‘You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you;
luke 12:20
and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?’
Reflection
Jesus tells a parable about a rich man who decides to build more barns and live a pleasurable life because he has a bountiful harvest. God tells the man that he is a fool, because that night he will die and his riches on earth will belong to no one. Jesus ends the parable by saying that it will be the same for all who store up treasure for themselves but not in what matters to God.
As a society, we are very materialistic. We own many things, are addicted to our phones and social media, and generally ignore God. However, what matters most is not how many things we accumulate during our lifetime, but how we live and grow closer to God while on earth. Once we die, everything we owned, and even our legacy, does not matter. If we did not develop a personal relationship with Jesus, live a truly Christian life, and strive for holiness, we greatly failed.
God calls us to himself every day. When we devote more time to earthly things than to God, we become like the man in the parable, who thinks he has time to enjoy his riches. As we know, we do not. How will you devote more time and energy to God today?
Saint of the Day
St. Lydia: 1st century AD
One of them, a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth, from the city of Thyatira, a worshiper of God, listened, and the Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what Paul was saying. After she and her household had been baptized, she offered us an invitation, “If you consider me a believer in the Lord, come and stay at my home,” and she prevailed on us.
Acts of the Apostles 16:14-15
The Healing Word 