WEBVTT 00:00:02.759 --> 00:00:05.259 In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and 00:00:05.259 --> 00:00:09.060 of the Holy Spirit, amen. Glory be to Jesus Christ. 00:00:09.519 --> 00:00:16.280 Glory be to God. Every time I read this gospel 00:00:16.280 --> 00:00:21.239 or hear it proclaimed in church, I am reminded 00:00:21.239 --> 00:00:24.820 of an incident that happened in my life quite 00:00:24.820 --> 00:00:28.460 a number of years ago. I was in conversation. 00:00:29.469 --> 00:00:32.549 with a group of priests, most of whom were friends 00:00:32.549 --> 00:00:36.149 of mine, and I don't even remember what in the 00:00:36.149 --> 00:00:39.789 world we were talking about. But whatever it 00:00:39.789 --> 00:00:44.250 was, I just sort of, maybe in frustration or 00:00:44.250 --> 00:00:46.950 something, said, well, who wants to live forever? 00:00:48.350 --> 00:00:51.070 And then this good friend of mine, who was a 00:00:51.070 --> 00:00:54.850 priest, looked at me, and the smirk appeared 00:00:54.850 --> 00:00:58.979 on his face, and I corrected myself. In this 00:00:58.979 --> 00:01:03.479 world. Who wants to live forever in this world? 00:01:04.620 --> 00:01:09.280 Of course, it illustrates the fact that no one 00:01:09.280 --> 00:01:13.700 really wants to die. We all want to live. And 00:01:13.700 --> 00:01:17.439 we as Christians believe that we will live forever. 00:01:18.140 --> 00:01:22.579 We will live forever. Because Jesus has come, 00:01:22.780 --> 00:01:26.959 suffered and died on the cross, rose from the 00:01:26.959 --> 00:01:31.790 dead. and grants us forgiveness of sins and eternal 00:01:31.790 --> 00:01:40.590 life. That's a question that appears. People 00:01:40.590 --> 00:01:43.989 reach a certain stage in their life when they 00:01:43.989 --> 00:01:46.769 think in sort of philosophical or theological 00:01:46.769 --> 00:01:53.150 terms. Why am I here? Where did I come from? 00:01:53.409 --> 00:01:58.120 Where am I going? Is there a purpose in my life? 00:01:58.780 --> 00:02:01.840 And when we come to that, we have the answers 00:02:01.840 --> 00:02:08.759 for us clearly laid out. Jesus' words. And the 00:02:08.759 --> 00:02:12.500 words basically are the same as what he replied 00:02:12.500 --> 00:02:17.120 to this young man in today's gospel. Keep the 00:02:17.120 --> 00:02:22.819 commandments. And Jesus didn't give an exhaustive 00:02:22.819 --> 00:02:29.960 list of the commandments, but... five of the 00:02:29.960 --> 00:02:36.199 ten that are representative. He says, thou shalt 00:02:36.199 --> 00:02:40.879 not murder or kill. Well, you know, we can murder 00:02:40.879 --> 00:02:45.939 people not just with a knife or with a gun, but 00:02:45.939 --> 00:02:50.020 we can slander them and murder them with our 00:02:50.020 --> 00:02:55.169 words, spreading either... bad stories about 00:02:55.169 --> 00:02:58.689 them, whether they're true or not. It's better 00:02:58.689 --> 00:03:01.830 to say good things and to keep our mouth shut 00:03:01.830 --> 00:03:08.469 than to say evil things about anyone. Do not 00:03:08.469 --> 00:03:12.129 murder. Well, you look around in our society 00:03:12.129 --> 00:03:15.550 at all the murders and the violence that takes 00:03:15.550 --> 00:03:20.129 place. So it's so depressing if you watch the 00:03:20.129 --> 00:03:25.840 news, which I try not to do, But it is a violent 00:03:25.840 --> 00:03:32.080 society that we live in. And we are dulled to 00:03:32.080 --> 00:03:38.740 the fact that the most dangerous place in America 00:03:38.740 --> 00:03:45.620 for a person to live is in the womb. Because 00:03:45.620 --> 00:03:52.849 our society has been dulled. by the fact that 00:03:52.849 --> 00:03:56.669 when you kill a young baby in abortion, that's 00:03:56.669 --> 00:04:00.370 murder. There's no way around it. Sure, there 00:04:00.370 --> 00:04:03.629 can be unfortunate circumstances that brought 00:04:03.629 --> 00:04:08.830 about that conception, but still, that is a human 00:04:08.830 --> 00:04:13.030 life which has been given by God to that person. 00:04:15.610 --> 00:04:20.730 Other things. Thou shalt not commit adultery. 