THE PARADOX OF VANITY AND VALUE (HOMILY FOR THE 18TH SUNDAY IN THE ORDINARY TIME YEAR C
Ecclesiastes 1:2; 2:21-23; Colossians 3:1-5; 9-11; Luke 12:13-21
Central to the liturgy of the word today is the question of vanity and value. When is our action considered vanity and when is our action considered of great value?
In the context of man's efforts and activities in life, his earthly struggles and toils, the first reading from the book of Ecclesiastes considers vanity. It reads: “Vanity of vanities, says the preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity” (Eccles 1:2). It questioned the laborious efforts of man for success, prosperity and achievements, and reduced them all to nothingness. For when the breadth of life is taken away from man, he does not go down below with these properties. They all end up becoming properties of another who may not have toiled for it at all.
The first reading and the second reading from St. Paul's letter to the Colossians 3:1-5; 9-11 bring to the limelight the paradox between vanity and value. St. Paul acknowledges in the second reading of today's liturgy of the word: “So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory” (Col 3:1-4).
Beloved in Christ, a man in his activities of life cannot enclose himself to simply what is provisional, temporal, earthly, material, etc. He cannot reduce the meaning of his life simply to earthly affairs. He must rise above them and seek the face of He in whose image and likeness he was created: God. He must love his neighbour and dedicate all his resources and activities as means to attain his salvation. Consequently, vanity and value are found in the way man uses his resources. If the goods are considered as the “be all” and “end all” of his earthly life, then they are vain. But if they are considered as means to attain the end which is the love of God and love of neighbour, then they are of great value.
In other to have a comprehensive knowledge of what transpired, it will be plausible if we glance through what Jesus was teaching when the unnamed man interrupted him with his request. Before the interruption, Jesus in Luke 12:1-2 was granting his disciples the speech on openness and fearlessness, on the need for them to be courageous and guard themselves against the yeast of the Pharisees (their hypocrisy). It was within this context that the unnamed man interrupted Jesus. One can perceive the disconnect between the request of the unnamed man and the teachings of Jesus. By implication, he wasn't listening to Jesus but was worried about something else while the teaching was going on. However, the response of Jesus to the unnamed man paved the way for the parable of the rich fool. It is a narrative of a rich man who had a harvest and did not have enough room to store his crop, he decided to pull down his barns and built bigger ones. Then he would say to his soul, you have plenty of good things laid for many years to come; take things easy, eat, drink and have a good time. (Lk 12:). To this disposition of the rich fool, God said, “this night, the demand for your soul will be made” (Lk12:). The question similar to that of the book of Ecclesiastes resonates: “these your properties, whose will it be?”. Jesus, conclusively asserted: so it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God (Lk 12:21).
From the parable above, we can rightly say that the thoughts and actions of the rich fool were all vanities rather than acts of great value. Hence, why was it considered vanity and not of good value?
The rich man was not a dishonest person. He did not cheat not defrauded anyone. The offence he committed was to live forgetful of God and his neighbour. He was a greedy, covetous, and selfish man who thought of himself alone. The act of appreciation and thanksgiving to God Almighty for his graciousness upon him were absent in him. He could have evoked the words of the psalmist: How can I repay the Lord for his goodness to me? (Ps 116:12). He indirectly boasted of his efforts and strength and negated God's providence. The virtue of charity cannot be found in him. He was nonchalant and insensitive to the plight of the needy. One of the greatest injustices in the world is that very few are rich while many possess nothing. Again, the rich fool perceived the resources of life as an end in itself rather than a means to attain Salvation. He reduced the absolute joy, happiness and meaningfulness of the human person to mere goods of life rather than in the supreme Good: God himself.
Dearest brothers and sisters in Christ, we may be guilty of the attitude of the rich fool if we mistakenly think that possessions will give us the kind of security that even our souls seek. For no matter how wealthy we may become, a day and time will come when God will say to us: this day your life is being demanded of you.
Let us firstly be appreciative to God at all times for his goodness and benevolence upon us. Let us also be charitable, just and equitable in the appropriation of the resources that God had placed under our care. May we never be insensitive to the plight of the needy.
May God bless his words in our hearts. Amen
Happy Sunday to you all
Fr Remi osj
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