7.9.25 - End of Life | The Rich Fool | Gen 1-3 |
- tmaley
- Aug 4
- 12 min read
Opening Prayer:
Heavenly Father,
We come together tonight to learn, to grow in wisdom, and hopefully to change.
We lay our lives down before you and ask that you move amongst us.
Stir up our thoughts and grant us the wisdom and grace to love and forgive like You.
As you taught us to pray together:
Our Father
Who art in Heaven, Hallowed be Thy Name.
Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven.
Give us this day our daily Bread;
And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. Amen.
Upcoming major holy days: August 15: Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Today’s Agenda
1. Reflection: End of Life Decisions
2. Gospel Reading for 18th Sun in Ordinary Time, Parable of the Rich Fool, Luke 12:13-21
3. Genesis 1-3, Literal interpretations? Why is the 7th Day so important? Why is The Fall of Man so important?
Quote of the Week:
Every saint had a past, and every sinner has a future. That is the key to Catholic spirituality.
We can’t go back and change the past, but we can start now and change the future.
Reflection: End of Life Decisions
The Catholic Church teaches that there is a moral obligation to preserve life, but this does not mean that all possible medical interventions must be used, especially at the end of life. To help understand this, the Church distinguishes between "ordinary" and "extraordinary" means of preserving life, where ordinary care is always required, but extraordinary care not always.
Ordinary vs. Extraordinary Means
· Ordinary means are morally obligatory. These include such basic care as providing food and water, even by artificial means, as long as they are effective and not excessively burdensome. The interruption of such ordinary care, if it directly causes death, can be considered euthanasia by omission. Euthanasia by omission or commission is morally wrong/unacceptable.
· Extraordinary means (also called disproportionate means) refers to medical procedures that are not morally obligatory. These are treatments that would secure only a precarious and burdensome prolongation of life, or practices that are experimental, risky, or impose excessive expense or suffering disproportionate to the expected benefits. Foregoing means such as these is not considered euthanasia (or suicide); rather, it is an acceptance of the human condition in the face of death. Although extraordinary measures may be suspended in these cases, that does not mean that ordinary measures can be suspended unless they themselves are causing undue suffering.
In summary, there is a moral obligation to preserve life through ordinary means (especially doctors), but the Church does not require the use of all possible medical interventions, especially when they are extraordinary or disproportionate to the expected outcome, or when death is imminent. The decision to forgo extraordinary means is an acceptance of the natural process of dying and is not considered an act against God's will.
Resources:
Speaking of the “end of life,” I provided a few months ago a very cool talk by Bishop Barron about the last year of one’s life (thank you, Sharon!). You should listen to it – even the first 10 minutes will give you the idea. Every person in their final year of life should listen to it.
Bishop Barron talks about many common behavioral changes in these people and how most of us miss the reasons. It isn’t always that they don’t care about current events and other-worldly (or local) things around them, but rather those things are no longer so important as to command their attention. Most of those things belong to this world, and they are detaching from this world. God is easing them away, preparing them for another life that will be different than here.
The bishop identifies 5 common characteristics that often define this unfolding departure from this life:
1. A subtle and profound loosening from worldly attachments.
2. The emergence of a deep and unshakable peace.
3. A surge of interest in spiritual things.
4. A reconciliation of relationships.
5. Deep awareness that it is time.
Dying? No. It’s about getting ready to be born again.
If you know anyone in the twilight of their lives, this might be a nice thing to share.
Here is the link: https://youtu.be/PxfAYPjWIG8?si=7TfGTrCItZBuHKqV
Parable of the Rich Fool, Luke 12:13-21
Context:
In today’s reading, a man steps out of the crowd and seeks Jesus' intervention in a family dispute over inheritance.
Either the man was simply desperate (and rude) for interrupting Jesus with a secular question, or else he was trying to catch Jesus off guard with a question that required a lot more information in order to judge (there were courts for that).
Naturally, Jesus doesn’t take the bait and denies his request because that is not His mission. Instead, He uses this opportunity to teach everyone about the dangers of greed and warn them that material possessions do not define what is truly important in life.
Rich fools decide that “more and bigger” is always better!
Luke 12:13-21
Someone in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, tell my brother to share the inheritance with me.”
Jesus replied to him, “Friend, who appointed me as your judge and arbitrator?”
Then he said to the crowd, “Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one’s life does not consist of possessions.”
Then he told them this parable:
“There was a rich man whose land produced a bountiful harvest. He asked himself, ‘What shall I do, for I do not have space to store my harvest?’
And he said, ‘This is what I shall do: I shall tear down my barns and build larger ones. There I shall store all my grain and other goods and I shall say to myself, “Self, you have plenty of good things stored up for many years! Relax, eat, drink, and be merry!”’
