Reflections for Sunday
Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time - September 28, 2003
You rich, see what treasures you have stored up for yourselves in these final days. Here, crying aloud, are the wages you withheld from the laborers who mowed your fields. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.
Be patient, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for his crops to come from the earth, waiting patiently for the early and late rains. You too must be patient, for the coming of the Lord is near.James 5: 3-8
Spiritual Treasure
When God created the earth, he filled it with an abundance of good things to nourish and sustain his human family. He created enough for everyone. He entrusted the earth to us with the understanding that we would manage it well, so that everyone would have a share of his gifts and no one would go without.
But man has not managed the earth as God intended. In every age a privileged few amass great wealth while vast numbers suffer extreme want. And our age is the worst of all. Man has tried to usurp God's dominion over the world. He has laid claim to the gifts entrusted to him and tried to call them his own.
Those who hoard an abundance of the earth's gifts do so at their peril. The wealthy take much more than they need, leaving countless others in poverty and deprivation. But God sees the misery of the world's poor. He hears their cries. And a day is coming when he will settle accounts with each of us for how we have used the gifts he entrusted to us.
God has given each of us a portion of the earth's abundance to take with us on our journey through this life. Its only purpose is to sustain us along the way. We should take only what we need for the journey. Whatever is left over we should give to fellow travelers who do not have enough. Sharing it enriches all of us.
If we become encumbered with earthly things, we will lose sight of where we are going. It is indeed easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to give himself entirely to God. In the end earthly wealth means nothing. What we seek at the end of the journey is a spiritual treasure. Only by giving ourselves entirely to God will we find fulfillment and peace.
God our Father, we give you thanks for the blessings of heaven and earth. May we see in the bounty of the earth the depth and breadth of your love for us. May we care for one another on our earthly journey, that we may be united with you as one family in eternal peace.