Father Nathan Homily | July 28, 2019
Father Nathan | Homily
18th Sunday Ordinary Time (August 04, 2019)
Fr. Nathan
Introduction:
“Seek What is Above”
This 18th Sunday liturgy invites each one of us to be SMARTER people in handling the worldly resources. We called to “seek what is above” as St. Paul pleads us to do.
Hence, we are invited to store up treasure and riches toward God. Money and wealth doesn’t come alone, it always comes in PACKAGE, like greedy, egoistic, selfishness, arrogance… the list is unending ….hence how we deal with these are explained to us in our liturgy.
Scripture lessons:
The first reading, taken from Ecclesiastes, reminds us the nihilism or the emptiness of life.
Wealth does not allow us to look at reality of life…
In the Responsorial Psalm (Ps 90), the Psalmist challenges us to listen to God and allow Him to soften our hearts that we may share our blessings with others.
In the second reading, Paul directs our attention to lasting, Heavenly treasures.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus, telling the parable of the foolish rich man, warns us against all types of greed, because greed takes our life’s focus away from God and away from serving and loving Him in other people. Wealth would claim itself as God.
It would never allow you to think of others.
Let us the some Pronouns. It’s all about ME…I…. MY in Today’s gospel…
What shall I do? I do not have space… to store my harvest…
This is what I shall…
I shall tear down my barns…
There I shall store all my grain…
I shall say to myself, “Now as for you… you have so many good things stored up…
Jesus says God calls the greedy rich man a “FOOL” because the man thought that he was not accountable for the way he used his riches.
The rich man forgot that his wealth had been lent to him by God for sharing with the needy. He allowed the wealth to take control of him. Jesus also warns us that our eternal life does not consist of earthly possessions (Lk 12:15), which we should share to gain eternal life.
Life Messages:
We are invited to share our blessings with others.
The parable of the rich fool gives us a warning as well as an invitation. It reminds us that our possessions are merely lent to us by God, and that we are accountable for their use.
We must be generous in sharing our time, our treasure, and our talents in Christian stewardship. Even if we are not financially great, we may be blessed with intelligence, good will, singing, lecturing, a sense of humor or the ability to console, encourage, inspire and support and help others.
God expects us to give our thanks to Him for all these blessings by sharing them with others for His glory.
The Old Testament Scriptures are clear about tithing – giving 10% of our income for God’s cause and for helping the needy. God never allows tithers to regret their generosity.
Greed directs all our energy and attention to fulfilling the self, its objects become our false gods, and they will consume us unless we become rich in the sight of God.
Have a Blessed Week,
Fr. Nathan
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Past Messages from Father Nathan
From The Desk Of Father Nathan | January 10, 2021
Together, We Are the Church. A universal body of believers, delivering God’s message of hope and love to everyone, everywhere. Your generosity to the Archbishop’s Charity and Development Drive, ABCD, serves the Church so that the Church can serve you.
From The Desk Of Father Nathan | January 3, 2021
Happy New Year. Goodbye, 2020. Hello, 2021. We have all experienced a most unusual year. Our lives have had to adjust to never-ending uncertainties that shake our personal and public lives. We have witnessed a shutdown in our thoughts and actions all over the world…
From The Desk Of Father Nathan | December 20, 2020
Merry Christmas to You! “JOY TO THE WORLD” Fourth Advent of Sunday. In this season…when the people were all tired, worried, concerned, and waiting with lots of perplexities, the Lord incarnated Himself and opened up a new world of love to His people.
From The Desk Of Father Nathan | November 15, 2020
Peace and happiness are like a light within each of our hearts. I believe and trust that It’s ONE of the gifts from God. It’s purely a gift from the Holy Spirit. It is light – that always glows and intensifies.
From The Desk Of Father Nathan | November 1, 2020
On November 2nd we are going to celebrate All Souls Day. This is a holy day set aside for honoring the dead. The day is primarily celebrated in the Catholic Church, but it is also celebrated in the Eastern Orthodox Church as well as a few other denominations of Christianity.
From The Desk Of Father Nathan | October 25, 2020
Every week as we profess our faith, we express… “I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic
Church and THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS.” The author of this letter to the Hebrews wrote. “Therefore since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us and persevere in running the race that lies before us while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the leader and the perfecter of faith.” (12.1-2)