The Desert of Liberation

Gospel: Luke 12: 13-21

"...one's life does not consist of possessions."

We human beings are utterly defined and ruled by our possessions.  We seek to acquire things in order to create some sense of security and comfort for ourselves.  We measure ourselves against others by how much stuff we have and the type of stuff we have.  We become slaves to these things, seeking ever bigger domiciles and storage units in order to curate our stuff.  That security which we sought then becomes a false one, for we are ever insecure about keeping our stuff from those who might take it from us.

But all these possessions and our ideas about them are an illusion and vanity.  Our possessions are a burden, not a source of security.  They provide us with endless anxiety and not comfort.  They make us selfish and self-centered instead of generous and loving.  It is only in our dispossession of these things that we truly become free and secure.  It is in the desert where we discover these possessions are a burden and have little value for our lives.  

At the end of our lives we come to see the vanity and illusion of our stuff.  We are on our deathbed surrounded by objects that cannot save us and provide us no comfort.  At this moment we are in the desert, alone with God, free of all our things and eager to be so.  For we come to see that our life is not measured by our possessions but by our relationship to God alone.  The authentic religious path is through the desert, to live simply and with our great possession being God alone.