Gospel text for Sunday 31 July 2016

                                                                                                                                                         Mt. Lemmon Sky Lab   

Luke 12:13-21        Someone in the crowd said to Jesus, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me." But he said to him, "Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?" And he said to them, "Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one's life does not consist in the abundance of possessions." Then he told them a parable: "The land of a rich man produced abundantly. And he thought to himself, `What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?' Then he said, `I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, `Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.' But God said to him, `You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?' So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God.”

Reflection        It is not all about me, rather, it is all about we.  Apparently the person in the crowd who “…said to Jesus, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me,”” quite forgot this bit of wisdom. He was willing to sacrifice the “we” of his fraternal relationship in favor of augmenting the personal possessions of his “me.”  Isn’t it ironic, to ask Jesus, of all rabbis, to be the mediator of such action; Jesus, the ultimate reconciler of all people?

What the greedy brother fails to recognize and Jesus’ parables intend to teach is the interdependence of all creatures and creation. 

Words from my favorite contemporary poet David Whyte’s poem “Everything is Waiting For You” sing in my heart. 

“Your great mistake is to act the drama as if your were alone.”

“To feel abandoned is to deny the intimacy of your surroundings.”

“Alertness is the hidden discipline of familiarity.” 

Put down the weight of your aloneness and ease into the conversation.”

Whyte’s words invite us into conversation with with each other and all that is. This is where we find our riches. This is were we discover who and whose we are. 

Please click on the image in the upper right hand corner of this post to hear Whyte’s poem and his commentary.  Uploaded to YouTube on Feb 26, 2011, Internationally acclaimed poet David Whyte is an Associate Fellow at Templeton College and Said Business School at the University of Oxford, David works with many European, American and international companies, using poetry and thoughtful commentary to illustrate how we can foster qualities of courage and engagement. In his talk, David encourages us to remain open to know the dialogue with our surroundings inform and inspire our ideas. (accessed July 30, 2016)

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