Homily: 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle C
Friends,
as humans, our instinct for survival means that we must pursue material things
in order to provide for our security. We
need food to keep our bodies alive, clothing to protect us from extreme hot and
extreme cold, shelter to protect us from the elements as well as from predators. These things are necessary for survival and
so are good to pursue. Now, this may
seem very abstract until we start to consider it in light of our lived
experience. Case in point: many of you
immigrated here because a sense of insecurity in being able to acquire these
basic things in your homeland. There was
a promise that, in the United States, the streets would be safe, you could get
a good job and a house, and you could safely provide for your family. You pursued material things, yes, but not
because you desired the things themselves, but rather because you hoped to find
greater security for yourselves and your families.
For
those of you who have lived here for a long time, you may now have experienced
this security for many years. Because of
this, you may have also experienced the temptation that comes with it: a
temptation to begin to exploit this security for indulgence. What I mean by that is this: that after
having pursued material things for the greater good of serving your survival
and that of your family, you now begin to pursue material things as ends in
themselves. Let me share an example from
my personal life to try to illustrate this.
Cars
fascinate me. I truly enjoy driving
them, their different styles, and knowing how they work. I have a good car that is reliable and safe
and that provides for the needs of my ministry and personal life. Nonetheless, I am often tempted to pursue
other cars: for no other reason than I think that I would enjoy owning and
driving them. In other words, I pursue
other cars as ends in themselves, not as a means to help me pursue a greater
good, either for myself or for others.
This, as the author of the book of Ecclesiastes states in our first
reading, is “vanity” and a danger to my soul, since, in pursuing other cars, I
begin to forget the “things of God”, instead investing myself in the things of
the material world, all of which, one day, will pass away into nothing.
Our
readings today remind us of what God has revealed to us: that our pursuit of
material things should always be done with an aim towards an end beyond the
material goods. For example, pursuing a
larger house to accommodate a growing family, instead of our need to impress
our neighbors, a new or additional car to support the needs of our family or
the work that we do for others, instead the needs of our egos, a vacation that
helps us to rest and to connect more deeply as a family, instead of our desire simply
to indulge in pleasures. Given the
inevitability of our own deaths, the author of Ecclesiastes and our Lord Jesus say
to us today, “Why seek greater security for yourself than you can ever enjoy? The material things will all disappear one
day, but your soul will not disappear: it is eternal. Better to pay attention to the ‘things of God’,
which are eternal, and to pursue material things only towards that end, than to
pursue material things as ends in themselves, which will leave you with nothing
when the material world as we know it disappears.
As
Christians, we are to give witness to this truth that God has revealed to us:
that the created, material world has been given to us as a means to be in
communion with its Creator, and not to be an end to be pursued in itself. Considered from this perspective, we see,
therefore, that the world is more like a stage in a play, a setting in which
the drama of our life is played out, a drama that is always more about the
actors and their action, than about the set in which the action takes place. Imagine for a moment a play in which the
actors do nothing but talk about what they’re shopping for on Amazon, what they’re
watching on TV, and what snacks they are eating… that would be a boring play! Boring, because it would be about the set in
which the play takes place, not about the actors and their action, which is
infinitely more interesting. When the
drama of our lives becomes more about the material things in them than about us
and about our actions with them, then our lives begin to lose the meaning for
which they were created: to glorify God, to be in communion with him, and to
serve him.
Perhaps
another example that might illustrate this.
On any given day, you may ask one of your children, “What do you want to
do today?” One of an infinite number of
answers you may receive is, “I want to go to McDonald’s!” You may ask, “Why do you want to go to
McDonald’s?” and your child may respond, “Because I want a Big Mac and fries!” Another response you may receive is, “Because
my best friend is going and I want to meet him there so we can get milkshakes”. The first response reveals that your child is
pursuing McDonald’s for the sake of the Big Mac. The second reveals that he is pursuing
McDonald’s for the sake of his friendship, and that McDonald’s is a means to
that end. Ultimately, the first will leave
him disappointed, because the Big Mac will be gone and he will soon be hungry
for another one. The second will satisfy
him for much longer, because enjoyment of being with his friend will remain
with him forever. Does this make
sense? I hope so.
Friends,
these readings invite us today to look at our own lives and to ask ourselves, “How
do I interact with the world? As a set
of objects that are to be pursued as ends in themselves? Or rather as props in a setting within the
drama of my life which helps me to live out that drama together with others,
pursuing the goal that is set for all of us: eternal life?” If your answer is not the second one, then
perhaps now is the time to refocus and re-center your thoughts and priorities. Does my pursuit of material things serve the
genuine needs of me and my family? If
you find that the answer is “no”, then I encourage you to turn those things
over to God and to ask him to purify your desires for these things so that they
might be converted into desires for the “things of God”: that is, communion
with him and with others.
Our
Lord, Jesus, lived among us and showed us how to pursue material things only
for a greater good—the greatest good, in fact, our salvation. As we approach this altar today, let us ask
him for this same grace so that, at the end of our lives, we might be found
rich in the “things of God” and thus ready to enter eternal life with him.
Given in Spanish at Our Lady of the Lakes Parish:
Monticello, IN and Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish: Carmel, IN – July 31st,
2022
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