Reflection on Today’s Readings, Monday of 29th Week in Ordinary Time, Year I, Oct. 23rd, 2023
Texts: Romans 4:20-25; Canticle Luke 1:69-75; Luke 12:13-21 

The message of today is the question of where we put our trust. Jesus Christ warns us against putting our Faith in Possession.  He says, “Take heed, and beware of all covetousness; for a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." Possession is a symptom of covetousness of man. It is a sickness to put faith in possessions instead of God. Where man is sick morally and spiritually, possession takes the centre stage. 

We learn from the gospel reading that where possessions take centre stage there will be strife. Hence, today, we read, “One of the multitude said to  Jesus, ‘Teacher, bid my brother divide the inheritance with me.’” It was possession that caused the conflict between the two brothers. Possession has torn siblings apart, so also friends, colleagues, wife and husband, father and mother, etc. Man lives life of conflict and constant strife if he puts his faith in possessions.

Possessions cannot save us 

Jesus Christ reminds us in the gospel reading that possession cannot save our souls. We read, “And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; take your ease, eat, drink, be merry. But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul is required of you; and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?' So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.” Possession is vanity upon vanity.  

Faith in God brings about righteousness

We see in today’s first reading what trust in God does. Faith in God brings about righteousness. We read about Abraham thus: “That is why his faith was reckoned to him as righteousness." The faith we talk about here is that of certainty of God’s power to fulfil His promise. We read, “No distrust made Abraham waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.”  

The faith of Abraham made him righteous

Abraham is a testimony that faith makes us righteous. He trusted that God was able to fulfil His promise and God did not disappoint him; God fulfilled His promise to him. Such faith yielded in him righteousness.  

We know through the testimony of Abraham that God will also make us righteous by the same faith. In the words of St. Paul: “But the words, ‘it was reckoned to him,’ were written not for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be reckoned to us who believe in him that raised from the dead  Jesus our  Lord, who was put to death for our trespasses and raised for our justification.” 

We learn today that faith produces righteousness while possessions produces covetousness. Possession is also a symptom of covetousness.

Prayer 

God our Father, help us to pursue righteousness and open our eyes to see the vanity in possessions; grant that we may put our trust in You and not in possessions. Amen  

Fr. Andrew Olowomuke