24-Jul-2013 Dear Friend,
For many of us life is spent acquiring wealth that we might have a good time. Isn't that what life is all about? The ideal held out by the media before us is: 'To be more have more! Yet, when we see people struck down in the prime of life without enjoying what they have earned we are shocked. When suddenly tragedy strikes in the form of a fatal sickness or disaster we wonder: Is life worth living? Paradoxically, to have life we have to be ready to let go, and to enjoy life we have to look beyond life! Have a quiet weekend reflection on what my life is all about. Fr. Jude Sunday Reflections: 18th Sunday of the Year: "Don't get bogged down by life! Look beyond! Above!" 4-Aug-2013 Readings: Eccles. 1: 2, 2: 21-23Colossians 3: 1-5, 9-11Luke 12: 13-21 In the first reading from the book of Ecclesiastes, the author speaks very bluntly about his view of life. It starts with: "Vanity of vanities, all is vanity! A man, who has laboured wisely, skillfully and successfully must leave what is his own to someone, who has not toiled for it at all." It sounds like a rather pessimistic view of life and yet this book written in the third century before Christ has some profound truths, which hold good even today. The point that is being made is that life is ephemeral, it is like chasing the wind, nothing is certain. The pursuit of life as a sole end is vain. This truth hits us hard especially when we are confronted with the sudden death of a friend, a loved one, someone who we just talked with recently and is no more. Vanity is the first word and also the last word of this book of scripture. We are vain people and life is vanity itself. "First I was dying to finish high school and start college. And then I was dying to finish college and start working. Then I was dying for my children to grow old enough for school so I could return to work. And then I was dying to retire. And now I am dying and suddenly I realize I forgot to live!" - Anon The Gospel of today starts with a man in the crowd asking Jesus to intervene on his behalf to tell his brother to give him a share of the inheritance. At face value we would have expected Jesus to readily oblige to being a mediator in the family property dispute. Jesus immediately declines the role. "Who appointed me judge and arbiter of your claims?" Why does Jesus refuse the role? His priority was matters of the Spirit, which were clearly more important. Instead of dividing the inheritance between the two brothers, Jesus focuses on why the inheritance has divided the two brothers. From our own personal experience we know how family inheritance and wealth, instead of being a source of happiness has so often become the bone of contention and division in good Christian families. Jesus was very much to the point when he said: "Watch and be on your guard against avarice of any kind, for a man's life is not made secure by what he owns, even when he has more than he needs." No amount of money can bring us happiness. In the last part of the gospel Jesus drives the point home with his parable of the rich man who having had a good harvest thinks of what he will do to secure his future. "I will pull down my barns and build bigger ones, and store all my grains and goods in them, and I will say to my soul: My soul you have plenty of good things laid by for many years to come; take things easy, eat drink and have a good time." But God said to him, "Fool! This very night you die and this hoard of yours, whose will it be then? So it is when a man stores up treasure for himself in place of making himself rich in the sight of God." In the parable the rich man is called 'Fool' by God because he has wrong priorities firstly, because he never saw beyond himself and the present moment. Secondly, he was foolish because he never saw beyond this world. His security was his money, which is also the security of so many today. Having everything, the rich man had really nothing because he was possessed by them. A sign of being possessed is the inability to share, just as the sign of love is the ability to give rather than to grab. Today Jesus invites us to evaluate our priorities: Do we possess things or are we possessed by them? Do we realize that we can spend less and enjoy more? 'I complained that I had no shoes till I met a man who had no feet!' Really Livin’! There was a multi-millionaire Texas oil man, who wanted to be buried when he died in a solid gold, custom-made Cadillac surrounded by all his wealth. At his funeral, a vast crowd assembled to pay their last respects. The dead man was dressed in his finest glittering apparel and was propped up in the front seat of his gold Cadillac. As the car was lowered into the grave, a young boy in the crowd said: "Man, that's really livin!" -What we often think of as 'really livin' is actually 'really dyin'. What we often pursue as a 'full life' leads only to an 'empty grave!' Bill Glass The Ogre in the Pit Once upon a time there was a White Knight looking for adventure. He came to a village where legends told of a terrible ogre in a pit. Bravely the White Knight took up the challenge. He would do battle with the terrible ogre in the pit. The people remembered several courageous men who had climbed down into the pit, but no one could ever remember one of those champions returning. The White Knight stood looking at the deep dark hole. The opening was so narrow that he stripped himself of armour and all unnecessary clothing. He took only a long dagger, which he tied around his neck with a leather strap. After securing a rope at the opening and testing its strength, he gripped it firmly and began lowering himself, hand under hand, letting the rope slip between his feet. Soon he felt the smooth cool floor of the chamber. It took several