The gospel reading on this Sunday Lk 16:19-31 is reminding me that Christian living is not about self as how the ‘rich man’ had led his life, leaving Lazarus to be ‘covered with sores, who would gladly have eaten his fill of the scraps that fell from the rich man's table.’ Being a Christian, I am called to share God’s Love with the others but not keep the Love all to myself. I may have all the riches in the world but spiritually poor because I am in my own world and have not expanded my world to share my riches with the others, for the good of the others. I should not be self-centered but Christ-centered by following the footsteps of Christ to love using my talents and gifts for the good of others so that other people can have a share of God’s Love. Love is not meant to be kept as the Kingdom of God can expand only through sharing, unlike worldly wealth which will perish with time and can be possessed by one person at a time. Now, I have to ask myself which wealth I value more, the riches in heaven or the worldly riches which will perish with time no matter how tenacious how I hold on to them. Try holding on to the sand with my hand and I will know how it is like to try to hang on to the worldly riches at the expense of everything.
The riches in heaven are waiting for me to enjoy not just after my death but have a taste of them right here on earth. These riches can be found in God’s Love in the form of my strong relationships with others, through the sacraments, the bible and the love behind sharing my worldly riches and my God-given talents and gifts with the others. The kind of joyful, rich experience and fruits of sharing with the others and God which no words can describe at times are the iceberg tip of the taste of heavenly riches. The focus should not be on the accumulation of the worldly wealth but the essence of sharing Love through sharing the worldly riches with the others, in the forms of donating to the poor, buying gifts during special occasions to cheer and encourage someone up, etc. I am not saying that we should not earn more money and save up. What I am trying to say is I should not be so tunnel-visioned that my mind is just all about accumulation of worldly wealth for myself and find myself lonely with the money as my only partner and friend in my life.
Time on earth is also a worldly wealth where I should spend it on 'going to places where I may not even want to go' at times, such as sacrificing my time for entertainment to serve in a ministry, spending time on becoming a missionary to reach out to the people in poor countries, spending quality time with loved ones instead of on the computer games all the time, visiting the sick and lonely, etc. I do not possess the time as time is given by God for me to draw closer to Him and people. Once God stops giving me the breath of life, my time is up.
Which riches should I go for? The riches in heaven meant as gifts from God to me where I don't have to earn by myself or worldly riches which will diminish with time no matter how tightly I hang on to them even at the expense of hurting others at times?
With Love,
Elena
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