The more I think about it, the more I am convinced that the WAY of Jesus calls us to a life which truly spurns attachment to the things of this world. Why? Because when you think about it, the things of this world truly burden us and bog us down from truly storing up our treasure in heaven.

One of the things that I find very, very interesting is what so many older people do. They try to divest themselves of the things of this world. I also find myself trying to get rid of all the things that only clutter up my life. When I think about all the books that I have collected over the years I realize how very stupid I have been. I am now spending time to get rid of the books and it is a chore. I also think about our most recent rummage sale. We had books galore. We can’t even give them away. Nobody wants books any more. And, I will confess, they are a pain to move. I think about how many I have already moved and I wonder what I have been thinking. And they’re heavy to move.

So Jesus tried to teach us something that is really important. Don’t get so attached to the things of this world. You can’t take them with you when you die and they are very difficult to deal with when you get older. What sage advice!

Also think about this. When you have amassed a lot of stuff, you spend time thinking about how you can protect the stuff from being stole. The energy alone that we put into securing our stuff could better be directed to thinking about what we can do to build our relationship with God. That was really the point of today’s Gospel story, wasn’t it. Jesus was telling those who came to Him that the things of this world can keep us from dealing with what is important in life, our relationship with God. He was not saying that the things of this world are bad. He was telling us how we relate to the things of this world can detract us from giving ourselves to what is important in this life.

It is also important, I think, that we consider what St. Paul says to us in this weekend’s epistle. He clearly states that he is what he is by and through God’s favor. I wonder how many of us ever think about that. We are who we are because of God’s favor. God has given us so very much of Himself to us. So why do we cherish the things of this world? I think it is because, in some way, we want to hold onto this worldly life. Are we afraid of the future beyond death? St. Paul reminds us that there is life beyond the grave. Jesus revealed that to us!

Think about this!