00:04:21.899 --> 00:04:26.860 Well, adultery is a tent word for many types 00:04:26.860 --> 00:04:31.740 of behavior. It can be immoral thoughts, words, 00:04:32.100 --> 00:04:37.600 activities, whatever it might be. The only sexual 00:04:37.600 --> 00:04:43.439 activity which is permitted is blessed by God 00:04:43.439 --> 00:04:50.189 in the sacrament and state of matrimony. But 00:04:50.189 --> 00:04:53.110 that, again, is something that is not taken very 00:04:53.110 --> 00:04:57.089 seriously by this society. Neither respect for 00:04:57.089 --> 00:05:03.949 life at every stage, nor biblical Judeo -Christian 00:05:03.949 --> 00:05:09.089 morality. So many temptations and so many people 00:05:09.089 --> 00:05:15.610 that don't take seriously what was very serious 00:05:15.610 --> 00:05:22.620 in our society. two generations ago even. Thou 00:05:22.620 --> 00:05:27.360 shalt not steal. Well, you know, we should be 00:05:27.360 --> 00:05:31.699 honest people, but doesn't it ever enter into 00:05:31.699 --> 00:05:35.560 temptation in our mind or in other people's minds? 00:05:35.879 --> 00:05:40.839 Well, I don't want to steal, but it's okay if 00:05:40.839 --> 00:05:44.600 I can get away with it. Nope, that's not right 00:05:44.600 --> 00:05:50.740 either. Same thing about bearing false witness 00:05:50.740 --> 00:05:57.399 and lying. We should always tell the truth. Unless 00:05:57.399 --> 00:06:00.899 it's a truth that hurts someone or injures someone, 00:06:01.139 --> 00:06:07.139 then it's better to be quiet about that. Jesus 00:06:07.139 --> 00:06:11.540 also brings up the commandment, honor thy father 00:06:11.540 --> 00:06:16.740 and thy mother. For children, That means when 00:06:16.740 --> 00:06:20.740 your parents ask you to do something, you do 00:06:20.740 --> 00:06:26.399 it willingly and happily. Honor thy father and 00:06:26.399 --> 00:06:30.519 thy mother. Obey them. Don't speak evil about 00:06:30.519 --> 00:06:33.160 them. Don't say bad words about them under your 00:06:33.160 --> 00:06:38.699 breath if they tend to ask you to do something 00:06:38.699 --> 00:06:44.519 that you're not happy about doing. That's a two 00:06:44.519 --> 00:06:47.639 -way street. Honor thy father and thy mother. 00:06:48.620 --> 00:06:51.879 Parents have an obligation to their children 00:06:51.879 --> 00:06:57.959 to say that they are raised correctly, that they 00:06:57.959 --> 00:07:02.620 pray, that they learn about God, that they go 00:07:02.620 --> 00:07:07.519 to church as a family, to bring up your children 00:07:07.519 --> 00:07:13.370 in the fear of God and in the love of God. That's 00:07:13.370 --> 00:07:20.689 a corollary of the commandment to children to 00:07:20.689 --> 00:07:26.050 honor their father and their mother. Teaching 00:07:26.050 --> 00:07:31.170 them what is true and honest and Christian and 00:07:31.170 --> 00:07:34.709 biblical behavior. They have temptations nowadays 00:07:34.709 --> 00:07:42.339 because the atmosphere in our school system condones 00:07:42.339 --> 00:07:46.819 all kinds of activity or wants at least to make 00:07:46.819 --> 00:07:51.399 them aware of all kinds of activity and maybe 00:07:51.399 --> 00:07:55.800 tries to convince them to follow something that 00:07:55.800 --> 00:08:02.120 is trendy rather than biblical Christian morality. 00:08:04.199 --> 00:08:08.740 So the commandments, all ten of them, apply to 00:08:08.740 --> 00:08:13.439 us. The rich young man says, well, I've kept 00:08:13.439 --> 00:08:17.819 all of these from my youth up. I really doubt 00:08:17.819 --> 00:08:22.879 if he did, because I know quite well I haven't 00:08:22.879 --> 00:08:25.699 kept all of them. I've sinned against all the 00:08:25.699 --> 00:08:29.379 commandments in thought, word, if not in deed. 00:08:30.360 --> 00:08:34.500 So all of the commandments are there for us to 00:08:34.500 --> 00:08:41.980 follow God's way, not our own way. Then Jesus 00:08:41.980 --> 00:08:48.200 says that saying, which is so familiar to us 00:08:48.200 --> 00:08:53.639 Christians, it sparked one of the sayings of 00:08:53.639 --> 00:08:58.759 Jesus that sparked the monastic movement. If 00:08:58.759 --> 00:09:04.299 you wish to be perfect, be perfect. Go, sell 00:09:04.299 --> 00:09:08.539 what you have, give to the poor, and you will 00:09:08.539 --> 00:09:13.000 have treasure in heaven. A saying of Jesus so 00:09:13.000 --> 00:09:16.899 familiar to us, but I don't think we realize 00:09:16.899 --> 00:09:22.960 how paradoxical this was to his Jewish audience. 