The pericopes which we find in our first and second readings this week implore us to turn not to the earth, that which passes away, but always to God, that which is eternal. Paul, in his letter to the Colossians, pleas with us, using vivid language to turn from sin. Not only are we to turn away from sin, but we are to put it to death! What does this mean, “put to death”? Because of the concupiscence tied to our human nature due to the sin of Adam, we must put this side of our lives “to death” and turn to the new Adam, rising to new life in Jesus. This is the process of continual conversion! Conversion fully into Christ in not easy at first, but does become easier through increased cooperation with God’s gift of grace and a tempering of the fires of concupiscence over time. The “parable of the rich fool” from which we hear in our Gospel is a story of the dangers of conforming ourselves to worldly vanities, pleasures, and desires rather than Christ. Asked at first to only settle fraternal dispute, Jesus flips the script on the brothers diving deep into the recesses of their soul, challenging the motive of greed. Rooted in a love for riches is of course, vanity. The famous words from Qoheleth in Ecclesiastes rings tried and true for the two brothers in our Gospel. These words, “vanity of vanities”, are the first and last words of Qoheleth’s major discourse in Ecclesiastes and therefore is the subject of his entire argument. Qoheleth makes the very bold statement that “all is vanity.” What he is referring to here is the ability for us, in our fallen nature, to corrupt even good things through our intentions. But our Gospel passage today shows us that we have not to fear because the Incarnate Lord is our guide for storing up riches in Heaven. God and his activity are the ultimate value that we can toil for in this world. Acknowledging that we at times fall into a mindset of “vanity of vanities” will help us to easier replace these acknowledgements with the “Lord of lords.” This is my final reflection for this year. It has been a privilege to be with you all this summer. Please continue to pray for me and please know of my prayers for you all.