Homily for Ordinary Time 28 - October 11, 2015

Homily for October 11, 2015

Ordinary Time 28

Love of Money vs. Love of God

 

            John is a man who worked hard all his life, and through discipline, a good education, and the right connections, landed a lucrative job working for a Wall Street hedge fund manager. He makes a nice six-figure salary and lives in a beautiful house in Greenwich. He is very generous with his money. He financially supports two Catholic schools in the diocese, and sponsors three children from the Sudan. Anytime his pastor needs anything around the parish, he knows he can count on John to donate the money for it. He is a very devout man, faithfully attending Mass and striving to follow Jesus in everyday life.

            Martin works a landscaping job in Stamford. He lives in a small apartment with his girlfriend. He makes enough money to survive, but gazes longingly at flatscreen TVs and new cars that he wants to buy. Envious of the possessions of his neighbors, he works constantly to have enough money for the new toy – even working on Sunday, which means that he never has time to go to Mass. He has enough money to eat and keep a roof over his head, but he is always striving, striving, striving…his desire for more money, more toys, consumes his days.

            So, according to Jesus, which one goes to Heaven? The rich man, or the poor man? Riches don’t always equal greed, and poverty does not always mean holiness. Sometimes it does – but sometimes it doesn’t.

            The Scriptures do NOT say that money is the root of all evil. Instead, it says that the LOVE of money is the root of all evil (1 Timothy 6:10). This is why the rich young man turns away sad – not because he was rich, but because he loved his possessions more than he loved Christ.

            I have met rich people who are greedy, and rich people who are generous. I have met poor people who are greedy, and poor people who are generous. The key to a biblical approach to money shouldn’t be, “How much do I have?” but “What good have I done with the money?”

            Every possession and every dollar that we own ultimately belongs to the Lord. Our money is really His money – He has given it to us so that we can use it to get to Heaven. Like everything else in our life – such as our time and our talents – our money and possessions are given to us so that we can use them to love God and our neighbor. It’s that simple – everything we have is on loan from God, and someday we will have to give an account of how we used it.

            A great example of that is Tom Monaghan. You may never have heard of him, but you’ve certainly heard of the company he founded: Domino’s Pizza! He is a multi-billionaire…and a very public Catholic. With all of his money, he purchased the Detroit Tigers, and began building his dream house – an architectural marvel. However, after reading a book by CS Lewis (“Mere Christianity”), he realized that he was living a self-indulgent lifestyle with all of his money. He sold the Tigers, he stopped building his mansion, and instead dedicated his money to the salvation of souls. He began to financially support inner-city Catholic schools, founded a pro-life radio station, and actually started his own Catholic university – which is still going on today (called Ave Maria University in Naples, Florida). Here is a man who realized that his possessions are not meant for his own enjoyment, but were given to him so that he could further the Kingdom of God.

            So, let me give you an uncomfortable analogy. I hope no one in here has ever been audited by the IRS, but if you have, you know how difficult that is. You have to provide every receipt from the past year to show that you are being honest with the government. Likewise, at the end of your life and my life, God will ask to see your receipts. He will say to us, “What did you do with that money I gave you?” I hope we can show him more than receipts for new clothes and expensive vacations. I hope we can show him how that money was used to feed the poor, to spread the Gospel, to shelter the homeless, to advance the work of the Church. Will you be able to present the Lord with these receipts?