EIGHTEENTH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR

Posted on Aug 6, 2019

4 August 2019

About ten years ago my parents made their will.

I was visiting at the time and when I got back to Eau Claire,

I emailed my brother about the details of the will.

Basically, the will says that he will get half and I will get half.

He emailed me back the following:

“George, I don’t know what you think you know about the will,

But I understand they are leaving everything to you.”

I responded: “Charlie, as far as I can tell mom and dad are scrupulously fair.

When we were children we always received

the same number of Christmas presents and birthday presents.

The only time they were unfair was when they gave you 80 acres of

land and me only 40 and a cemetery plot.”

To which he responded: “And which was worth more?  The 80 acres or eternity?”

Of course that’s the question in today’s gospel.

Which is worth more: This handful of gold, or eternity?

I suppose we all, especially if we’re here, if we’re church-goers,

well, we all say, “eternity.”

We all acknowledge that theoretically, eternity is more important than anything

we have here on earth.

Yet, we don’t act that way at all.

We act far more worried about getting our fair share on earth,

than getting a fair share of heaven.

Prior to Jesus, a person’s wealth in this world, was a sign of God’s favor,

a sign of wealth in the hereafter.

Jesus turns that expectation around.

He almost goes so far to say: “If you’ve got it good now,

it’s likely you won’t have it so good in eternity.”

Why?  Because we’re willing to mortgage our souls to get ahead in this world.

That’s always the danger.

The question for this week.  What have we mortgaged against the future?