What is your image of God? Is God Santa Claus or the Bogeyman? While the true God is neither he is more the giver of good gifts than someone out to scare us. In today’s first reading Paul describes God as “rich in mercy.”
“But God, who is rich in mercy, because of the great love he had for us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, brought us to life with Christ (by grace you have been saved), raised us up with him…”
Not only does Paul describe God as “rich in mercy” but also as one who has “great love” for us. God wants us all to be saved. We do not earn salvation or love from God. Paul explicitly states, “by grace you have been saved” and repeats the same point to make sure we, “get it!” Paul thus reiterates:
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from you; it is the gift of God; it is not from works, so no one may boast.”
We respond to God’s initiative and love by living as graced or gifted people and strive to reflect God’s love and compassion and to share this compassion with everyone with meet.
Jesus tells a parable in today’s Gospel to remind us of the truth that “you can’t take it with you!” The man in this parable is a fool because he “stores up treasures for himself but is not rich in what matters to God.”
We can tie together today’s two readings by recognizing that the only true riches that we can take with us is mercy. The 1st reading tells us that God is “rich in mercy” and the Gospel tells us that to be “rich in what matters to God” is to show that mercy and compassions to others.
Image: “The Good Shepherd” by Lawrence OP is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.