The Gospel for Monday of the 29th week in Ordinary Time is taken from Luke 12:13 21. 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 arbiter. 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 him, 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 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 the one who stores up treasure for himself, but is not rich in what matters to God. When I discovered the meaning of the word possessions, it doesn’t mean simple ownership. It means having something that gives you a sense of your value, your worth. And greed is a way in which people get caught up in thinking the more they have, the greater they are. The more they can do, the greater they are.

And Jesus simply saying to them, look, when you die, you will stand before God, not filled with your possessions, your bank account or anything, but just you. That’s the work to become the you that God wants you to become. After your reflection, I’ll close with a prayer. Closing prayer. Father, you ask so little innocence of us just to be who you made us to be. We need to accept the beauty of who we are and stand before you with all of our weaknesses and frailty.

But know it is us as you created us. It is the object of your love. Help us to always be true to ourselves. And we ask this in Jesus name, Amen.