Robert Barron: All Things Must Pass — Detachment in Ecclesiastes

Peace be with you friends. Our readings for this 18th Sunday of ordinary time, they're marvelous. They're about this theme that's so basic to the spiritual life and the theme is detachment. I want to get into it though um by referencing a song. Um I go on a lot of long car trips now in my dascese. So I go from Wisconsin to South Dakota. So I'm in the car a lot and I listen to books on tape a lot. Books on tape. I'm dating myself. Uh, but I have, you know, my my iPhone and I'll I'll ask for music. And so I'm a big, as you know, Bob Dylan fan. Uh, but after Bob Dylan, probably I like the Beatles the best. And a lot of classic rock, the Rolling Stones and the Who and Van Morrison and, you know, that's my thing. Well, as you know, these machines, they learn our preferences. So, she's listened to me, you know, asking for Beatles songs all the time. Now, I find almost anytime I ask for a song, the second or third one that comes up afterwards is George Harrison's song, All Things Must Pass. Now, of course, for the young kids, ask your grandparents about George Harrison, but he was one of the Beatles. And right after the Beatles broke up, Harrison comes out with this marvelous double album called All Things Must Pass. And the title song is born of his Hindu uh you know uh interest and it's about the even essence of everything in the world. All things must pass. So you know the the sunset doesn't last all evening. The nighttime doesn't last forever. And then the great chorus, all things must pass. All things must pass away. It's an interesting thing. I I hear that song so often now. I've gone home to my uh home and I have my guitar. I'm not a great guitar player. I'm like a a campfire guitar player, but I can play songs and chords. And so I looked up All Things Must Pass. And it's an interesting thing that as it goes into the chorus, which is a very singable chorus, but usually as you make that transition, it gives you a major chord that draws everybody in. Well, All Things Must Pass goes to a minor chord to B minor as it goes into the chorus, which gives it that kind of moody quality. All things must pass. All things must pass away. Look, almost every major philosopher, almost every major religious figure the world over has intuited this great truth about our world. Good. And yes, there are good things in it, but they don't last. They don't endure. sunset, you know, a beautiful sunset lasts for a while. We exalt in it and then it's gone. Our our our meal that we're enjoying immensely and we eat it with great pleasure and then in a couple of minutes it's gone. A great conversation. you're with a friend and and you're sharing your life at a deep level and you're just loving this conversation, finding it very interesting, wonderful, and then it's over. Maybe, you know, most poignantly, it's it's with a a piece of music. The the way music is structured, not like a a sculpture that you can at least see for a long time. Music comes and it goes, doesn't it? I mean, the notes sort of flow past you. You're listening to Beethoven's ninth symphony or some marvelous thing. and then it's over. All things must pass. All things must pass away. That's life. Well, now with George Harrison in mind, so those like me old enough to remember George Harrison, but young people ask Siri about it. She'll play it for you. With that in mind, look at our first reading from the marvelous book of Ecclesiastes. Vanity of vanity, says Cohith. Vanity of vanities. All things are vanity. Cohalith, it's just Hebrew means like the assemblymen, something like that. The you could say the churchmen because cahal is something like church assembly. So this person, this cohalith, he's been identified in the great tradition with King Solomon, someone who had it all. Think of Solomon, the wisest, richest, most powerful figure of his time. His conclusion, all things must pass. Vanity of vanities. The Hebrew behind vanity there is very interesting. It's the word heel. He means something like wind or even like bubble. It sort of sounds like bubble. Heel. Bubble. All things are like a bubble. Think of a bubble. And as it's floating there and he goes, "Hey, that's beautiful. Look at that." And sometimes, you know, the colors kind of play on a on a bubble and then like that it's gone. All things pass away. All things pass away. Listen as he much of the book of Coaleith is simply specifying this idea, giving example upon example. But listen to some of them. Here's one who's labored with wisdom and knowledge and skill. And yet to another who's not labored over it, he must leave his property. So think of someone whose whole life has been about property and riches and I'm going to work and I got to get up early and I go to bed late and I'm going to do whatever I can to get the biggest house and the most money. And then what? Your life it's over. The psalmist says like a sigh. I'm right, aren't I? Anyone old enough, you know that your life's over like a sigh and you've spent all this time, energy, and what happens to all that stuff you piled up? It goes to someone who maybe never worked a day in his life. It's inherited by someone that you don't even know. All things must pass. All things must pass away. What prophet comes to man from all the toil and anxiety of heart with which he's labored under the sun? All his days are sorrow and grief. At night his mind is not at rest. This also is vanity. You can think of all the things that we think about and worry about and fret about and we're plotting and planning and trying to