FRIDAY, THIRTY FIRST WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
Phil 3:17–4:1 Ps 122: 1-5 Lk 16: 1-8
LOOKING TOWARDS HEAVEN
As we approach the end of the liturgical year, we are once again reminded of the inevitable end of our earthly life. This life however, is not insignificant as it will determine the one to come. The readings place before us two attitudes towards life. Firstly, we have St Paul talking about those who make food into their god; people who live by the principle of “eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” Sensual pleasures are all they live for. God has given us a body to enjoy things like food, nature’s beauty and even physical intimacy between husband and wife.
Pleasure in itself is not bad. In fact, it is a gift from God. The danger lies in making pleasure our god. Such an attitude leads to nothing but self- destruction. Therefore, although the truth was not pleasant for St Paul to say, it was incumbent. He reminds us that life on earth will end! That’s why our eyes are to be fixed on the finish line, towards a life that will never end. This is a truth that we need to be constantly reminded of, otherwise we live as though we are masters of our own life, failing to see it as a gift from God, and acknowledging Him as our master. We begin to squander away our life in wasteful pleasures. Nevertheless, we can learn something from his excessive focus on his own self-interest.
The steward in the Gospel applied every effort to secure his temporal welfare. He is a good example, not of his deceptive ways, but of his solicitude for his future. Jesus invites us as children of light to be true to our identity and expend the same effort in preparing for life in the world to come.
The readings today invite us to order our priorities. If we have been distracted or diverted, there is still hope. St Paul himself experienced these struggles and we can learn from him “forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on towards the goal.”
Response: Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
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