To what is our life committed? ―Vanity, it’s my favorite sin,‖ a quote from Al Pacino’s character in the movie ―The Devil’s Advocate,‖ based on the original epic poem of John Milton (1667) and subs-quent books of―Paradise Lost,‖ by Andrew Neiderman, somehow kept creeping into my mind as I was work-ing on this Sunday’s homily. The movie deals with the issue of evil in the human condition and illustrates how evil can be enticing, captivating one who desires greatness, power, or money, to do what is ultimately wrong yet ―appears‖ -is rationalized- to be acceptable for the self. We would call that self-delusional.
Today the universal Church celebrates the Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time and the first reading from Ecclesiastes begins with the phrase “Vanity of vanities, says Qoheleth, vanity of vanities! All things are vanity!‖ This reading from Ecclesiastes needs some ―flushing out.‖ First, Qoheleth is less a name and more a title of a teacher or preacher in ancient Israel, where both occupations were highly prized and honored. And in Hebrew the word ―vanity‖ means ―breath or vapor,‖ it denotes transitoriness or the lack of substance. It is from this that we get the idea of meaninglessness. The author of this sacred writing, according to scholars of sacred scripture, wants us to focus on the idea of transitoriness. Such scholars hope that we will see this statement by Qo-heleth ―not as passing judgment on a given enterprise but rather that we might see it is really the anticipation of future satisfaction that is futile.‖ Our own transitoriness places the future in jeopardy, so it is in vein to locate our satisfaction there. ―This does not necessarily mean that we should refrain from commitment and hard work. It does suggest the real fruits of our labor are found in the laboring itself rather than in what we might be able to enjoy in the future,‖ notes Richard Fragomeni, co-author of Preaching the New Testament.
The sacred writings we hear this weekend pose some direct questions: To what do we commit our selves? Where are our hearts? What is most important in life? These are the same basic questions posed by men and women of every age and time, of every culture—boiling down to ―what is the meaning of life?‖ Those who call themselves disciples of Christ are no different in their need to investigate that question, however, they will be indentified in the way they answer.Let’s start at the end—―Life is to be lived!‖ That is what we all must come to realize without also having the feeling that we have wasted our life in the process. Let’s look at how ―transitory‖ life can seem: as children we live in the moment, with a certainty that there is a future and the future is full of wonder and possibilities. Yet, as adults, for many, it seems that just when we learn what life is all about, fear sets in that we have failed and that life is so fleeting. At some point we need to recognize that this is the life we have and it has been given to us by God so that we may live fully with Him and with one another.
―The experts‖ tell us that what mainly keeps us from living life fully is the idea that we cannot do so unless we have accomplished it all – obtained the right job, built the ultimate reputation, and secured all the material goods which the world tells we must have. And while we know that there is nothing wrong with hard work and being successful, it is when we deny ourselves a full life and the joy of living with and in God just so that we may grasp the golden ring—and obtain the prizes of the world—and then we sadly come to realize that we have been wasting the life given to us. Life is fleeting, yet Life is to be lived.
The vanity of goods. The goods of the earth are vital to our life. We need food and water to survive and we need the goods of the earth for clothing and shelter. As creative beings we use the goods of the earth to make life more comfortable—tools help us to advance as a civilization; artists create beauty in the reproduction of God’s originals. However, these same goods can make us believe we are in charge, that we determine the essence of a life well lived; it can be these same goods that shield us from ―the transitoriness of life‖ and the recognition of the impermanence of the goods and their ultimate worthlessness. ―Life itself is the far greater good; goods only enhance life,‖ notes Mr. Fragomeni.
The Gospel of Luke (12:13-21) Jesus tells the parable of the rich man who He judges as foolish not because he is wealthy or because he failed to use his wealth for the good of those less fortunate. Rather, Jesus highlights his foolishness as an attitude of greed that underlies all his actions. His foolishness is evidenced in that he stores up all his goods without any safeguards and allows them to rot, serving no purpose at all. His death is not a punishment for the greed but rather the end result of a life of useless excess. What is the good of all this wealth that leads to nothing? In the end, even the wealth is a waste for the deceased. The gospel message is to live life in Christ. ―Though made of dust and thus subject to perishability, we are joined with Christ and promised imperishability. Having died to the vanities of this world, having taken off our old selves with their evil desires, we can now live in this world with a new self, in generosity rather than greed, with openness to others rather than religious or gender or social biases. If we can live this way, than life is anything but vanity,‖ says Sr. Dianne Bergant.
In Paradise Lost‖ there is another quote which became quite popular after the book’s recent re-release and seems to have come, for some, to represent modern Wall Street culture: ―better to rule in hell than to serve in heaven.‖ That, my friends, should be the definition of meaninglessness.