8/7/2022 - 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Viktor Frankl, in his account of what he learned about human nature in a Nazi concentration camp, "Man’s Search for Meaning", notes that the people most likely to survive that ordeal were those who had something to look forward to—a loved one with whom they hoped one day to be reunited or an enterprise they hoped to accomplish. What we look forward to is so deeply a part of our personality that this mental and spiritual reality impacts our bodily health and vitality. The lack of something to look forward to results in a deterioration of energy and performance and may even shove us into the temptation to give up on life.

In the gospel text of today, Jesus suggests sure ways to invest in life as He speaks about purses that do not wear out, stocks that will not fail you, and treasures that cannot be robbed or liquidated. As we are in turmoil regarding our economies, a reflection on our ‘Spiritual Capital’ will give us a vital thrust to live a more meaningful life.

1. “Staying Awake” or Awareness: “See that you are dressed for action…”! (Lk 12:35)

In the Christian context being awake is tied up with a sense of readiness and hope, as we hear in the gospel reading of today: “Happy those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes” (Lk 12:43). The call to being alert is very different from being sleepless due to worry. Silence and deep prayer are the means to attain a relaxed – but not lethargic – state of openness to recognize the Lord who is coming. Spiritual writers have called this state “being centered” or “being rooted”. Sometimes we come across persons who are even-keeled even in the midst of turmoil as the Psalmist would say, “even though I walk in the valley of the shadow of death.” We establish these roots of inner stability – only using awareness, silence, meditation, and contemplative prayer. These means facilitate our openness to the grace of God that shares with us the taste of eternal life – life in God – here and now!

2. Giving without expecting a return “Sell your possessions and give alms” (Lk 12:33)

In the gospel reading of today, as on several other occasions (Mt 6:2-3; Mk 10:21), Jesus invites us to “sell 

your possessions and give alms” (Lk 12:33). This is a concrete way of investing towards the increase of the spiritual capital. It surely does look foolish from an earthily business perspective, but it is a foundational building block of the spiritual life.

In the Book of Wisdom that we read as the first reading, there is this curious phrase: ‘For in secret the holy children of the good were offering sacrifice and putting into effect with one accord the divine institution.’ (Wis 18:9). I believe our good deeds, though done in secret, are bringing about the reign of God in this world, just as our evil actions add to the evil and tilt the balance. A saintly life is lived not for the applause of the gallery but in love of the God ‘who sees us in secret.

3. Faith as trust and love of the Living God: “Only faith can guarantee the blessings that we hope for…” (Heb 11:1)

The third means of building the spiritual capital is faith. The second reading invites us to focus on the primacy of God in our lives, because “only faith can guarantee the blessings that we hope for or prove the existence of the realities that at present remain unseen” (Heb 11:1). Faith is the recognition of the image of God that we are created in, and thus acknowledges the action of God who moves us from within us towards Himself. This is why silence and prayer are signs of being awake. It is also linked to altruism because every human person is in fact in the image of God. Again, faith makes me trust God the creator and that all will be well with my life which is eternal life!

Pope Benedict XVI says, “‘Eternal life’ is not – as the modern reader might immediately assume – life after death, in contrast to this present life, which is transient and not eternal. ‘Eternal life’ is life itself, real life, which can also be lived in the present age and is no longer challenged by physical death. This is the point: to seize ‘life’ here and now, real life that can no longer be destroyed by anything or anyone” (Jesus of Nazareth, vol. 2, pp.81-82). 

Fr Tom Kunnel, C.O.