The first verse of the first reading for Mass today from the book of Ephesians is a little puzzling. It says:
“Brothers and sisters: You were dead in your transgressions and sins in which you once lived following the age of this world, following the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the disobedient.”
There isn’t any other pace in the bible that we’ve heard about the term, “ruler of the power of the air.” Most of us are not biblical scholars or have degrees in theology, but it makes you wonder what those who are educated in the scriptures would have to say about this verse. It certainly alludes to the devil though. Perhaps it means the complete opposite of the Holy Spirit. The devil is a fallen angel and hell is the opposite of heaven, so it makes sense that the “power of air,” may just mean the opposite of the Holy Spirit.
The next verse goes on to talk about our desires of the flesh and our sinful inclinations, but then it ends by saying that, “we were by nature children of wrath, like the rest.” This too, is a rather unusual phrase that isn’t recorded in any other place in the bible. Saint Paul wrote the letter to the Ephesians, but today’s readings seem to have a different flavor to them, compared to the other letters he wrote.
This is all beside the point though, because the rest of the first reading is a very famous passage in the bible. Many Protestants believe that we are saved by grace and not by works because of this passage in the bible:
“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.”
Catholics agree with this verse in essence, that we are not saved by any other means other than the gift of God’s own son who died for our sins, that we might have eternal life. We did not earn this gift. It is a sheer gift from God.
However, the next verse said that we were:
“… created in Christ Jesus for good works that God has prepared in advance, that we should live in them.” ~ Eph 2:8
If we fail to do the good works that God has prepared for us, we can lose our salvation. (Mt 25:31-46) Many Protestant denominations believe that faith alone saves us, while Catholics agree with this statement, we also believe our salvation can be lost because of serious sins that we commit, or by serious sins of omission. (Not feeding the hungry, welcoming the stranger, visiting the sick or those in prison, etc.)
The gospel today is about money, and Catholics also differ in how we view money, compared to many Protestant denominations. In fact, there are differences of opinion about money in the Catholic community too though. Money is a touchy subject for most people. We need money to live on, but we are not supposed to become too attached to it.
Another verse in the bible says that the love of money is the root of all evil, and that pretty much sums up the entire gospel today.
The two brothers in the gospel were fighting over their father’s inheritance. Jesus warned them to guard against greed because one’s life does not consist of possessions. But, did you notice that Jesus was more concerned with the root of the problem? He was more concerned with where the inheritance came from to begin with. Jesus told the story about a man who worked hard and saved his money with the intent of enjoying it the rest of his life, but then he died and never got a chance to use it. Someone else got to enjoy the results of all of his hard work.
This story is timeless advice for us as well. This happens to a lot of families in our day and age too. Men and women work hard all their lives, and do without things that they, or their families, would have enjoyed, in order to scrimp and save for their retirement. All those years in the meantime, were not really lived.
A lot of men die too young to ever enjoy what they worked so hard for all of their lives to earn. This is the root of the problem with the inheritance the two brothers were fighting about in the gospel, and this situation can absolutely tear families apart sometimes. The lengthy court battles in a family over an inheritance will sometimes go on for years, and the bitterness and hard feelings can linger for the rest of their lives.
Is it worth it? When you stop to count the cost in family relationships, is it worth it in the long run? Parents always want to leave the children an inheritance when they die, but according to Jesus in the gospel today, we might want to consider enjoying life a little along the way. It might not be a good thing to store up all of our resources for our old age, and do without a lot of living in the meantime. LOVE and happy memories are the best inheritance to leave behind. This is the treasure that we can keep forever.
Daily Mass Readings:
Ephesians 2: 1-10 / Psalm 100 / Luke 12: 13-21
