A Lectio Divina Approach to the Sunday Liturgy
BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD (Series 8, n. 36)
18th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C – August 1, 2010 *
“Seek What Is Above!”
BIBLE READINGS
Eccl 1:2; 2:21-23 // Col 3:1-5, 9-11 // Lk 12:13-21
(N.B. Series 8 of BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD: A LECTIO DIVINA APPROACH TO THE SUNDAY LITURGY includes a prayerful study of the Sunday liturgy of Year C from the perspective of the Second Reading. For reflections on the Sunday liturgy of Year C based on the Gospel reading, please scroll up to the “ARCHIVES” above and open Series 2. For reflections based on the Old Testament reading, open Series 5.)
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS
Our journey of discipleship continues. Last Sunday we delved, as a worshipping community into the meaning of prayer, an integral part of Christian identity. This Sunday’s biblical readings help us to contemplate another basic quality of Christian discipleship: the wisdom to seek what is above. The insights they give invite us to see things in proper perspective and to set our priorities wisely.
The First Reading (Eccl 1:2; 2:21-23) sounds almost cynical and pessimistic. The biblical scholar Eugene Maly comments: “It says life is an illusion, nothingness and frustration. What good does it do to work your fingers to the bone, build up a fortune, and then have to leave it to some shiftless oaf who never did a day’s work in his life? Bubbles in the air! That’s all life is, our author seems to be saying. One prick of a pin and poof! – it’s all over. If vanity means emptiness, vanity of vanities means the fullness of emptiness. Don’t bother yourself, the author tells us, I’ve tried everything under the sun and nothing lasts. A moment or two of pleasure, of satisfaction may occur, but in the end it all goes down the drain. Two considerations temper the harshness of that view. The first is that the author lived before Israel had been graced with faith in the afterlife. Only in later books does she come to the conviction of resurrection from the dead (Daniel) and of immortality (Wisdom). We can be fairly sure that our author’s realistic probing of the true dimension of this life contributed to the later development. The second consideration is that he offered his own reflections outside the context of his own faith. This was the general practice in wisdom literature. Its purpose was to examine the values of secular reality independently of God’s covenant love for his people.”
The vision of Qoheleth, the purported author of Ecclesiastes, is very helpful. Eugene Maly explains: “We can be truly grateful to the author. He makes us evermore conscious of the richness of a life of faith, a life that sees the real depths of secular reality and recognizes the finger of God at work. This faith rejoices in the goodness of things because it knows there is an unseen and eternal dimension to them, an everlasting beauty guaranteed by the presence of the Lord. (…) Without that faith life does indeed lose its meaning.”
In the Parable of the Rich Fool in the Gospel reading (Lk 12:13-21), Jesus cautions us on the folly of pursuing earthly riches while failing to store up true riches. He teaches us that there is no security in material riches. Jesus is inviting us to focus on the essential – on what really matters to God. The liturgical theologian Romano Guardini asserts: “The more deeply people realize that Christ is the essential, the less concerned they will be about everything else. Thus they are armed for the struggle to come, given a foundation of eternal indestructibility … in the hands of divine providence. (…) To the extent that a man recognizes God as his Father, that he places his trust in him and makes his kingdom the primary concern of his heart, to precisely that extent a new order of being unfolds about him … Condition for the realization of the providential order is Christ himself.”
The Second Reading (Col 3:1-5, 9-11) underlines very impressively the meaning of true riches: Christ who raised us to new life. He challenges us to seek what is above … to think of what is above, not of what is on earth. We are being summoned to live the new way in Christ and set our priorities right. Through baptismal consecration, Christ leads us on the way of Passover, which involves detachment from what passes away and directs us towards the attainment of the kingdom of God.
Harold Buetow concludes: “We who are trying to live out our baptism have a new set of values. We think of giving instead of getting, serving rather than ruling, forgiving and not avenging. We are grateful for life given by God without cost, friends provided without price, eternity promised without merit. We have the insight that our worth is not measured by what we own but by what we share and that we have the opportunity to grow in the lasting wealth of love. We see that wealth is not necessarily a sign of God’s favor, and that poverty can be … We reject greed and grow rich in God. We are to prepare to move into the dwelling place prepared for us in heaven rather than building bigger barns. Do we have our priorities right?”
The following article is about a daring initiative that goes against selfish acquisitiveness (cf. Donna Gordon Blankinship, “Gates, Buffet Urge Wealthy to Give” in San Jose Mercury News, June 17, 2010, p. C2). This philanthropic effort is very inspiring. Let us invoke God’s blessings upon it.
Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates and billionaire investor Warren Buffet are launching a campaign to get other American billionaires to give at least half their wealth to charity. Buffet, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, said in a letter introducing the concept that he couldn’t be happier with his decision in 2006 to give 99 % of his roughly $46 billion fortune to charity.
Patty Stonesifer, former CEO of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that Gates and Buffet have been campaigning for the past year to get others to donate the bulk of their wealth. The friends and philanthropic colleagues are asking people to pledge to donate either during their lifetime or at the time of their death. They estimate their efforts could generate $600 billion in charitable giving. In 2009, American philanthropies received a total of about $300 billion in donations, according to the Chronicle of Philanthropy.
The handful of billionaires approached so far have embraced the campaign, said Stonesifer, a close friend of Gates who offered to speak about the effort. Four wealthy couples have already announced their pledges, including John and Ann Doerr of Menlo Park, John and Tasha Mortgridge of San Jose, Los Angeles philanthropists Eli and Edythe Broad and Garry and Marguerite Lenfest of Philadelphia.
In addition to making a donation commitment, Gates and Buffet are asking billionaires to pledge to give wisely and learn from their peers. They said they were inspired by the philanthropic efforts of not just other billionaires but of the people of all financial means and backgrounds who have given generously to make the world a better place. Their philosophic forebears are the Carnegie and Rockefeller families, who donated most of their wealth to improve society and were the grandparents of modern philanthropy, said Stacy Palmer, editor of the Chronicle of Philanthropy.
Ted Turner’s announcement 13 years ago of a $1 billion gift to United Nations programs also was done in part to inspire other big givers, but did not have a noticeable result, Palmer said. “It’s a stretch to see how they’re going to get the $600 billion figure”, she said, noting that only 17 people on the Forbes list of the 400 wealthiest people in America are also on the Chronicle’s list of the most generous American donors. Many of these people may have given anonymously or plan to donate when they die, but the bulk of money raised by charities today comes from non-billionaires giving $5, $10 or $50 at a time, Palmer said.
Gates and Buffet are asking each individual or couple who make a pledge to do so publicly, with a letter explaining their decision. “The pledge is a moral commitment to give, not a legal contract. It does not involve pooling money or supporting a particular set of causes or organizations”, they explain in a written statement about the project.
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART
Do we give in to “vanity of vanities” – to the fevered human drive for wealth and property and other passing things? How do we feel about it? What do we do about it?
How do we respond to Jesus’ exhortation not to store up earthly treasures but that which matters to God? Do we realize that love for the poor is incompatible with inordinate love of riches or their selfish use?
Do we truly seek what is above knowing that in baptism we have put on a new self and have been renewed in the image of our creator? Do we cling to the selfish way of living instead of being shaped by the marvelous reality that Christ is all and in all?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD
Leader: Loving Father,
we thank you for raising us to new life in Christ.
In him, we have been renewed in your image.
Christ is all and in all.
Through him, we have put on the new self.
Teach us to reject what is not compatible with our life in Christ.
Give us a faith that not even earthly riches or death can touch.
Help us to seek what is above,
the absolute treasure of your Kingdom.
Give us a heart for the poor
and the grace to share the riches of our faith and inner self
with all in need.
Let your Servant-Son lead us on the way of our Passover,
through daily detachment
toward the attainment of the heavenly treasure
and our eternal communion in your divine life.
O gracious God,
you are our absolute good,
now and forever.
Assembly: Amen.
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the week. Please memorize it.
“If you were raised with Christ, seek what is above.” (Col 3:1)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION
ACTION PLAN: Pray that genuine philanthropic efforts and charitable works in today’s world may be blessed by God. By assuming a simple lifestyle that will enable you to open your hearts to the poor more readily, be a channel of God’s providence for them. In your words and deeds, show the world what it means to seek what is above.
ACTION PLAN: That we may grasp more deeply the meaning of God as the absolute good, make an effort to spend an hour in Eucharistic Adoration. Visit the PDDM WEB site (www.pddm.us) for the EUCHARISTIC ADORATION THROUGH THE LITURGICAL YEAR: A Weekly Pastoral Tool (Year C, vol. 6, # 36).
Prepared by Sr. Mary Margaret Tapang PDDM
PIAE DISCIPULAE DIVINI MAGISTRI
SISTER DISCIPLES OF THE DIVINE MASTER
60 Sunset Ave., Staten Island, NY 10314
Tel. (718) 494-8597 // (718) 761-2323
Website: WWW.PDDM.US