18TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Gospel (Luke 12:13-21) - THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE
- NHA CHUA CHA
- Aug 4
- 4 min read
FIRST READING - Eccl 1:2; 2:21-23
"What do people get for all the toil and anxious striving with which they labor under the sun?"
A reading from the Book of Ecclesiastes
“Meaningless! Meaningless!”
says the Teacher.
“Utterly meaningless!
Everything is meaningless.”
21 For a person may labor with wisdom, knowledge and skill, and then they must leave all they own to another who has not toiled for it. This too is meaningless and a great misfortune. 22 What do people get for all the toil and anxious striving with which they labor under the sun? 23 All their days their work is grief and pain; even at night their minds do not rest. This too is meaningless.
SECOND READING - Col 3:1-5, 9-11
"Set your hearts on things above, where Christ is."
A reading from the Letter of St. Paul to the Colossians
3 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is your[a] life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.
9 Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. 11 Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.
GOSPEL OF THE DAY - Lk 12:13-21
'The things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?"
✠From the Gospel according to Luke
Someone in the crowd said to Jesus,
“Teacher, tell my brother to share the inheritance with me.”
He replied to him,
“Friend, who appointed me as your judge and arbitrator?”
Then he said to the crowd,
“Take care to guard against all greed,
for though one may be rich,
one’s life does not consist of possessions.”
Then he told them a parable.
“There was a rich man whose land produced a bountiful harvest.
He asked himself, ‘What shall I do,
for I do not have space to store my harvest?’
And he said, ‘This is what I shall do:
I shall tear down my barns and build larger ones.
There I shall store all my grain and other goods
and I shall say to myself, “Now as for you,
you have so many good things stored up for many years,
rest, eat, drink, be merry!”’
But God said to him,
‘You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you;
and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?’
Thus will it be for all who store up treasure for themselves
but are not rich in what matters to God.”
18TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Gospel (Luke 12:13-21)
THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE
Dear People of God,
In today's Gospel, Jesus tells the parable of the rich man. All his life, he only knew how to accumulate wealth for himself. However, he was foolish because he did not realize that he would have to die and leave behind everything he had amassed in this world for others.
Through the story of the rich man, Jesus clearly wants to teach humanity: do not become attached to worldly possessions, for they are fleeting and cannot bring eternal life to man; material wealth is merely a means to help a person become rich in the sight of God. Because the rich man was concerned only with amassing material wealth and accumulating it for himself—without sharing or distributing it to his fellow human beings—he could not secure eternal life in the Kingdom of Heaven. Only God has absolute authority over human life and death.
God will guarantee eternal life for those who completely entrust themselves to Him and place absolute trust in His power. He will grant the happiness of the Kingdom of Heaven to those who live according to and put into practice the Word of God as He has commanded—that is: to live with love, forgiveness, humility, self-abasement, sacrifice, patience, generosity, and the willingness to support and uplift their fellow brothers and sisters. Living in this way is what pleases God, and He will guarantee eternal life for them.
As for those who only concern themselves with accumulating wealth for their own benefit, striving to become rich in the eyes of the world in order to enjoy pleasure and indulgence—yet fail to live with love, charity, and generosity toward their fellow human beings—such people will not be assured of eternal life, just like the image of the rich man in the parable.
Through today’s parable, God reminds us of the following truths:
Worldly possessions are fleeting and temporary; they cannot bring eternal life.
Only a life rooted in charity and love marked by reverence for God. By knowing how to love your neighbor as yourself and how to share, your possessions gain value and will become a means to obtain the Kingdom of Heaven.
God has always loved humanity. For this reason, He abandoned all heavenly glory and came down to earth, becoming a human being, in order to redeem mankind, to accompany and teach them. The Word of God the Father serve to instruct and help people to repent turn away from sins, return and be reconciled with God, and live a life of love. Whoever believes in and lives according to the Word of God will be assured of eternal life in the Kingdom of Heaven.
Thanks be to God. Amen.
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