Gospel: Lk 12: 32-34

 

"Sell your possessions and give alms. Get yourselves purses that do not wear out, treasure that will not fail you, in heaven where no thief can reach it and no moth destroy it. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."

 

1.  He Is No Fool.

 

A missionary, Jim Elliot, slain by Indians in South America, wrote the following in his diary before he was killed: "He is no fool to give up what he can't keep in order to gain what he can't lose."

 

How difficult it can seem to renounce so much in order to follow Christs way!  It is difficult to renounce the tantalizing allurements of pleasure, power and money. And giving up even things that are good, if our call is to consecration the goodness of marriage, family and children, all cry out to us: "Wait, don't rush your decision. Think about us."  Truly there is so much to give up.

 

Our problem is not that we want security, but that we are content with too little security. We tend to place our hope and security in things that pass, and we cannot seem to grasp the magnitude of what Jesus Christ is offering: "I tell you solemnly, when all is made new and the Son of Man sits on his throne of glory, you will yourselves sit on twelve thrones to judge the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses, brothers, sisters, father, mother, children or land for the sake of my name will be repaid a hundred times over, and also inherit eternal life." (Mt.19: 28-29)

 

"Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires, not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased." (C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory).

 

"Hence, do not go after what the world promises you. Rather, consider that which the Creator of the world promises." (St. Augustine)

 

2. Jesus' Description of a Life Well Spent.

 

Jesus speaks of amassing a fortune, but of a different kind than material riches. Material things are easily lost even in this life through a flood, a fire or normal wear and tear. At the most they can last our lifetime, and then they remain here while we go elsewhere.

 

Jesus wants us to enter into eternal life, and pick up a treasure we have been amassing there. This treasure is the fruit of love, the fruit of the love we have lived in this life. Not even a glass of water given in my name will go without a reward, he says. What you do to others, you do to me. He longs to receive us as we enter the next life as friends to whom he is indebted for the love we have shown him here in our brothers and sisters.

 

3.  The Importance of Our Mind and Heart.

 

For eternal life to be a treasure to me, I have to think about it, discover its value, or learn its value. This means teaching using the gift of faith, seeing my life through a different lens, the lens of faith. When we value something is when we begin to get attached to it, because now we understand what it is worth. I will be able to tell a good pair of skates and be prepared to pay big bucks for them, only if I know something about skating and listen to the experts; and when I have set my heart on them I will be prepared to forego other things I like in order to have them. Jesus tells us to treasure eternal life in heave, to set our heart on eternal happiness, teaching ourselves to value it more than anything else.

 

Questionnaire:  This optional questionnaire is intended to help you examine your life in light of the inspirations God just gave you in these moments you just shared with him.

 

1. What is the "length" and value of eternal life?

 

2. What generous next step in my Christian vocation have I been putting off?

 

3. How can I tell if I really and truly value eternal life more than the passing things of this life?