Homily for 18th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Homily for the
18th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Aug. 3, 2025
Luke 11: 13-21
Eccl 1: 2; 2: 21-23
Col 3: 1-5, 9-11
Our Lady of the Assumption, Bronx
St. Francis Xavier, Bronx

The Rich Fool (Rembrandt)

“One’s life doesn’t consist of possessions” (Luke 11: 15).

Most of us need regular reminders of that.  Not for nothing does Qoheleth, an anonymous sage of ancient Israel, lament that everything is emptiness and that one’s hard work doesn’t prevent anxiety and grief and one finally leaves his property to someone else (Eccl 1:2; 2:21-23).  Not for nothing do we quote our proverbs like “Money can’t buy happiness,” “Shrouds don’t have pockets,” and “You can’t take it with you.”  You’ve never seen an armored car trailing a hearse to the cemetery.

The gospel passage opened with a dispute about an inheritance (Luke 12:13).  Such disputes are all too common and sometimes destroy families.  Just last Friday, one question addressed to Dear Abby concerned an inheritance.  This isn’t to mention disputes about taxes, tariffs, exemptions, corporate profits, and greedy destruction of the environment—or even a childish argument over who gets the last cookie.

So Jesus warns us to be on “guard against all greed” (12:15).  Greed is, after all, one of the 7 deadly sins, a sin that might lure us into selfishness and cause us to ignore the needs of our neighbor, lead us to make an idol out of our bank account, a luxurious vacation, a gas-guzzling vehicle, a lavish lifestyle.  We might waver between being repulsed by a story of some rich guy’s yacht that’s bigger than a typical house and costs 10x as much, and being envious of its owner.  We might shake our heads about the salaries of pro athletes and at the same time wish we could hit like Aaron Judge or wield a racket like Iga Swiatek.

Jesus isn’t against possessions.  He urges perspective.  He urges us to remember our final goal.  In his parable he cautions the rich man, “You fool!  This nite your life will be demanded of you” (12:20).

Some nite or some day, Christ is going to summon us to where he “is seated at the right hand of God” (Col 3:1) as the supreme judge.  “Your life will be demanded of you” means that we’ll have to give an account of our lives.  If we’ve focused on stuffing our barns (cf. Luke 12:18-19), our closets, and our storage units, our account book will open up to the Lord empty pages.  If we’ve been generous and helpful—like the Good Samaritan in the parable we heard 3 Sundays back (Luke 10:25-37), or like those in Matthew 25’s parable of the Last Judgment whom the King places at his right hand because they fed, clothed, visited, and cared for Jesus in the poor and desolate—then we’ll have a rich account book to present.  We’ll have treasure in heaven.  “When Christ your life appears, then you too will appear with him in glory” (Col 3:4).