OT XIX [C] Wis 18:6-9; Heb 11:1-2, 8-19; Lk 12: 32-48

The Gospel today invites us to trust God and cast out all fear. Jesus said to his disciples, Provide money bags for yourselves that do not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven that no thief can reach nor moth destroy. For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.

A person’s heart is tied to what he values most in life. People will inevitably reveal what they value most by their actions. Some people may value money more than anything and will go to great lengths to secure and gain more riches. For many people, their success or family is the most valued treasure of their lives, which is revealed in how they spend their time and energy. Therefore, Jesus’ statement that “where your treasure is there your heart is also” means that what a person values and loves the most in life will influence how they live.

Someone said, if I looked at your spending for five minutes, I could tell where your priorities lie because people go to where their time and money go. For example, health-conscious people spend time and money on being healthy. Fashionable people spend time and money researching the latest fashion trends and shopping. The most fascinating thing is that many of us are misaligned in our priorities and where we allocate our money.

A person with a heart set on worldly pleasures and riches will live in pursuit of earthly treasure while the person who values Christ above all else will stay focused on eternity and store up treasures in Heaven.

COVID has taught us that life can change within the blink of an eye. Those things that we have devoted endless hours into building and attaining can be stripped away from us within an instant. We can do everything we can to create a type of security in life, but the truth is, everything in this life is temporary. 

We work endless hours in an attempt to build financial security. We expect our relationships to fulfill our deepest longings for love and adoration. These things are certainly not wrong in themselves. But it’s healthy, every now and then, to stop and reflect on our motives. 

Our outlook on life changes when we realize the true mission in life and, that will determine how we use our time. In the business world, people say "time is money", because they know that time is a limited resource. We don't have an unlimited amount of time in which we can fulfill the mission God has given us.

For us, then, "time is Kingdom". One thing that will help us to use our time well, to be responsible and not lazy servants of our King, is budgeting the amount of time we spend entertaining ourselves. We need a certain amount of relaxation and recreation in order to keep balance in life. They are a means to an end. But our society tends to treat pleasure, fun, and entertainment not as means, but as the goal of life. That attitude opens the door to over-indulgence in entertainment - to wasting this precious resource of time. Since we live in this society, we are vulnerable to that temptation. We can keep the proper balance by having  enough self-discipline to budget how much time we spend on entertainment. Whether it's TV, cell phones, music, video games, movies, web surfing, jogging, or whatever - we all need to find a healthy way to relax. But as Christians, our mission comes first. It's up to us to be responsible stewards of our time, and plan ahead.

Living our mission and being responsible stewards of the many gifts we have received from God has  practical repercussions. It means that being a Christian affects our life decisions. Knowing that we are members of Christ's household, and that our first priority in life is to follow him, sheds light on every significant decision we have to make.

For example, when young Catholics are deciding where to go to college, the Catholic presence on campus should be a factor - not the only factor, but if our primary mission in life is to be faithful followers of Christ, it should at least be a factor. This is also why the Church constantly encourages her children to marry someone who shares the same faith. 

Marriage is a sacrament. It is meant to bring the spouses and children closer to Christ as it brings them closer to each other. When the husband and wife don't share the same faith, it makes that mission much harder to fulfill.

Career decisions can also be enlightened by this criterion. If we know that in God's eyes what matters most is that we are faithful to him and to our mission in the Church, our criteria for career success will be different than society's generic criteria.

Staying aware of our identity and mission even helps us decide where to go on vacation: we will do our best to choose a place where we can at least get to Sunday Mass.

As we continue with this Mass, let's ask ourselves what decisions we are facing or will be facing this week. And as Christ comes to us once again in Holy Communion, let's speak with him about them, and ask him to give us the light and strength we need to be faithful and prudent stewards of his gifts.