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subsequent parable that Jesus uses to respond to the man from the crowd. This fellow from the. Page of. 1 2. KNIGHTS OF
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Vanity Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time 2016 Refection By: Deacon Paul Hursh “…Vanity of vanities! All things are vanity!” (Ecc. 1:2b) To avoid any appearance of hypocrisy I will state at the outset that, my actions are often motivated by vanity. I arrive at this conclusion after looking carefully at my actions and searching my heart. So, what of this concept of vanity? Why is it such a powerful motivator. The word translated as ‘vanity’ in our reading from Ecclesiastes today has also been rendered as; meaningless (NIV), futility (CSB), and pointless (ISV). If, after looking carefully at your own motivations, you come to the same conclusion as me, don’t despair – hope is just around the corner. The power of vanity as a motivator may stem from the intense pressure in today’s society to perform and to look good. If, in fact, what we are doing is serving others or society as a whole then our efforts are not wasted. God will use even our misguided motivations to bring about good. Considering this, you are closer than you think to the reign of God. Remember that the woman who was a “great sinner” (Luke 7: 36-50) had her sins forgiven because she showed great love. If, like her, the realization of your true motivations leads to you reconcile your fall through the mercy and forgiveness of Jesus, then you and your efforts have been recovered. Remember what Julian of Norwich once said, “First there is the fall, then there is the recovery from the fall; both are the grace of God.” Yes, it seems that we often get it right by first getting it wrong. This is called the spirituality of imperfection, or as Saint Thérèse of Lisieux put it, “My little way.” The challenge in this approach is first being able to accept and embrace our imperfections, our brokenness, so we can receive the forgiveness of Christ. Also recall from the story cited above, that the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little. (cf. Luke 7:47) The tie between this our reading from Ecclesiastes and our Gospel for today (Luke 12: 13-21) is the misguided motivation of the person from the crowd and the successful landowner in the subsequent parable that Jesus uses to respond to the man from the crowd. This fellow from the

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crowd may sound like someone seeking justice, but when we consider his motivation, it is more likely greed. As mentioned above it is important in the spiritual life to go beyond the surface appearance of our actions and examine our motivations. Jesus realized this with the man from the crowd wanting to make him judge and arbitrator over his family’s estate. As is usually the case, Jesus doesn’t respond directly to questions and requests. He, instead, tells a parable, and allows the inquirer the opportunity to arrive at the proper conclusion. In the parable, the rich landowner has a good year with an overly abundant yield. He decides to tear down his barns and build bigger ones to accommodate his good fortune. At first this may seem a prudent thing to do, but Jesus raises the issue of greed and the rich man’s unwillingness to share his excess with those in need. From our seat in the pew we may also share this judgment against the rich man, especially given the additional information that this man would die that very night. On reflecting on this parable further I realize that there have been times when I have acted similarly to this fortunate man. Not too many years ago I found that I was making enough in my annual earnings that I could increase my contribution to my 401k retirement plan. Was I in fact tearing down my barns so that I could build bigger ones? Perhaps, but each case needs to be evaluated in light of the whole picture, and every case must be reflected on from the spiritual perspective in addition to the material data. The point I want to make is that in the spiritual life we need to have the courage to go deeper than surface appearances and what is judged prudent in the light of the wisdom of this world. Life is more than possessions.

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