But God said to him, ‘You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you; and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?’
Thus will it be for all who store up treasure for themselves but are not rich in what matters to God.”
Exegesis (Study and Interpretation)
Someone in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, tell my brother to share the inheritance with me.”
He replied to him, “Friend, who appointed me as your judge and arbitrator?”
Notice how Jesus responds to this inappropriate question with another question. Yet, his reply was still friendly and probably brought some laughter.
Then he said to the crowd, “Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one’s life does not consist of possessions.”
Never to miss an opportunity to teach the Gospel, Jesus immediately turns the man’s request into a salvation lesson.
Jesus starts off with: “Take care to guard against all greed…”
The Greek word used for greed here is pleonexias. Some translations say “covetousness.” The meaning is “the insatiable desire to have more than one needs.” Insatiable means “can’t be satisfied” – greed can be addictive. In fact, this is a common human tendency, and so Jesus is warning us to be conscious of it and to be on guard against it.
Jesus says, “… one’s life does not consist of possessions.” What “life” is Jesus referring to?
The true essence of a person is not defined by his material goods but rather by his/her words and deeds. In the story, notice the man’s words and deeds. He likely had many workers in his employ and never gave them a second thought, not to speak of the poor.
Scripture makes several references (i.e., Rev 20:11-12) about a “Book of Deeds” where all our good deeds are tracked. It is the richness of our acts towards others that make it into the Book, which will be opened on Judgment Day.
What is wrong with the man’s last comment, “Relax, eat, drink, and be merry!”
The use of all his surpluses for worldly excesses/self-gratification turns them into vices of gluttony and sloth. The opposite of vice is virtue, which begins with self-moderation and service.
Why does God call the rich man a fool?
In his selfishness the man amassed a material abundance that was of no value to him when he died. If he had used his abundance of material wealth to help his employees and the poor, his good deeds would have followed him into eternity – into the Book of Deeds – and would have advanced the cause of his salvation.
Since the next section is about the Fall of Man, where is the devil at work in this picture.
Genesis One – Recap
Most Christians aren’t aware that the errancy in literal interpretation is not a new topic. The Church figured this out 1,500 years ago. What did St. Augustine say in the 5th century about properly interpreting Genesis?
Part of the problem is that the meaning of “literal” interpretation changed in modern times after Christian fundamentalists created their own sect/denomination after the Protestant Reformation.
Augustine explained back in the 5th century that a proper meaning of “literal” meant determining what the “author truly said,” not just what the “words said” outside of all meaning and context. For example, if someone said,
“I see the truth!” or “He ran like the wind!”
… we know this doesn’t mean the person was using his eyes to look at some physical object called truth. Likewise, “ran like the wind” is a poetic description of someone who runs swiftly. Augustine said that any child knows this. Other words had different contextual meaning than they did even in Augustine’s time, such as “the ban” that Joshua employed on cities. Augustine furthermore added that interpretations “that contradict established knowledge about the natural world could make Christianity appear foolish and ultimately hinder the spread of the Gospel.” Again, this was in the 5 century AD!
Now on to our topic. Regarding Genesis 1, Augustine said verses 1-3 are not a literal description of creation, which would be obvious to anyone reading it as well as to those who wrote it, since anyone could easily argue that “light” couldn’t possibly come before God created the Sun, Moon, and stars, which came later.
I mentioned recently that I was reading Augustine’s classic, Confessions, and I came across a couple points I missed the first time around. Once again, this has to do with these first lines of Genesis:
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and void, with darkness over the abyss; and the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light.
You may recall last month we did discuss, “the heavens and the earth” signified the spiritual and physical realms – in other words, the entirety of creation – and this “first light” was not a material light (which comes in Day 4) but the light of the spiritual realm, which would include heaven, wisdom, goodness, truth – and likely the angels, as well.
What does this mean when it says the earth was formless and void?
The naming of “earth” means its existence is a forgone conclusion and already part of the plan of creation, but “formless and void” means it hadn’t developed yet into the world we know today.
What is meant by the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters?
We did discuss how cool it was that the Holy Spirit was already present in the Creation Story, but not His hovering over the waters, especially given the fact that the water as we know it didn’t come until two “days” later?
Augustine explains that waters originally represented all life and so the Holy Spirit was/is hovering over everything – all existence. The Holy Spirit not only brings life to Creation (think Creed: I believe in the HS, the Lord and Giver of Life…”, and the HS comes over Mary so she conceives Jesus) but also the love of the Trinity – the same love that flows between the Father and the Son. Therefore, he says that these verses establish right off that God’s love is everywhere, hovering over everything. From this perspective, wherever we go and whatever we do, the Holy Spirit is hovering over us, not only shining life and beauty into the world, but also waiting to shine God’s love and grace into the lives of freewill beings. Of course, since Baptism, the HS is in us as well, but He connects all of us to each other and to God.
