What Matters

Defining wealth as what matters to God

10/23/2017

Luke 12:13-21 Someone in the crowd said to Jesus, "Teacher, tell my brother to share the inheritance with me." He replied to him, "Friend, who appointed me as your judge and arbitrator?" Then he said to the crowd, "Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one's life does not consist of possessions." Then he told them a parable. "There was a rich man whose land produced a bountiful harvest. He asked himself, 'What shall I do, for I do not have space to store my harvest?' And he said, 'This is what I shall do: I shall tear down my barns and build larger ones. There I shall store all my grain and other goods and I shall say to myself, "Now as for you, you have so many good things stored up for many years, rest, eat, drink, be merry!"' But God said to him, 'You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you; and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?' Thus will it be for the one who stores up treasure for himself but is not rich in what matters to God."

        What is your greatest treasure? How would you describe a truly “wealthy person”? Even though we may not define this explicitly – in so many words – we all define it implicitly by how we spend our time, talents and treasures. In other words, each person is only allotted so much time, talent and treasure, and so we spend these things on what we value, prize, and cherish, in short, our “true wealth.” Some people put a high price on health, so they eat properly and exercise and run marathons. Their health in their wealth. Others love to take vacations; to experience the sights and sounds of the world around them. Their “travel logs” are their treasures. Others put a high premium on their possessions and judge their wealth and their worth by the things that surround them.

        Now, to be sure, these things are not bad in themselves. God gave us our health and we should care for our bodies as temples of the Holy Spirit. God made the world and its wonders for our enjoyment, and for God’s enjoyment, too. And when we “own” something we can use it for the betterment and blessing of others. But there is one fundamental flaw in all these forms of wealth: we will eventually lose them. Sooner or later we will lose our health and end up in the hospital. Eventually we will take our last vacation. And finally we will leave our possessions to our children, or to our Uncle Sam, or if you’re really smart, to your Mother Church! In other words, the “test of time” can help us define our true treasures.

        In the gospel today, Jesus helps the people to define wealth and treasure, too. Someone asks Our Lord to settle a dispute over an inheritance issue. And Jesus uses the occasion to teach a lesson about possessions, saying, “Take care to guard against all greed.” But then he goes on to explain how best to define true treasure and real wealth. He says: “[Be] rich in what matters to God.” In other words, when we look at things from God’s perspective, we step out of the ebb and flow of time and step into his eternal perspective. We see not only what matters to God, but ultimately what matters at all.

        My friends, may I be so bold as to suggest three things that matter to God? First of all faith. And remember that faith in not just something you profess but also what you practice. Don’t give faith only lip service, but also life service, and even death service (how we die will say a lot about how we lived). Faith  should matter not only on Sunday, but on every day. Second, prayer. It’s astonishing how often the gospel records Jesus spending time in prayer, sometimes all night. Have you ever wondered, what’s he praying for? After all, he’s God, and he can give himself whatever he wants, even the winning lottery ticket! But that’s a shallow understanding of prayer, isn’t it? St. Teresa of Avila explained that prayer is spending time with the one we love, and the one who loves us. Jesus prayed because he loved. Our struggle in prayer is really our struggle with love, that is, our lack of love leads to a lack of prayer. And third, poverty. And I don’t mean become poor and move into the Hope Campus for the Homeless. But rather be “detached” from possessions. Don’t let your possessions “own” you, so you can take it or leave it, without crying over them if you lose them. So you don’t have to ask Jesus to settle a dispute over an inheritance issue with your brother.

          Faith, prayer and poverty. These are the things that matter to God, and they are the things that should matter to us. In the end, they will be the only things that will matter.

Praised be Jesus Christ!