Homily for the 19th Sunday of Ordinary Time, August 10-11, 2013.
Readings: Wisdom 18:6-9; Hebrews 11:1-2, 8-19; Luke 12:32-48
“For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.”
What are the treasures in your life?
Take a few moments and think about your answer to that question.
…
In October 2001, my Mom passed away. Almost a year later, in early September 2002, I took my Dad on a two day car trip so he could attend the wedding of his 1st grandchild to be married – a daughter of one of my brothers. As we drove, we talked about many different things, including the other struggles my brother’s family was going through.
As we discussed this, Dad wondered, how anyone can get through difficult times without faith in God. My brother had long ago left the church. But I also think Dad was thinking about the past year of his life, how he was coping with the death of his wife of over 52 years. It was his faith that got him through, but also this same faith that gave him the knowledge that he would one day be reunited with his bride in heaven, spending eternity with her and God. It was this faith that he inherited from his parents and grandparents which help him get through World War II, the many years of poor or no crops on the farm, little or no money to raise a large family. It was this faith, which he tried to pass along to his children.
In the first two readings, we hear about faith. We hear about Abraham, who through faith, left his home, took his wife out into the desert to find the land he was promised for himself and his descendants, even though he had none. It was his faith that God would provide more descendants than stars in the sky or sand on the seashore, who eventually received the inheritance promised by God to Abraham.
Which leads us back to our treasures. Was faith one of the items on your list of treasures? If it wasn’t on your list, should it be? Do you think faith maybe should be toward the top or on top of your list? Would you agree that faith is a treasure that “no thief can reach nor moth destroy”?
Each of us should strive to be like the steward in Gospel parable – to be vigilant for the master’s return. The master is of course, our Lord Jesus Christ. So our goal should be, when we reach the end of our earthly life, to enter our promised land – heaven. Faith is a treasure that will help us reach that goal.
But most of us are like the rich man in last week’s gospel. We have been blessed with a bountiful harvest, and we do not have enough space to store everything we have. So we build new and larger “barns” or rent storage units. If you were to die tonight, which of your treasures will help you reach your promised land – heaven?
As we prepare for the Eucharist, think about what you can do this week?
Do you have anything in your home you are not using, which could be given to someone else this week to use? It could be something as simple as a good pair of shoes the kids have outgrown or you simply don’t use, maybe some sneakers or tennis shoes or Nike’s or whatever the right name is, that could be brought to church next week to be taken to our sister parishes on Standing Rock? Or maybe you have some other things that could be taken this week to one of the many charities always looking for good clothes or household items? Find and give away at least one thing this week.
Another challenge I have for you is to give away your faith. Our faith is a gift from God. This gift from God has a unique property – the more we give away, the more our faith grows. You may be thinking you might not have much faith, or maybe no faith at all. But you do, and once you start giving it away, it continues to grow. So during this next week, find a way to give away some of your faith. It might be as simply as talking about your faith to a child, grandchild, family member or coworker. Or it might be signing up to help with the parish faith formation programs.
By accepting these challenges, your faith will grow. And as your faith grows, you will discover, how much of a treasure your faith is.
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