I thought this imagery of the Holy Spirit was excellent and worth remembering.
Genesis 2 – The Second Creation Story, Main Points
Why do we have a “second” creation story?
God related chapter one of the creation story to Moses in the framework of a calendar week, but notice we haven’t seen the 7th Day yet. Chapter 2 tells us about the 7th Day, as well as a deeper dive into the nature of the human being. Therefore, chapter two focuses on humanity, and the few references we read about the earth’s creation in Chap 2 are not a re-telling of creation, or a conflict with Chap 1, but setting the stage for the arrival of man/woman in the image of God.
What is the meaning of the 7th Day (also called Sabbath), the day that God rested?
As Augustine points out, God is Omnipotent and therefore we all know that He needs no rest. The use of “rest” could be assigned three reasons:
1) To signify that creation was complete. God’s “rest” is described as a “contemplative gaze” on the beauty and goodness of creation.
2) This gaze is particularly directed towards humanity, the crown of creation, and thus the “7th Day” foreshadows the covenant of love that God desires to establish with his creatures. This would mean that the 7th Day is more about us than it is about God. As Jesus said in Mark’s Gospel,
“The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” – Mark 2:27.
3) Although “God’s rest” indicates a completion of creation, it does not mean a cessation of activity, especially since the Fall of Man required further action on God’s part if we hoped to be saved. Jesus suggests as much in John 5:
“My Father is working still, and I too am working.” – John 5:17
The most important message about the 7th Day is eschatological (end of time). Why?
Because the 7th Day ultimately represents Heaven. Remember, we were created in the 6th Day along with the animals, sharing their physical natures; but we were also given a spiritual nature (Gen 2:7) and thus invited into the 7th Day – Heaven. In fact, our spiritual natures give us one foot in Heaven already! That’s why we know what we know and seek ultimate happiness that this world cannot give.
Have you ever thought of what Satan’s #1 goal is?
To keep us in the 6th day. Keep us too busy to pay attention to the 7th day – victory!
That’s also why we should treat our 7th Day/Sabbath – Sunday – as our “God day.” We are practicing for Heaven and that means getting used to it now. Church, talking to God, reflecting on how our relationship with God is being infused into the rest of our lives, and the upcoming week. Don’t plan on getting to Heaven and saying, now how am I supposed to act? You might not get there. Start your eschatological relationship now!
Take a look at this amazing message from the greatest theologian of the last century, Pope Benedict XVI:
When Christ died on the cross, he opened up the door to the next phase of human existence – you could say the next evolutionary step; a new mutation, so to speak, but one that crosses over from the biological to the spiritual, the logical, final dimension for man. This being the case, we can say that Christ ushered in the age of eschatology! – Cardinal Ratzinger, “Introduction to Christianity.”
Is the pinnacle of God’s creative acts in Chapter One the creation of Man?
At first, man could be called the pinnacle of God's physical creation, as in being the highest of the animals. However, man does not actually take on “personhood” until God breathes into us, making us in “his image and likeness.” This is what makes us uniquely human (the use of "man" can be thought of as mankind, and actually speaks of both man and woman):
“God created man in his image; in the divine image he created him; male and female he created them.” (Gen 1:27)
God breathed his Spirit into man in Gen 2:7. What primary spiritual gifts are humans given in this act that make us like God?
1) A spiritual intellect: superior conceptualization/abstraction, time, awareness of existence and of God.
2) Free will. We still have our animal instincts, but we can override them (and often do). Free will typically refers to our moral choices (good vs evil, selfish vs generous, love vs hate, forgiveness vs revenge, etc.).
3) An immortal soul.
Conclusion: When does the Creation Story end?
The story of creation does not actually end with Chapters 1 and 2; it continues on past Genesis, Exodus, the Psalms of David, the Prophets, and even the New Testament. It continues because we are still part of it. This is no less true of the physical universe, which continues to evolve alongside us. This will continue until the Second Coming of Christ, which will usher in Judgment Day.
Although we and the universe continue through “time” as we know it, God remains ever-present, which not only means He is everywhere but He is at all times. The same God that walked with Adam and Eve in the Garden, that spoke to Moses on Mt. Sinai, that was born of Mary and gave Himself for us on the cross, is walking with us right now, inside of us, all around us. In fact, we have the power to talk to Him 24/7, anytime we like. It’s a daunting thought.
Closing Prayer:
O Lord, do with me as You will.
Relieve me of the bondage of self, so that I may better do Thy will.
Take away my difficulties that victory over them may bear witness to those I would help.
May I do Thy will always!
Hail Mary
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