-Last Sunday's homily is available by email
-This Sunday's Scriptures can be found at www.usccb.org
-check out this week's LinC Letter on the back of the parish bulletin or at www.saint-albert.org/lincletter
-I will be celebrating mass on Sunday at 8:00am and 12:30pm
WWW - a good life versus an eternal one!
Those three letters WWW have become synonymous with the Internet, in fact, they stand for World Wide Web. Most people in the current situation are aware of what we call for shorthand "the Internet". While many of us pride ourselves on being "off-line", being "online" is to be connected to a whole "other world" and billions of people.
The parables of Jesus, especially that of the buried treasure and the pearl of great price, invite us to consider whether or not the kingdom of God has precedence in our life. Jesus presents the kingdom of God as the operating principle necessary for eternal life. Either one is living in the kingdom of God or one is living in the world. Jesus is so serious about this that he has indicated that those "living in the world" will be separated from God for all eternity while those who are living "in the kingdom of God" will enjoy it eternal life.
To return to my opening image it is possible to live one's life "off-line", that is pursuing fulfillment in life according to this world's power, standards, and successes. It is equally possible to live one's life "online", in the world wide web, that is, pursuing fulfillment in daily life through the acknowledgment of God's Kingdom, the practice of holy prayer, self-sacrifice for the sake of God, and the Christian kindness toward one's neighbor for the sake of the love of God.
While it is possible to be rather saintly, kind, and a good person living according to the world, Jesus says that such a life would not continue through to eternal life. It is only by acknowledging and trading in one's worldly life for the sake of the kingdom of God that eternal life is possible.
How might we begin to think about all those people who we like to judge as "good people" but not friends of God? At the end of our lives, it seems to me that a good life lived "off-line" (ignoring the kingdom of God) is might even be a blessing for others, but it may fall terribly short when it comes to eternal life for oneself. If one comes to the end of his life and must admit that s/he does not know God it seems that the entire proposal of "a good life" is contradictory. It has value but not eternally so.
Have you discovered the treasure of the kingdom of God and invested your entire life in it's accomplishment? If not, where can the meaning and value of your life be found?