get this and get that and wealth and and honor and people will think highly of me and I'm going to do everything I can to get the that reward and and I don't want people thinking highly of that guy. I want them thinking highly of me. And so I fret and I worry and what? All things must pass. All things must pass away. Vanity of vanity. Bubble of bubbles. Everything's like a bubble. Okay. So, you say, "Well, am I left in sort of despair now? So, what's the point? Life just seems like it doesn't mean anything." No, no, no, no. Listen now to St. Paul. This is our second reading. Paul to the Colossians. If you were raised with Christ, seek what is above. where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Think of what is above, not of what is on earth. Okay? Now, just to be really clear about this, this is not some desparing flight from the world spirituality. This is not to say, well, this life is just a waste of time. Forget about it and let's get up to heaven as soon as we can. No, no. We're playing a much more subtle game here. We're not saying everything in this world is bad. No, no. What we're saying is nothing in this world finally lasts. Therefore, what? Two things. Wear this world lightly. Doesn't mean disdain it or hate it. It means don't cling to it. Don't think it's going to make you happy because it's just like one of those, you know, those um cottonwood seeds that float through the air and if you try to grab it, the very act of grabbing will push it away from you. So, if you grasp at this world, it'll turn to dust in your fingers. Appreciate it. Love it. That sunset that George Harrison sings about, look at it. Take it in. Beautiful. Beautiful. Love it. But then let go of it. That's not your ultimate happiness. The house that you live in that you've labored for, good. Enjoy it. Don't cling to it. Those honors that people give you, yeah, they're nice. Enjoy it, you know, for the moment and then forget about it. Where should your eyes be fixed? Where should the eyes of your soul be fixed? Again, listen. If you were raised with Christ, seek what is above. Now, what's above? That means the realm of God. That means the good things of heaven. That means the permanent things following the will of God. That's where you should have your soul directed. Remember last week, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as in heaven. Keep yourself aligned. Put your will within the context of God's will. Keep the keep your heart fixed above. Then you can take in this world with the proper attitude, not clinging to it desperately. No, no. Because you know your treasures in heaven your your ultimate goal is union with God and God does not pass away. God does not change. God is not even essent. So fix your heart on God and then you can let go of this world in the proper attitude. Now with all that in mind, let's look briefly at the gospel. Jesus' great uh parable. He told him a parable. There was a rich man whose land produced a bountiful harvest. He asked himself, "What shall I do? I don't have space to store my harvest." There's a guy very successful. We'd say today, you know, some he's a a private equity investor who's just made tons and tons of money and he's got homes and cars and vacation homes and all that. What will I do? I know I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones. There I shall store all my grain and all the goods and say to myself, uh, you got many good things stored up for years to come. Eat, drink, and be merry. Okay, see, it's an image of somebody who's who's clinging desperately to this world, who's going to find his satisfaction in all the things that he possesses. And, you know, I'll just build a bigger barn and and there'll be more and more room and I'll never run out. Think of someone a billionaire. I I I couldn't spend all this money if I in in a lifetime. I got everything I need. All things must pass. Listen. But God said to him, "You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you, and the things you prepared, to whom will they belong?" There it is. Yeah. My whole life's been about storing up all the goods of the world. You have a man tonight. Tonight, you're going to die. All of it's gone. All will fall into someone else's hand. Someone that you don't even know, maybe. Listen now. Thus it will be for all who store up treasure for themselves, but are not rich in what matters to God. Now, let's get down to brass tax as I close. What matters to God? Love. God is love, right? Heaven is the place where love obtains radically. That's what heaven means. What lasts? I'll quote Cardinal George again here. The only things we take with us into heaven are the things we've given away on earth. He doesn't mean like, okay, if I give away all these cars and houses and I'll have them in heaven. What he means is it's that attitude of giving away. That's the substance of heaven. There are three things that last, right? St. Paul said, and that's what we want. The all things must pass in this world. Okay. So, what last? Paul says three things. Faith, hope, and love. And the greatest of these is love. Why? Because in heaven, I don't need faith. I I'll see. I don't need hope because I've I've realized my goal. But what will last? Love. Love is what heaven is. And so look up George Harrison's song. Listen to it. Read the book of Cohalith. They're making the same point. And then say, "All right, so what does last? Love. The things of heaven. What is above? not what's here on earth. Keep the eyes of your soul fixed there and you'll find the treasure you're looking for. And God bless you. [Music]