Saint Rita Catholic Church and School in Webster, NY - An Introduction to Sunday's Scripture Readings

“Be Rich In What Matters To God”

Our readings for this Sunday warn us of the folly of placing our worship in material goods instead of in God. In the end, it buys us nothing. Jesus teaches us that we must keep our focus on God, not our earthly possessions: “Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one’s life does not consist of possessions.”

Our first reading (Ecclesiastes 1:2; 2:21-23) is a warning of the vanity of human toil. The riches we toil for in this life are left for others to enjoy after our death. “Vanity of vanities, says Qoheleth, vanity of vanities! All things are vanity!” (Editor’s note: Qoheleth is a Hebrew word that means “teacher” and is thought to refer to King Solomon.)

In our Epistle reading (Colossians 3:1-5; 9-11), St. Paul tells us about what really matters to God and how we are to rightly order our lives to “seek what is above.” Paul instructs us that, since we have died to Christ, we should put aside earthly desires and passions and “put on the new self.” Paul writes, “Put to death, then, the parts of you that are earthly: immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and the greed that is idolatry....”

Our Gospel reading (Luke 12:13-21) builds on the themes from our first two readings with the parable of the Rich Fool. First, Jesus refused to intervene in a property squabble among two brothers and then followed up with a parable about the rich fool to drive home the point — “You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you; and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?” Jesus teaches us to be “rich in what matters to God.”

It is often said, "you can't take it with you", referring to power, prestige, wealth, and possessions. But there is one thing that we can take with us beyond the grave and that is grace. “The grace of Christ is the gratuitous gift that God makes to us of his own life, infused by the Holy Spirit into our soul ....” (CCC 1996—2001). We cannot earn grace, but we can embrace it by following the advice of St. Paul in today's Epistle, by seeking what is above, where Christ is.

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/080325.cfm