00:09:23.639 --> 00:09:29.919 Because remember, in Jewish popular piety, and 00:09:29.919 --> 00:09:34.259 I think also in popular attitudes and piety in 00:09:34.259 --> 00:09:38.559 general, that to have a lot of wealth is a sign 00:09:38.559 --> 00:09:45.860 of blessing from God. Not necessarily. St. Clement 00:09:45.860 --> 00:09:50.779 of Alexandria gave us that Christian concept 00:09:50.779 --> 00:09:56.860 of the use of wealth, to use that wealth for 00:09:56.860 --> 00:10:01.159 the good of others as well. But to the Jewish 00:10:01.159 --> 00:10:05.519 people, again, it's a concept to keep your money, 00:10:05.539 --> 00:10:10.230 and that's a sign of a blessing from God. I remind 00:10:10.230 --> 00:10:12.769 you of an incident in the Old Testament that's 00:10:12.769 --> 00:10:15.809 found right at the beginning of the book of Chronicles, 00:10:15.889 --> 00:10:19.789 chapter 1. Something you don't hear about, Chronicles, 00:10:19.789 --> 00:10:25.230 very often in sermons. But it's a story of Solomon, 00:10:25.350 --> 00:10:33.570 who was legendary in Christian, in the Jewish 00:10:33.570 --> 00:10:36.830 life after, you know, for a thousand years before 00:10:36.830 --> 00:10:42.429 Jesus was born. Solomon, in a dream, Solomon, 00:10:42.529 --> 00:10:47.570 God appeared to Solomon. And God said to him, 00:10:48.009 --> 00:10:54.870 what do you want? What can I give you? And Solomon 00:10:54.870 --> 00:11:01.909 said, Lord, give me wisdom and knowledge so I 00:11:01.909 --> 00:11:05.169 can rule these people which have been given to 00:11:05.169 --> 00:11:09.769 me. that are as numerous as the stars. Give me 00:11:09.769 --> 00:11:13.409 wisdom and knowledge to be a good king, to be 00:11:13.409 --> 00:11:19.210 a good ruler. And God's response was, ah, because 00:11:19.210 --> 00:11:24.289 you have not asked for riches and wealth and 00:11:24.289 --> 00:11:28.769 even victories over your enemies, but you have 00:11:28.769 --> 00:11:32.289 asked for wisdom and knowledge to rule well. 00:11:32.750 --> 00:11:37.399 That I will give you. And I will also give you 00:11:37.399 --> 00:11:42.620 wealth and riches and victory. So that's probably 00:11:42.620 --> 00:11:47.259 how that attitude developed of wealth being a 00:11:47.259 --> 00:11:52.320 sign of God's favor, but not necessarily. Other 00:11:52.320 --> 00:11:56.700 aspects of scripture show that God has particular 00:11:56.700 --> 00:12:02.419 love for the poor, the needy, the disenfranchised. 00:12:02.440 --> 00:12:06.639 This comes out. It's one of the themes in St. 00:12:06.720 --> 00:12:11.240 Luke's Gospel especially, how God loves the weak, 00:12:11.460 --> 00:12:18.379 the needy, the powerless. So I think this is 00:12:18.379 --> 00:12:21.980 an example for us. What do we do with our wealth? 00:12:23.019 --> 00:12:28.960 Do we use it just for good things, material possessions? 00:12:31.279 --> 00:12:34.860 These are not bad in themselves, but we should 00:12:34.860 --> 00:12:39.639 share what we have with the poor, the needy, 00:12:39.639 --> 00:12:47.000 with not only church and share our wealth with 00:12:47.000 --> 00:12:51.440 the church, but also with legitimate charities 00:12:51.440 --> 00:12:58.240 to give to, for example, St. Jude's that treats 00:12:58.240 --> 00:13:04.320 children with... cancer and other diseases. To 00:13:04.320 --> 00:13:08.340 give to charities. To use our wealth wisely. 00:13:09.039 --> 00:13:13.919 Because that's what St. Clement of Alexandria 00:13:13.919 --> 00:13:17.840 says. Wealth is an indifferent thing in and of 00:13:17.840 --> 00:13:22.580 itself. It's how you use what you have. To share 00:13:22.580 --> 00:13:27.799 what we have. To give to the needy. And though 00:13:27.799 --> 00:13:34.000 so by keeping the commandments and sharing what 00:13:34.000 --> 00:13:38.580 we have with others. This is how we will inherit 00:13:38.580 --> 00:13:43.039 eternal life and indeed live forever. Amen.