minutes for his eyes to adjust to the darkness, but soon he focused on a large mound. Then he realized it was the bones of his predecessors, along with their assorted weapons. A little way off, he spotted another mound, but he wasn't sure what it was. Suddenly he was surprised by the inhabitant of the pit, surprised because he didn't anticipate the ogre would be only as tall as a rabbit. The ogre raised its arms and screeched with its squeaky voice, trying to appear as fierce as possible. The White Knight picked up a sword from the floor and prepared to do battle, but quick as a rat, the ogre ran into a hole near the second mound. The White Knight followed and the second mound became clearer and again he was surprised. Before his eyes glittered balls of gold as big as grapefruit and diamonds as big as plums. With only a small part of that treasure even a commoner would be a prince for life. The ogre lost its importance in view of this great treasure. But the Knight had a problem. How would he carry it out of the hole? He had no pockets. Who would believe him if he didn't bring back at least a piece? He suddenly had an idea. He would take one of the diamonds in his mouth and carry it that way until he climbed out of the hole. He could always come back later for the rest. Hurriedly he chose one of the larger diamonds. It fit comfortably into his mouth and he began the arduous climb out of the pit, hand over hand, gripping the rope with his feet. Higher and higher he climbed until the heavy exertion began to render him breathless. He would have to breathe through his mouth in order to get enough air. As he took a large gulp of air, the diamond slipped and stuck in his throat. The White Knight choked on his treasure, lost consciousness, and fell to his death on the mound of bones below. You see, the terrible ogre in the pit was not the little troll. The ogre in the pit was greed....greed in the hearts of men who desire easy treasure and the hope of unearned gain. The glitter of this world choked him to death. - Author Unknown A greater Fool! The story is told of an English nobleman of tremendous wealth who gave his jester a wand, saying "Keep this wand until you find a greater fool than yourself." The jester laughingly accepted the wand and used it on festive occasions. One day the nobleman lay dying. Calling the jester to his bedside he said "I am going on a long journey." "Where to?" asked the jester. "I don't know." came the reply. "What provisions have you made for the trip?" the jester asked. The nobleman shrugged his shoulders. "None at all." "Then" said the jester, "take this." And placing the wand in the nobleman's hands, he added, "it belongs to you. You are a greater fool than I." Benedict Auer Greed City There is a story about an empty village and a stranger who enters the deserted town. Where are the people? All the signs of life are there, nothing is locked, food is on the table, smoke is curling in the chimneys, and stores are open but empty of customers. He doesn't understand, but he proceeds to have a wonderful time. Soon he is too drunk and happy to realize that the villagers are all on a nearby hill and are desperately trying to signal to him. They had rushed outside the town because they were told that a huge bomb in the town square was about to go off. They had left everything to save their lives. From a distance they try vainly by gestures and shouting to warn the stranger, taking care not to come too close. They watch him eat their food, drink their liquor, and try their clothes. But when the happy wanderer goes into the bank and flings their money into the air, they forget everything but their greed. They rush back to the village, beat up the stranger, and drive him out. At that moment the bomb explodes. They all die except the stranger. "Greed city may be a nice place to visit, but we cannot live there forever!" John Pichapilly in 'The Table of the Word' The source of happiness or the cause of our ... We read that Elvis Presley was phenomenally rich. He owned eight cars, six motorbikes, two aero planes, sixteen television sets, a vast mansion, and several bulging bank accounts. On top of all this he was a superstar literally idolized by fans from all over the world. With all of this one would have expected him to be supremely happy. Ironically that was far from the truth. In spite of fame, wealth and success, Elvis Presley experienced within himself a spiritual malaise and would often complain of both loneliness and boredom. In one particular interview, he very frankly confessed "I never, never imagined that money would bring so many headaches!" Sadly, as we all know, the end came sooner than later, at the premature age of 42, leaving the entire world speechless with shock and benumbed with grief. The world had lost an idol; and the music world had lost a superstar. - The accountant of John D. Rockefeller, the wealthiest man that ever lived in the USA, was once asked how much money the world famous billionaire left behind. Without batting an eyelid, the accountant honestly answered with just one word, "Everything!" James Valladares in 'Your Words, O Lord, are Spirit, and They are Life' The world is a bridge, we are to pass over it. Let's not build our dwelling on it! Fr. Jude Botelho [email protected] PS. The stories, incidents and anecdotes used in the reflections have been collected over the years from books as well as from sources over the net and from e-mails received. Every effort is made to acknowledge authors whenever possible. If you send in stories or illustrations I would be grateful if you could quote the source as well so that they can be acknowledged if used in these reflections. These reflections are also available on my Web site www.NetForLife.net Thank you.
