Posted by The WORD in other words (2019) by Fr Bernard Espiritu SVD – New Zealand
18th Sunday in Ordinary Time – C
January 14, 2018 was a memorable date for the people of Hawaii. It was when an emergency alarm warning that North Korea had fired a missile caused many to panic, only to find out that it was a false alarm.
A New Zealander living in Hawaii when this happened was interviewed on TV and said how frightened she was. She expressed the thought of the certainty of death that loomed in many people‘s mind including herself. One father told a news reporter that he thought right away of how to keep his children safe. Others even headed to a manhole for storm water drainage to save themselves.
What will you do if you know that the certainty of death is at your doorstep? How will you act to face the situation?
There is a song that may help us to get a good lead. “Where your treasure is, there your heart shall be!” This song embraces the thoughts of the Word of God proclaimed to us today. The treasures we aim at and work for in life often center only on passing things.
Surely material needs like food, clothing, and shelter are essential and important so we can live with dignity as God wants. However, many have forgotten that there is life beyond our earthly life. The rich man in today‘s Gospel must have thought that there was only one option in life: to accumulate for himself his bumper crops. There was no other responsibility in view.
Come to think about it, this is the current reality in our world today: Half of the world‘s wealth belongs to the top1%. The top 10% of adults hold 85%, while the bottom 90% hold the remaining 15% of the world‘s total wealth.
The First Reading is an invitation for those who have a wise heart. As we toil to have a good life now, may we also be wise about leaving behind the material things we cannot bring along to eternity.
A good-hearted Christian gifted one Catholic charitable institution with a huge amount of money. When asked why, she promptly responded. “It has always been my dream to assist the needy, and allow them to believe that God has never abandoned them.” Surely, she fits in the category of Jesus‘ heart, one who stores up treasures for oneself AND is also rich in what matters to God.
Is your treasure found where your heart truly is? Every morning God‘s extension of our life gives us a chance to better define our future. But like in any ball game — basketball, tennis, soccer, rugby — where extensions are possible, all extensions, too, have an end. Let our life not be just defined as vanity. Let our life be defined as focused more on what is eternal. Where your treasure is, there your heart shall be.
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