Rich in What Matters to God

Homily for the Eighteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time

Our Bible readings for today speak powerfully on the temporal futility of worldly riches. They provide clear warning and affirmation of the lesson our Lord has sought to share in our recent times of economic upheaval. God seeks us to be wise and faithful stewards of the things of this world. Yet God seeks to bless us in ways, in riches well beyond that what we may see, feel, or lose to earthly decay. Our Heavenly Father, calling us to be co-heirs with His Son calls us each to be rich in what matters to Him.

That which matters to God can be found shared throughout Scripture and in the lives of the saints. God's Word and the lives of the servants of Christ speak with clarity and power of the wealth of Scripture itself. They share, too, of the eternal graces found in faith, obedience, humility and especially in His love. It is important and essential that we as God's people invest our lives in these treasures of Heaven.

But of all the riches of Heaven there is one, a hidden lost treasure, that is perhaps of most value to God. It's value and wealth is greater than any treasure lost and hidden in the deserts or seas of this earth. This lost treasure is, in fact, so great that the Father sent His only Son to seek and find these priceless gems. Over the ages saints have labored and given their all to share this holy quest of God. This treasure is distinct. For to find and discover this eternal gem it takes all the other riches of God to attain. Faith, obedience, humility, and most profoundly, the Love of God are all essential to overcome the obstacles that come in this holy quest.

Throughout the Gospel Christ sought to bring His followers to see this treasure and to equip them with all they would need in their quest for Him. For the fishermen to leave their nets, or Matthew his money, for the woman at the well and her many failed relationships, Jesus called them all to find what truly matters. He called them and He calls us from our futile, temporal priorities to share in that which matters most to Him. Souls.

May we bring to God, with and through His grace, our souls. May we invest in our children not just the gadgets and gizmos of this techno-obsessed age but may we invest in our children, Christ, prayer, faith...LOVE. May we too, seek to speak, to touch, to live,as to bring those who are lost to know the eternal love and mercy of our Lord. No matter the cost, the effort, may we simply bring to Christ, those for whom He died and rose again. May we bring to God what matters. Souls.