“Teach us to number our days aright.” Is there a more wise and prudent prayer for people of all ages than this verse from today’s responsorial psalm? As we savor the lovely but limited days of summer we are reminded that nothing lasts forever. In today's first reading, the master teacher (Qoheleth) asserts “All things are vanity!” while the Gospel of Luke describes the ease with which our possessions can possess us. The second reading makes the point as well: “Think of what is above, not of what is on earth.” We see the problem of wealth from both sides today —from the viewpoint of the wealthy person who inevitably has to leave his riches to someone else and from the perspective of the potential inheritor who is at odds with his brother over how to divide their inheritance. The problem is clear; the wisdom is also.

Have you ever watched a master chef at work or a professional musician or athlete and wondered “How do they do that? They make it look so easy.” We are naturally attracted to someone who excels at something, a person whose heart is obviously in their work, and we can’t help but wonder if we are capable of anything like that. This was likely true for the disciples as well. They had seen Jesus at prayer on many occasions (this is especially true in Luke's Gospel) and it was obvious that someone, somehow was shaping/transforming the life of their teacher. Abraham, too, gives us an example of a conversation with God that goes beyond the ordinary approach to divine petitioning. Meanwhile, Psalm 138 assures us that when we cry for help God will answer—for Christ has become our mediator and we are one with him in baptism.

Summer is in full swing and tent camping is often a memory-making part of it—sometimes just because of the difficulties of putting up the tent! In today’s first reading we see Abraham sitting at the entrance to his tent and welcoming three unexpected strangers. By the end of the story God's covenant with Abraham is renewed with the promise that Sarah will give birth to a son.

Love God. Love neighbor. This is our call, the sum of all it means to live as Christ’s holy people in the world. Moses told the people that the law —all that sums up this call to love God and neighbor—isn’t far off, something distant and hard to reach. It is in our hearts and minds, on our lips. We have only to live what has been instilled in us through the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit, the fullness of God's love that dwells in us through Christ.

In today’s Gospel passage, Jesus sent the seventy-two out to prepare people’s hearts and minds for him. The disciples whom he sent were to rely on the hospitality of those whom they served, and above all, to proclaim the kingdom of God. When they returned, joyful that so many had been healed through Christ's power, Jesus told them that true joy is to know our names are written in heaven.