Homily for the Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

There are three statements that stand out in our collection of Readings today. Put together in the order in which they appear, there is a suggestion of movement:
+from pessimism to optimism
+from self-absorption to God-centeredness
+from darkness to light.

The three statements are:
+“Vanity of vanities… all things are vanity.” by Qoheloth
+”Think of what is above, not of what is on earth.” by Saint Paul
+”Be rich in what matters to God.” by Christ Our Lord

Let’s now look at these statements individually in order to see how they build on one another.

“Vanity of vanities… all things are vanity.”
The pessimistic perspective of today’s entire passage seems foreign to what is usually found in our Sunday Readings. However, this skepticism about human nature provides a balance for overly-positive or self-assured messages expressed by some modern televangelists or politicians who promise the world when our hearts’ greatest desire is actually not the world, but heaven.

It has to be remembered that these words were composed by a man of faith who doesn’t just point out human weakness. but points beyond it so that we can see life as it is meant to be, a stepping-stone into eternity.

To gain some perspective, we could name some cultural vanities that can trip us up in our pursuit of things of heaven. I would offer just three, though your shortlist might differ. I would suggest the following:
1) youth
2) wealth
3) compulsion with social media, especially our iPhones

Why are we so hung-up on youth and maintaining a youthful appearance? There are cultures that venerate the wisdom of the elderly more than the beauty and energy of youth. So… be old with a flourish, with gratefulness for what the passing years provide, which is not yet available to the young.

2)  Wealth is a good thing. We are meant to enjoy the good things of life, but not to spend so much time and energy garnering them that there’s no time or energy left for relationships, prayer, and good works.

3)  In our compulsion with iPhones and the like, it seems that many people are obsessed with speaking with a person who is absent, to the neglect of a person who is present. Or, in this Information Age, people require instant access to information of only relative importance for the moment. The increased possibilities for instantaneous communication appear to be actually distancing us from one another, creating an unexpected and increasing loneliness. The phones themselves are morally neutral, which means that they can be used for our good, or to our detriment. 

So, as we look at these particular vanities, we might be concerned that our cultural obsession with youth could lead to a crushing self-loathing that doesn’t allow us to love ourselves in a manner such as God loves us. Our cultural fascination with wealth could cripple our ability to be grateful for God’s Providence. Our growing cultural addiction to technology could make life not really better, but just faster and more isolating.

This leads us now to the more uplifting message from Saint Paul where he encourages us to move beyond self-absorption to a greater God-centeredness. Here he tells us:

“Think of what is above, not of what is on earth.”
The major difference between the the message from the First Reading and this from Saint Paul is that Saint Paul offers an alternative to the things of this world that will lead us beyond Qoheloth’s feelings of futility and meaninglessness. He practically sums up the Ten Commandments in one sentence as he says, “Put to death the parts of you that are earthly…” and then lists a few: immorality, impurity, passion, evil desires, greed and lying.

By saying, “Put to death…” he calls for a radical rejection of these inclinations that come from our human nature by calling upon the Presence of Christ within us. He reminds us that by the power of the Resurrection we were raised with Christ. Heaven, then, is not merely our hope, it is God’s promise. So, we must live each day as though we were on the way there.

“Be rich in what matters to God.”
Now Our Lord takes us the final step. Where Qoheloth took us from pessimism to optimism… where Saint Paul took us from self-absorption to God-centeredness, now Our Lord leads us from darkness to light — that is — not just a rejection of what Saint Paul defines as “earthly” or even evil, but encourages a search for what is “unearthly” or “heavenly” in its essence.

He doesn’t give us a formula to follow, as did Saint Paul, but, by delivering the short Parable about liberating ourselves from what the world says matters, He leaves the work ahead of us open-ended by saying, “Be rich in what matters to God.” This, then raises the question: “What, indeed, matters to God?”

Joining the Lord’s Parable to the message of Saint Paul’s Epistle, we can draw the conclusion that what matters to God is not the accumulation of wealth, but the elimination of sin. The elimination of sin allows for an accumulation of virtue, which will lead to true holiness, which is ultimately what matters to God. Wealth in and of itself is not evil; it is a good — even a blessing, but greed can make us forget what should be our ultimate wealth: virtue, holiness charity and prayerfulness. Pope Saint Paul VI spoke of this when he wrote: “Increased possession is not the ultimate goal of nations nor of individuals. All growth is ambivalent. It is essential if Man is to develop as a man, but in a way it imprisons Man if he considers it the supreme good, and it restricts his vision.”

So, what all three of our Speakers encourage us to do becomes not only desirous, but possible:
+the abandonment of vanity
+the release from self-centeredness
+ the attainment of God’s Will as our ultimate possession.

By the Grace of God, we can hope that these ends will come as a result of:
+our prayer
+our frequenting the Sacraments
+our charitable works.

On our own we will probably do a mediocre job of it, so, as Saint Paul enjoins us, we call upon Christ “who is all and is in all.