The readings for mass today are very diverse. A person could pick up on many different aspects of the readings. They do not seem to have very much to do with one another and are very different in nature. We could decide to focus on just one of the readings and not think about the other ones, but how about looking at the big picture they present instead?
All three of the readings for mass today give an overview of what is most important and how we should live our lives as individuals, and as a faith community. What is most important in life, is our faith in God. Our faith is as ancient as Abraham’s times but is still just as relevant to us today. We should be prepared to make sacrifices for God in our lives and not value anything more than Him. Our faith should come first, even before our own families. However, we should be willing to make sacrifices for our families too.
It is also important for us to agree on our basic beliefs in the Catholic community. To present ourselves to the world at large, with conflicting points of view does not give a valid witness to the nature of God’s love for us, or our love for one another.
One way of giving witness to God’s love for us is to share both the good things and the bad things of our lives with each other. When one person in the body of Christ is hurting, everyone else is affected too. We suffer with the person who is hurting. It hurts us too. When one person is joyful, we celebrate their joy as well. Joy is also contagious. No one is an island in the Catholic community and we do not need to go through all our trials and troubles alone. We should be there for each other to support one another through the good times and the bad as well. We are not fair weather friends. Our Catholic faith in Jesus and the support of our Catholic community, will see us through all the ups and downs that we go through in life, not just today, but throughout our entire life. The faith community can be such an oasis of support for marriages and families and a place for deep and lasting friendships to form as well.
In the gospel today, Jesus teaches us to learn to live with less possessions so that we will have more money to share with other people too. People are what is important, not things. Our treasure lies in one another, and not our money. Money will not last forever or be of any value in eternity, but our faith will be. Our love for our families, friends and other people will be the only things that last into eternity. Our joy in heaven will be found in the love we have for God and Jesus and one another.
The Lord also warns us that we shouldn’t slack off practicing our faith or living out the gospel in our lives, because death could catch us off guard and unprepared. In one second, it could be over and we would not be prepared to face him for our judgement. It will be too late then. If we focus all our attention on ourselves and having fun, but mistreat other people in our lives, we will answer to Jesus Christ for our behavior. He will deal with us very harshly if we spent our lives thinking mostly of ourselves without any concern for others, or without taking good care of those entrusted to our care. We are supposed to spend our lives loving one another and taking good care of each other in our marriages, families and our friendships as well.
Jesus expects the same thing from our leaders. He has given our clergy the responsibility to take care of his people and to feed them in word and sacrament. Love, kindness, care and concern for his flock is what the Lord asks of our clergy that he ordained as his servants. They too, will have a lot to answer for if they slack off and start indulging in their own interests and do not act in a loving manner toward those entrusted in their care either.
Today’s readings are not really that complicated at all. Jesus loves us and he expects us to love him and one another too. Love is what it is all about. We should reflect Christ to one another, by how we treat each other. Love in action is a beautiful thing. Sometimes we just need to be reminded of that.
