YOU PROBABLY THINK 

THESE READINGS 

ARE ABOUT YOU.  

DON’T YOU?   DON’T YOU? 

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily is, “You Probably Think These Readings Are About You?  Don’t You?  Don’t You?”

They are. They are.

I’m stealing this idea from a song by Carly Simon - called, “You’re So Vain.”

That’s a theme in today’s readings - especially today’s first reading which begins this way, “Vanity of vanities, says Qoheleth, vanity of vanities! All things are vanity.”

I can’t sing but in this song by Carly Simon she begins with this message, this image, these words:

You walked into the party
Like you were walking on a yacht
Your hat strategically dipped below one eye
Your scarf, it was apricot
You had one eye on the mirror
And watched yourself gavotte
And all the girls dreamed that they'd be your partner
They'd be your partner, and

You're so vain
You probably think this song is about you
You're so vain,
I'll bet you think this song is about you
Don't you?
Don't you?

It’s an intriguing and an interesting song.  This week Google “You’re So Vain” song by Carly Simon.  Listen to it every day. Check out today’s readings again. Read them again every day. They too can be found on Google.  Put them both together. That’s basically my sermon for today.

CARLY SIMON’S SONG

It became a top song through the years for Carly Simon. Various guys thought she was singing about them.  She wrote a song called, “Bless You, Ben” with the words, “You came in when nobody else left off.”  Something was missing so she shelved or middle drawered  that song.

Then at a party someone described someone who just came in - “as if they were walking onto a yacht” - and she went back to that Ben song - and re-worked it and re-did it.  It triggered lots of questions - and guessing games: “Who was the you? Who was the guy she was talking about in the song?”

She gave all kinds of hints - as well as saying it was basically about 3 different guys and she gave hints and promised answers as money raisers as well as having fun with it.

So listen to that song this week a few times and hear the question, “You probably think this song is about you …. Don’t you? Don’t you?”

It is. It is.

We can be so vain. We can. We can.

TODAY’S READINGS

Once more the title of my homily is, “You Probably Think These Readings Are About You?  Don’t You?  Don’t You?”

They are. They are.

The first reading is from the Book of Ecclesiastes.

Most people know this book from the Bible because of Chapter 3 where he gives us the great message, “For everything there is a season and a time for every matter under the heavens: a time to be born, and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot the plant….”

That’s another song to listen to - by the Birds ….

Qoheleth or The Teacher - the one who speaks - speaks often in his book about Vanity.  Vanity of vanities, vanity of vanities. All things are vanity.”

It’s a strong theme. You’ll find it in Jane Austen and Shakespeare and so many writers and poets and song writers and movie makers.

In Hebrew the word is HEVEL or HEBEL.  It means this: everyone take their hand. Put the back of it - about three inches away from your mouth. Then breath … push air - blow air onto the back of your hand. 3X 3X 3X.

That’s HEVEL - that breath of air.  That’s vanity.  Where does that air go? It disappears.  It fades. It makes its way around the world. It’s goes into corners and out windows and doors - and into other human beings.

Vanity. Disappears. Invisible.

In today’s first reading Qoheleth, the Teacher, laughs because he tells us that everything we worked for - with all our skills, with all our wisdom, with all our knowledge, is going to be left to someone else.

You can’t take it with you.

We’re going to disappear - like the wind - like invisible breath.

The clay, the mud, the earth, from which I eat and become is going to crumble. The sculpture that God the Artist and Sculptor created and blew air into - to make a human being - is eventually going to run out of gas, run out of air, have more and more trouble breathing. I’m learning this big time this year - trying to get my breath back.

That breath, that vanity, is going to disappear - along with this body called me.  I notice the skin on the inside side of right arm - just below the elbow is  wrinkling more and more - as I move towards hitting 80 this year.

Vanity of vanities.  All things are vanity.

You gotta laugh. You gotta laugh. You gotta cry. You gotta cry.

Bummer. Bummer.  Tough stuff. Tough stuff.  Humbling. Humbling….

And then today’s gospel.  What a mirror. What a message.

This rich man has a great harvest.  He’s saying to himself. “What shall I do? What shall I do? I don’t have space enough to store my harvest. I’m going to tear down that barn. That barn. That barn. And build larger ones.  Then I’m going to say to myself. I got it made. Woo! Wow! Do I have it made?”

And then Jesus says, “The fool…. The poor sucker. He’s going to die tonight.”

Vanity…. His breath will disappear and along with his wealth will go to others.

Hopefully, we realize that this message is about me.

COMING TO CHURCH

So we come church - we come to God - to hear these readings - to hear the words of these songs.

We come to church to realize what Saint Paul is telling us in today’s second reading.

What lasts…. What lasts…. Is God.

Life. Eternal life. The me that’s me - that’s above this earth.

The hidden is eternal and Christ came and did this life - to bring us to believe in eternal life.

That is the message - the reappearance  after death - after our crucifixion - that’s what these readings - that’s what this Mass of faith - hidden in all of us - in the bread and the wind - in the songs - is about.

Whether we’re Greek of Jew - Barbarian, Scythian - slave or free - it’s about us - faith - Christ - can give us this new Vanity of Vanities - the Holy Spirit -the Holy Breath Called God.

Breathe it in baby…. breathe it in - it’s about us. It’s about us. Forever….