“Think of what is above, not of what is on earth.” – Colossians 3:2
A few weeks ago, on the Fourth of July, the United States of America celebrated Independence Day. To commemorate our nation’s 240th birthday, people across the country reveled in the customary festivities. Of all the traditions, fireworks may perhaps be most well associated with this holiday.
It wouldn’t be the Fourth of July without children running around while waving sparklers through the air. It wouldn’t be Independence Day without people lighting off firecrackers or sending bottle rockets whizzing into the air. It wouldn’t be the same holiday without a sundown show of fireworks in every big city and little town across the land.
There is something spectacular about these colorful explosions of light. They make us, “Ooh.” They make us, “Ahh!” Yet, there is also something fleeting about them too. Each blast lasts no more than a second or two before burning up and fizzling out. And if you think about how much fireworks cost, you’ll realize how they epitomize the meaning of the phrase, “…to watch your money go up in smoke.”
In reality, fireworks aren’t the only fleeting things in our lives. Beauty fades, buildings crumble, and clothes go out of style. Everything in this world is truly passing away. “Vanity of vanities! All things are vanity!” says the author of Ecclesiastes (1:2), as we’ll hear in the First Reading this Sunday. At the end of the day, certain things are not as important or as permanent as we frail humans often regard them to be.
Think of how many things we obsess over or worry about which really will not matter in the end. What outfit should I wear? Which team will win the game? What will people think of me? I’m not saying that clothes, sports, or status have no meaning. However, they are not on God’s “top ten” list of importance.
In the Gospel reading for this Sunday, Jesus tells a parable about a rich man who, rather than share his surplus harvest with the poor, chose to build an extra barn for himself. The next night he died, having gained nothing from his self-aggrandizement. With this story our Lord was condemning those who were more concerned about worldly goods than about the things of Heaven. Ultimately, Jesus wants us to understand that the most important thing is to be “rich in what matters to God” (Luke 12:21).
So, what matters to God? His chief concern is that we would recognize Him as the true God, and that we love one another. This involves giving thanks to God by participating in the Holy Eucharist, obeying the precepts of His Church, and performing works of mercy. Every time we pray the Mass, prepare a meal at a soup kitchen, or visit a sick person, we have done something that matters to God. Every time we comfort someone in sorrow, pray for the dead, or help a poor child attend school, we are truly building up our treasure in Heaven.
Merciful Father, turn our hearts back to you and help us to focus only upon the things of Heaven, through Christ our Lord. Amen.
