Sunday Gospel reflection with Father William Grimm - Eighteenth Sunday of the Year (C) | Union of Catholic Asian News | YouTubeToText
YouTube Transcript: Sunday Gospel reflection with Father William Grimm - Eighteenth Sunday of the Year (C)
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[Music]
In ancient times, the wealth of Cus was legendary.
legendary.
Midas had so much money that a legend
grew up that all he touched turned to gold.
gold.
Today I suppose we would talk of Bill
Gates as a modern legend of wealth.
Someday he will have as much as Cus and
Midas have. Nothing. You and I will have
the same amount.
That simple fact is what makes greed so foolish.
foolish.
It's the reason that in the parable, God
calls the rich man, "You fool."
Jesus warned us that one's possessions
do not guarantee life. In the gospel
today, greed is for wealth. The man who
approached Jesus wanted his share of an
inheritance. The man in the parable
wanted the good life, a life of physical
But there are other things for which we
can be greedy. In fact, greed for money
and goods may be less destructive of my
humanity than some other greedy desires.
I want to look good both physically and
socially. That's not wrong in itself,
but if I'm willing to sacrifice health
or common sense to that desire,
something is definitely wrong.
I want status. I want to win. I want
recognition. I want special treatment. I
want it all.
But Jesus says, "Avoid greed in all its forms."
forms."
The 18th century English poet Matthew
Green wrote of avarice, the sphincter of
the heart. Sphincter are muscles that
close off openings in the body. They
squeeze shut so that nothing can get out.
out.
That is what greed does to me. It
squeezes my heart shut.
When I act out of greed, I act for
myself. At the very least, I put others
second or forget or ignore them. At the
very worst, I destroy them on my way to
what I want. My heart is so squeezed
that no love can get out or in.
Jesus is upset by greed because it
deprivives us of true godliness.
There are many ways in which I can be
godlike in my own minor way. I can
create. I can think. But most of all, I
can love. Greed squeezes shut my ability
to love God or others.
When I'm busy grabbing what I can get or
holding on to what I have gotten, my
hands are not free to give, nor are they
open to receive.
Avoid greed in all its forms because
one's possessions do not guarantee life.
The love of God guarantees life.
Might it be that I'm greedy because deep
down I'm not yet ready to rely upon the
love of God?
Do I really believe that this world is
the whole story?
If this world is all there be, then
greed is a way of trying to guarantee my life.
life.
If I have it all, at least I will have
something to show for having been born.
If there be nothing more for me than
that, what I can get my hands on, then
greed is common sense.
My fame and fortune may not outlast me,
but I won't care. As long as I have
them, I know I am still alive.
Perhaps I'm greedy because I fear death.
Greed is another name for fear. If I
have things, whether tangible or
Greed can never stop. Since in my heart
I want to live forever, my desire for
things that hide death is endless. I
will never have enough. Now, no matter
how much of my greed is satisfied, and
it never will be fully satisfied, my
life will end. My possessions are like a
blindfold hiding death from me. But they
will not hide me from death. It will
come and I will have nothing.
What can I do? I know that greed is
something that puts barriers between
myself and God, myself and others. But I
also need it as proof that my life is
real, that it has value, even if
measured by transitory standards of gold
The remedy is perhaps a willingness to
not hide from death.
When I really accepted death as truly
the entrance to a new, deeper experience
of God's life-giving love, then I can
live without greed.
I can allow death to kill my greed
before either greed or death kills me. [Music]
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