Bless This Home

Holding on to our homes with a loose grip

10/21/2019

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."

Yesterday afternoon, I went to bless Bill and Karen Hollenbeck’s new home. Well, it was new to them but I knew the previous occupants very well, namely, Eddie and Betty Christian. Do you remember them? Eddie Christian was a highly sought-after defense attorney in Fort Smith, and Betty was a devout Catholic lady. The very first time I visited that house on Park Avenue was when I arrived here in December, 2013 and Eddie was lying in a hospice bed in his home. Shortly thereafter we had the funeral Mass for Eddie Christian Sr. here at Immaculate Conception. As the Hollenbecks moved into their new home, it suddenly hit me that someday, they, too, will move out of that beautiful Park Avenue home, and leave it for someone else.

Every time I drive down Cliff Drive and pass Dr. Marlin Hoge’s home, I think of the many times I visited him to give him Holy Communion and Anointing of the Sick. Dr. Hoge was usually eating cereal or watching the NFL football games on Sunday. But he was always clear-minded and said all the prayers even as his body grew weaker. Now someone else lives in that beautiful home and they have removed the wheelchair ramp that used to go up to the front door.

Occasionally, I give visitors a tour of our beautiful church, and someone compliments me by saying: “Father, you sure have a stunning church!” I reply, “Thank you,” but I feel a little like the Hollenbecks and the Hoges and know someone was the occupant as pastor of this house of God before me, and one day I will leave it for my successor after me. That is both a very sobering thought but I believe it is also a very spiritual thought. In other words, every home has a line of succession, no one person, no one family, gets to hold on to a home forever.

In the gospel today, Jesus tells a similar sober but spiritual parable of a rich man who thinks he will hang on to his possessions forever. The man’s overconfidence prompts him to say to himself: “Now, as for you, you have so many good things stored up for many years, rest, eat, drink, be merry!” Jesus, however, points out God’s perspective, saying: “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?’” In other words, learn the lesson of the Hollenbecks and the Hoges, and don’t grow too attached to worldly wealth like a beautiful home. Sooner or later you will leave it behind to your successors, like I will leave this parish to another pastor, hopefully a long time from now! Rather, make your true treasure your precious faith, which reminds you your true home is waiting for you in heaven.

Another thing I have witnessed since arriving in Fort Smith is people’s exceeding generosity. In the past six years I have conducted three major fundraising campaigns. The first was for the renovation of our church, called “Restoring to Glory,” the second was for I.C. School, called “Tomorrow’s Promise,” and the third was for Trinity Junior High, called “Strike a Match.” All three were wildly successful, not because I’m such a good salesman, far from it. Instead, their success depended entirely on the people of Fort Smith, who are extremely generous with their gifts. Why is that? Well, one reason is that people here instinctively “get it.” Like the Hollenbecks and the Hoges understand well, we are ultimately stewards rather than owners of what we have, and we will leave it all to others. In other words, people of faith have their treasure in heaven, not on earth.

Archbishop Peter Sartain described the three stages of learning to become stewards using the three words, “mine,” “ours,” and “yours.” He said toddlers tiny hands grasp toys and declare defiantly, “Mine!” When people marry, they say lovingly, “Ours.” And when we stand on the doorstep of eternity, we say with faith, “Yours,” and leave everything to others. The sooner we learn to say “Yours,” the happier and the holier we will be. And that, by the way, is what I am thinking when I come to bless your home.

Praised be Jesus Christ!