s Gospel has this timely reminder to bring selfish persons back to reality: “You fool! This very night your life will be taken from you; tell me who shall get all you have put aside?” No honest answer can be far from this: Although not everything that a person owns will go to the dogs after his death, surely he will have to let go of these when he barks his last. – (Atty.) Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., DM, MMExM, MAPM, REB. Email: [email protected].
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