August 1, 2010
Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Reading 1

Ecc 1:2; 2:21-23

Vanity of vanities, says Qoheleth,
vanity of vanities!  All things are vanity!

Here is one who has labored with wisdom and knowledge and skill,
and yet to another who has not labored over it,
he must leave property.
This also is vanity and a great misfortune.
For what profit comes to man from all the toil and anxiety of heart
with which he has labored under the sun?
All his days sorrow and grief are his occupation;
even at night his mind is not at rest.
This also is vanity.

R. (1) If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
You turn man back to dust,
saying, “Return, O children of men.”
For a thousand years in your sight
are as yesterday, now that it is past,
or as a watch of the night.

R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
You make an end of them in their sleep;
the next morning they are like the changing grass,
Which at dawn springs up anew,
but by evening wilts and fades.

R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

Teach us to number our days aright,
that we may gain wisdom of heart.
Return, O LORD! How long?
Have pity on your servants!

R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

Fill us at daybreak with your kindness,
that we may shout for joy and gladness all our days.
And may the gracious care of the LORD our God be ours;
prosper the work of our hands for us!
Prosper the work of our hands!
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

Brothers and sisters:
If you were raised with Christ, seek what is above,
where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.
Think of what is above, not of what is on earth.
For you have died,
and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
When Christ your life appears,
then you too will appear with him in glory.

Put to death, then, the parts of you that are earthly:
immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire,
and the greed that is idolatry.
Stop lying to one another,
since you have taken off the old self with its practices
and have put on the new self,
which is being renewed, for knowledge,
in the image of its creator.
Here there is not Greek and Jew,
circumcision and uncircumcision,
barbarian, Scythian, slave, free;
but Christ is all and in all.

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?”
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 a 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, “Now as for you,
you have so many good things stored up for many years,
rest, eat, drink, 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.”

Catholic Fundamentalism Interpretation:

"Vanity of vanities" seems to be the recurrent human idea that we are just as good as God and, therefore, have every right to do as we please, not as He orders.  We see all the things made by human beings are reflective of that conceit.

Self-worship also occurs when someone believes himself smart, capable, and ends up leaving his assets to someone who didn't work for it.  That is also vanity, and is too bad, because what does a person gain from all his work and worry?

All his days, he worries and is sorrowful, he even stays up at night thinking and worrying, and even that is vanity.

If you, human program, hear what The Loving Programmer is saying, don't be too vain to heed.

You erase man, letting him drop back to the parts that made him, saying "Go back to where you came from, humans."  Ten centuries are as yesterday when past, or as a watch of the night.

If you, human program, hear what The Loving Programmer is saying, don't be too vain to heed.

You erase the human programs in their sleep, and the next day they are like grass, springing up anew, fading in season.

If you, human program, hear what The Loving Programmer is saying, don't be too vain to heed.

Teach us to use our time wisely to gain wisdom for our souls.  Come back, O Loving Programmer!  How long must you stay away?  Have pity on we who love and obey You.

If you, human program, hear what The Loving Programmer is saying, don't be too vain to heed.

When we are baptized, fill us with your kindness so we may be glad to be forgive all our lives.  May The Loving Programmer graciously take care of us.  May He cause us to prosper the work of our hands!  Please, prosper the work of our hands!

If you, human program, hear what The Loving Programmer is saying, don't be too vain to heed.

My fellow believers: 

IF you were raised with Christ (a huge IF), then seek spiritual truth and reward where Christ, The Beloved Program is sitting at the right hand of The Loving Programmer.  Think of what (all) that is above, not of the programmed entities.  You have, after all, died to such things.  Your life has been uploaded into The Beloved Program, and is buried in Him in The Loving Programmer.

When The Beloved Program, your (new) life appears, you will appear with Him in glory.  That's why you should put to death all of your earthly desires;  get rid of immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire and the greed that is idol-worship (there must be at least one other kind of greed, as a desire for goodness, that is not bad). 

Stop bearing false witness to each other, since you have erased your old program with such practices and downloaded The New Program which is ever renewed to know better the image of The Loving Programmer. In this New Download, there is neither Greek nor Jew, obedience to the old law or not, no matter where or of what status, The Beloved Program has been made available to you (through the Eucharist) and is in all who download It.

One of the human programs asked The Beloved Program, "Teacher, tell my brother to share the inheritance with me."

He answered, 'My friend, who made me your judge and arbitrator?"

He said to all those around Him:

"Be careful to guard against greed.  Though one may be rich, there's more to life than the accumulation of programmed entities." 

He told them a parable:

:There was a rich man who reaped a big harvest.  He asked, 'What shall I do, because I don't have space to hold everything?' 

He decided, 'I'll tear down my small barns, and build bigger ones.  I'll put all my grain and other goods ito them and say to myself, 'As for you (my good fellow), you have stored up so much that you can eat, drink, and be merry for years to come!'"  (If he had found gold or diamonds, he'd have needed vaults, rather than barns.)  The Loving Programmer wasn't impressed with anyone who thinks he can determine how long his human program will run.

The Loving Programmer said, 'You are a fool.  Tonight, your life will be taken.  Look at all these things you have gathered and built.  To whom will they belong?'

Thus it will be for all who store up treasure (which is, in this case, a large amount of programmed entities) for themselves but do not have what is important to God."

(The reading above, from Colossians, tells us clearly what God wants us to accumulate.)