Homily for 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time
3 August 2025
Readings: Ecclesiastes 1:2; 2:21-23; Psalm 90; Colossians 3:1-5, 9-11; Luke 12:13-21
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‘Vanity of vanities, says Qoheleth, vanity of vanities! All things are vanity!’ We are all so used to this declaration in the Book of Ecclesiastes. We are all very used to great displays of vanity in our federal parliament. But every now and again, there is a moment when politicians on all sides are bonded by expressions of humility in the face of true greatness, and dare I say, sanctity. Those moments can disclose unvarnished truth and abiding commitment. There was such a moment on Monday when the Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition joined to pay tribute to the late Pope Francis.
The Prime Minister said:
‘Pope Francis was the first pontiff to take the name of St Francis of Assisi. In the spirit of his namesake he shaped his papacy as a force to champion the poor, as a force of hope and as a light to guide us through the dark. Like St Francis, the late Pope sought to fashion a gentler, kinder and more loving world. No matter how overwhelming and elusive that goal must have seemed, Francis’s compassion remained tireless and boundless, embracing all humanity. In a world rife with division the Holy Father reminded us of all that we have in common and that what connects us above all is our humanity.’[1]
The Leader of the Opposition said:
‘Pope Francis was a beacon of humility, compassion and unwavering faith. Described by some as a pope of the streets, his life was devoted to serving others, offering hope to the marginalised. He showed the world that true leadership is not measured in titles or in power, but in kindness, empathy and the willingness to walk alongside those who suffer.’
She acknowledged: ‘I am not a Catholic, but I found inspiration in the way Pope Francis lived out his faith with humility, strength and compassion. His example was a powerful reminder that service to others is at the heart of everything we do, especially in public life.’
Vanity of vanities. Perhaps not all things are vanity. But today’s gospel should give us pause lest we become too laid back, thinking that we are individually and collectively responding to the call of the gospel. Someone in the crowd asks Jesus to act as judge and arbitrator in a family dispute about the family inheritance. Jesus will have none of that. He goes to the more fundamental issue. We human beings, individually and collectively, draw great comfort from generating greater wealth and then building bigger barns to accommodate all that we acquire. Our political leaders on all sides are constantly harping on about increased productivity.
None of our political leaders give much, if any weight, to Pope Francis’s declaration in his encyclical Laudato Si’ in which he speaks of ‘the insatiable and irresponsible growth produced over many decades’. He says: ‘We know how unsustainable is the behaviour of those who constantly consume and destroy, while others are not yet able to live in a way worthy of their human dignity. That is why the time has come to accept decreased growth in some parts of the world, in order to provide resources for other places to experience healthy growth.’[2] Any Australian politician who gave voice to that sentiment would be sure to lose office. And it’s not that Francis was the first pope to put this challenge to us. Fifteen years ago, Pope Benedict said that ‘technologically advanced societies must be prepared to encourage more sober lifestyles, while reducing their energy consumption and improving its efficiency’. [3]
And the fault does not lie just with our politicians. Many of us dedicate much or our time and energy accumulating ever more.
On 23 July 2025, the International Court of Justice delivered a unanimous advisory opinion on the Obligations of States in Relation to Climate Change in which they stated:
‘Failure of a State to take appropriate action to protect the climate system from greenhouse gas emissions — including through fossil fuel production, fossil fuel consumption, the granting of fossil fuel exploration licences or the provision of fossil fuel subsidies — may constitute an internationally wrongful act which is attributable to that State.’[4]
Let’s remember that we are the world’s second-largest exporter of coal.[5] In what some would take to be an uncharacteristic expression of joint humility by lawyers, the 17 judges of the International Court of Justice unanimously stated that ‘the questions posed by the General Assembly represent more than a legal problem’: ‘they concern an existential problem of planetary proportions that imperils all forms of life and the very health of our planet. … A complete solution to this daunting, and self-inflicted, problem requires the contribution of all fields of human knowledge, whether law, science, economics or any other. Above all, a lasting and satisfactory solution requires human will and wisdom — at the individual, social and political levels — to change our habits, comforts and current way of life in order to secure a future for ourselves and those who are yet to come.’[6]
Jesus provides a further element to this existential challenge of planetary proportions. God says to the acquisitive one: ‘You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you; and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?’ Jesus declares: ‘Thus will it be for all who store up treasure for themselves but are not rich in what matters to God.’
The Prime Minister spoke for all Christians of goodwill when he concluded his remarks about Pope Francis in the Parliament this week: ‘May this man of peace be granted everlasting peace. May his example of a just and loving way live among us always. And may God welcome Pope Francis to eternal life.’[7]
And may we all continue to make the best preparations for future life – both for the future generations on the planet and for ourselves in the life to come. For, not all is vanity.
Fr Frank Brennan SJ is serving as part of a Jesuit team of priests working within a new configuration of the Toowong, St Lucia and Indooroopilly parishes in the Archdiocese of Brisbane. Frank Brennan SJ is Adjunct Professor of the Thomas More Law School at ACU and is a former CEO of Catholic Social Services Australia (CSSA). Fr Frank’s latest book is An Indigenous Voice to Parliament: Considering a Constitutional Bridge, Garratt Publishing, 2023 and his new book is ‘Lessons from Our Failure to Build a Constitutional Bridge in the 2023 Referendum’ (Connor Court, 2024).
[1] House of Representatives, Hansard, 28 July 2025, p. 47
[2] Laudato Si’ #193
[3] Benedict XVI, Message for the 2010 World Day of Peace, #9, at https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/messages/peace/documents/hf_ben-xvi_mes_20091208_xliii-world-day-peace.html
[4] International Court of Justice, Obligations of States in Respect of Climate Change, Advisory Opinion, 23 July 2025, #427, available at https://www.icj-cij.org/sites/default/files/case-related/187/187-20250723-adv-01-00-en.pdf
[5] See https://www.ga.gov.au/aecr2024/coal
[6] International Court of Justice, Obligations of States in Respect of Climate Change, #456.
[7] House of Representatives, Hansard, 28 July 2025, p. 48.
