Paul, writing to the Ephesians, points out how God, through Jesus, has saved us from death. Left to our human nature, we spiral into death. But with God’s grace, we rise to life. Human nature, when it follows its innate inclinations, tends to look at itself and ends up being selfish, self-centred and fails to look up to the Creator. Christ’s salvific death re-aligns this inclination. Through Him, God “brought us to life” enabling us to be “seated with Him in the heavens”.

Today’s Gospel begins with a man asking Jesus to arbitrate and ask his brother to share the inheritance with him. While Jesus rejects the role of judge, he points to the deeper reality of life and wealth as gifts from God by using a parable. While the man has the capacity to safeguard his grain for years to come, his life and death remain in God’s hands.

Do you possess life or does life possess you?