Don’t you just love Qoheleth in the Book of Ecclesiastes?
He’s at the end of his life and lamenting the futility of it all. So we get this great line:
“Vanity of Vanities! All things are vanity!
It reminds me these three men talking one day, and the one says, “What would you like people to say people to say at your funeral?”
[“LOOK! He’s moving!”]
Vanity of vanities All is vanity.
In one sense Qoheleth is right:
With ownership comes responsibility.
With responsibility comes work
Work takes time
And we only have so much time in this life.
When it is over, we must leave all our earthly possessions behind to others.
Think about it:
You never see a hearth with a U-Haul behind it.
But is it really as futile as Qoheleth says it is?
Is it really all just vanity and a chase after the wind?
I don’t think so Saint Paul doesn’t think so and neither does Our Lord.
The key, as St. Paul rightly points out is to
“Think of what is above, not of what is on earth.”
We need to seek that which is of heaven,
Even while we are still living on this earth…
ESPECIALLY while we are still living
on this earth.
The urgency of this is made clear by Our Lord with the Parable of the Foolish Man with the Bountiful Harvest:
“Thus will it be for all who store up treasure for themselves but are not rich in what matters to God.”
Which begs the question: What matters to God?
What are these “things above” upon which we are to set our sights?
Put another way, while we are living on this earth, what are the things of heaven that are in front of our collective noses right here, right now?
What is it about the Kingdom of God that is literally within our reach?
I think I know: Let me share with your one of the best personal introductions I have ever heard.
It was given years ago by a speaker at a seminar to all the clergy and parish staff members
(definition of an expert, a guy from out of time with a briefcase.)
He started out by saying, “Let me tell you a little about myself:
– I am a disciple of Jesus Christ
– I am husband to my beautiful wife Sandra
– I am father to my children, Eddie, Carol and Bridget
– With my family I am a member of St. Gregory the Great Parish
– I am a best friend to Stephen, Larry, Carl, and a few others.
And only then did he tell us what his profession was.
As I listened to him, I thought to myself, “Self! This guy has got it right!”
He understands what really matters to God.
It’s surprisingly simple:
The Kingdom of God is all about relationships.
- So on the one hand, Qoheleth is right.
We never really own anything in this life
We are not owners; rather we are stewards of whatever material gifts Our Lord chooses to bless us with in this life.
All those things we might accumulate
We gladly leave it all behind.
Because they really don’t matter to God.
But on the other hand, we can leave this world incredibly rich!
For what do we really take with us at the end of this life, if not the relationships we build with those around us?
- Our relationship with Christ
- Our relationship with others
THESE are those things of heaven that are in front of our collective noses right here, right now.
The Kingdom of God is built of relationships, and relationships are as close to us as the person sitting next to you right now.
The Kingdom of God is at hand for you.
Think about this in a few minutes when we get to the sign of peace.
There is an art to building relationships with God and others, but it is not rocket science.
If you want a relationship to grow,
You give it time and attention.
Time is a precious commodity.
You can fill it with the things you like
But how much better to fill it with the people you love!
Time and attention, these are the two essential ingredients of any relationship.
Do you want your relationship with Christ to grow? Give him your time and attention.
– Spend at least ten minutes a day in private prayer with Our Lord
And if you cannot find at least ten minutes a day in private prayer with Our Lord, your life is out of control and you need to make adjustments, no excuses.
– Spend time in prayer with each other at home
Spend time and pray and with other members of our parish family here at St. Patrick’s, either in a ministry, or especially in a small group. Associate with the people you want to be like. The old adage is true: Show me your friends and I’ll tell you who you are. If you want to get close to Christ, hang with people who also want to get close to Christ, It’s like a wagon wheel with Christ at the center and ourselves on the spokes: the closer we get to Christ, the closer we get to one another, the closer we get to one another, the closer we get to Christ.
Finally, our unity in relationship with Christ and one another finds its fulfillment, is celebrated, and renewed here in the Sacred Assembly in the Eucharist.
Here we are fed and renewed in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, participating fulling these Sacred Mysteries and entering into the most glorious of relationships known as “COMM-UNION.”
where are united literally at the level of our very being.
With God, and with one another
This finds its sacramental expression when we receive Holy Communion,
That it is known thus is no accident.
We raise our hands in prayer, and the Kingdom of God, which is relationships, is very much within our grasp.
Our union with Christ and with one each other in the Church gives a special context to our relationships with everyone else we encounter outside these walls.
Do you want your relationship with your spouse to grow?
– pray together
– establish a date night and stick to it religiously
– fight for your time together
Lavish time and attention on each other and the Kingdom of God, which is made of relationships, is within your grasp.
You want your relationship with your friends to grow?
– call them up and invite them to lunch or dinner
– go out and do stuff together
– make memories, enjoy each other’s company
And the Kingdom of God, which is made of relationships, is within your grasp.
Remember, in the Kingdom of God, it’s not what you know, it’s WHO you know and who well you know them.
The Kingdom of God is built of relationships
And your relationships with Christ, his Church and others grow because you give them time and attention.
The closer we get to Christ, the close we get to one another, the close we get to one another, the closer we get to Christ, until we all meet in the Eucharist.
Let us then celebrate this Holy Communion, this most intimate relationship of life and love with Christ and one another
Living in this world, but not wedded to it
Heart to heart and hand to hand
knowing that the Kingdom of God, which is made of relationships, is very much within our grasp.