I am honored to preach for the Propagaton of the Faith in my Diocese of San Bernardino. This is my homily for this Sunday's readings.
Homily for 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time 2019
Money,
inheritance, power, will always create division among family. It does not
matter the amount of money that is left, if family members are so wrapped up in
getting their hands on that money, they will tear apart the family ties. I can
attest to this in my own family. When my grandfather passed away in the 1970’s,
he had a small amount of money in his banking account. Two of my uncles argued
between the two of them as to who would receive that money and it caused such a
rift in my family that those two brothers ended up not speaking to each other
for the rest of their lives, in fact, my Dad got caught up into trying to be a
mediator and he got on the receiving end of the silent treatment by a couple of
his brothers. The amount of this “inheritance”? 700.00, seven. hundred.
dollars. Not 700 thousand, 700 dollars and most of that went to pay for
Grandpa’s funeral.
In Jesus’
day, it was normal for the people of Israel to look to the spiritual leaders in
order to adjudicate their issues. We saw just two weeks ago another person who
went to Jesus in order to make her situation more equitable. Martha told Jesus,
“Lord, do you not care that my sister has left all this work for me? Tell her
to help me!” As it was with Martha, so it is with this person in the crowd.
Jesus rejects this person’s request, not because he is insensitive to the
injustice that may or may not have happened in his family, but because it is
not part of his redemptive mission to intervene in matters of this kind. Jesus
doesn’t give us technical, precise solutions that arise in our lives, that was
not his mission. He has endowed us with intelligence and freedom in order to
follow him and live our lives in such a way as to solve our problems and to
create a more just and humane world.
Jesus tells
the parable of the rich land owner who did very well for himself. The parable
shows us that it is folly to put our trust in amassing a great fortune to
ensure that we live a comfortable life and in doing so, we tend to forget the
goods of the spiritual life, which is what really leads us to eternal life
through the Grace of God in his mercy. The man is a fool in this story because
he makes his material wealth his only aim and only insurance policy. Now, there
is nothing wrong with material possessions, nothing wrong with making a good
living for you and your family. But if the acquiring of material possessions
becomes an absolute driving force in our lives, it spells the ultimate
destruction of our lives and our society.
Another
example from my family: my Grandparents were sharecroppers in Texas and
Oklahoma, they owned NOTHING, not even the land that they farmed. Yet they
raised 9 children, 8 boys and one girl. My Dad, and every one of his siblings
left that farm as soon as they could, they all entered into the work force and
made a life for themselves and their families, while bringing Mom and Dad out
of that life too. They grew up poor in possessions, yet each one did well for
themselves and until that fateful day when the two fought over 700 dollars, one
would say their lives were complete. It is the continued lust to acquire more
and more that is the poison of our lives and society.
So how do we
live our lives that we don’t fall into this trap that so easily ensnares us?
St. Paul tell us that we have died with Christ in our Baptism, but we are also
raised with him to live our lives supernaturally. This is why most Baptismal
Fonts that one can walk into, have three steps down and three steps up, we are
entering into the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus which all happened in
three days. We share in the glorious life of Christ in the here and now! We are
told to seek the things above, not the things below. Ours is a spiritual life.
When we walk this walk and talk this talk, it does not demand a lesser
commitment, but a greater commitment to building up a more humane world. Work,
family relationships, social involvements-every aspect of human affairs- should
be done in a spirit of faith and done out of perfect love. We live for God, not
ourselves. St. Paul reminds us that here, there is not Greek and Jew,
circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythican, slave, free; but Christ
is al and in all. To put it into today’s world: There is no longer Anglo and
Hispanic or Black, or Asian, or Indian, there is no us and them, there is only
Christ who is all and in all who call his name. Remember, St. Paul is writing
to Christians who had these divisions in their community. We are all one Body,
we draw our strength from Jesus Christ and his family, the Church. Let us look
for ways to bring the Kingdom of God/the Peace of God to our world. Let me tell
you about the missions…
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