In our readings today we have several compatible themes that complement one another to really paint the picture of how misguided we sometimes become in our pursuit of “success”.
As in our first reading, “All things are vanity” I think at times we really can display vanity in our pursuits of career and personal gain. Sometimes these things can be done in a very positive way. Such as working toward the wellbeing of our families, but we need to exercise caution that this does not sometimes metamorphized into an excuse to pursue our own successes on a more personal level, and perhaps even to the exclusion of our time and focus for our relationship with Christ, and his people (including our families). When this happens, it really is our personal vanity kicking in, and we can substitute the pursuit of personal gain, either in terms of money or perhaps position for our better initial intentions. If we’re honest with ourselves, I think we have all done this to one degree or another, but we need to be careful, we are cautioned against this. The fact is there is far more value that can be expressed in spending time with those we love, and this especially includes with our God, than in putting in overtime to make ourselves look good to the boss. Don’t get me wrong, hard work is important, we want to be able to take care of our families, and we are called to do so, but a balance needs to be maintained. The time that is put toward our more secular or professional pursuits, can never be regained to give back to our families, or to our God.
In our second reading from Saint Paul to the Colossians we are cautioned about how we conduct ourselves and are specifically cautioned against dishonesty and other evils that we are to have left behind now that we live in Christ. This applies equally to how we conduct ourselves in both our work and personal lives. We should in fact, periodically ask ourselves how we are doing with this, in other words, perform a sort of an examination of conscience. Are we ethical in our practices? Do treat others with an eye toward their personal well-being, and not just our own gain? Do we show compassion to those who are struggling in their jobs or in their personal lives? Like many of us here I work in a corporate environment, and I can tell you that doing so can be a consistent personal challenge because corporate culture is very often at odds with basic Christian ideals in many of its practices. I see this with the outsourcing that takes place to make the bottom line look a little better when stock prices dip, with little or no thought to the families impacted by those jobs lost. I see it in the expectations of time to be spent beyond the normal working hours that cost individuals their family and personal well-being time. I see it in the sometimes ruthless competitiveness for a position, or even just job survival. All of these things are realities that take place day to day as the corporate “norm”. Yet they are far from what we are called to do as followers of Christ, and I need to remind myself that while my company may be responsible to the stockholders, as individuals we were purchased long ago at a much higher price – the blood of Jesus Christ, and our ultimate allegiance and priority should always be there first. So, we need to be very cautious indeed in how we participate and conduct ourselves. Even if doing so can sometimes even be a bit costly to us in terms of professional gains, but it is nothing compared to what it can cost us in the true final accounting.
In today’s gospel, we are cautioned by our Lord specifically about what can happen when we forget our priorities to serve God and His children and focus too much on the accumulation of goods, and personal gain. There may come a day, where we do not show up for work again, and on that day perhaps there will be some nice platitudes said about us by those we worked with, but the jobs will go on virtually without interruption, and we will quickly become a memory. Our accomplishments and our impact on our employer will be fleeting in the eyes of most. One thing is for certain, we will stand before God on that day and account for our decisions, our focus in life, and our accomplishments. I have my doubts that corporate funds saved, projects completed, or promotions earned will be very high on His list. On the other hand, how we focused on treating our brothers and sisters, how much time we spent with our families and tending to them (especially our children, so that they grow up to be followers of Jesus), and whether we spent much time pursuing our relationship with our creator, will likely be pretty high on that list. The question is, how are we going to be able to answer? Did we try to keep our focus where it should be, or did we simply float along and try to accumulate as much as we could so that we could enjoy those material gains, and not give much thought to our responsibilities as followers of Christ – again, we were purchased at a price, and we should NEVER forget that.
Lastly, I want to share an observation with you, that I have noticed when driving around our state on the backroads. There are many poor communities that I have passed through. The homes and the cars parked in them are not very impressive, and there is often a lack of care for other niceties that make up a well-kept neighborhood. But, you should see the Churches that are part of these communities. They are usually spotless, well maintained, and populated not just for an hour on Sunday, but throughout evenings and other days of the week. They are a center of life for these poor communities, they take pride in them, they focus their lives on being with their nuclear family, their church family, and with their God. It is completely centric in their lives, a constant connection and reminder of the importance of their relationship with God and His other children. Frankly, I doubt these people even consider themselves poor, and to be honest, I don’t believe them to be so in all the ways that actually matter. I’m humbled when I see these places, and sometimes there is a part of me longs for more of that kind of grace of the closeness and cohesion that comes from the simple joy of working together in Christ. I wish that for all of us.
The Deacons Bench 