Homily Twentieth Tuesday of Ordinary Time (Mt. 19:23-30) “What is Mine is Ours”
Homily Twentieth Tuesday of Ordinary Time (Mt. 19:23-30) “What is Mine is Ours”
If a preacher wants to stir controversary, there are two topics sure to cause it. One is sex and the other is money. Jesus speaks several times in the Gospel about wealth. He says practically nothing about sex.
Someone once said that when we are young lust and greed are both deadly sins we struggle with. In most cases, as the years pass, lust kind of fades as the sex drive does. But greed is a lifelong obsession for most of us.
How do we view what we own? The way we view our possessions influences how we look at them. One philosophy says that what I own is mine. I have earned what I have therefore I have every right to determine how it is used. No one should tell me what to do with what is mine.
The other philosophy is that everything that I own is a gift from God. I have possession of it for a while, but someday I will have to let go of every material thing. If much of own is inherited, we might be more generous. If on the other hand, we started off with little in life, we might be more reluctant to give it away. We might worry we will sink into poverty again.
We wrestle with wealth, don’t we? We must invest it in safe places and manage it. We have locks and security systems and insurance and all kinds of things that we use to protect a sudden loss of wealth, but then a wind storm comes along like it did last week in Iowa and such a natural disaster can wipe out our material goods in a heartbeat.
Jesus warns that greed can distract us from the things of the Kingdom of God. In the Kingdom, everyone has the necessities of life. When we look at our wealth, we most always keep in mind that Jesus wants us to share what we have so everyone has what they need. It is not a matter of charity, but of justice.
Reflection Questions:
- What is my belief about the things I own? Do I look on my possessions as something that has something to do with my faith life?
- Do I have to be afraid about not having the necessities of life? Do I know someone who does?
Dear Parishioners,
As we reflect on the COVAD 19 epidemic we see how it hits older Americans harder. We have several nursing homes in our area that have significant outbreaks and deaths. People with a significant amount of wisdom are passing from this life before their time.
We live in a culture that seems to worship the cult of youth. We try to do many things to hide our age from coloring our hair to doing cosmetic surgery. In other countries older people are looked upon with reverence. They are sought out for advice.
We should not look at the elderly as expendable in the present pandemic. This is not pro-life nor is it ethical. If someone dismisses the death of an older person from COVID 19 as just a price we must pay so that we can go about our economic business this should disturb us.
Let’s pray that we will not give into this cold-hearted approach.
May Our Lady and all the Angels and Saints watch over you today.
Fr. Mark