God or Mammon - Which will it be?

Today at Holy Mass in the Gospel of St John we are told that Jesus once again has a heated exchange with the religious leaders of his day….The Pharisees are baffled by the words of Christ…..They were so convinced that they were right about everything……“I am going away and you will look for me, but you will die in your sin. Where I am going you cannot come”……We cannot save ourself and no man can forgive sins - This only God can do - And God himself gave this authority to the Catholic Church…..”Amen, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven”……This is why our eternal salvation is found in our Baptism and in the Catholic Church - Why? - Because human beings sin! - And only the Catholic Church has the authority given by Jesus himself to forgive sin - One mortal sin is all it takes for a person to lose eternal life and One Sacramental Confession takes away a life time of sin………Circling back to the Pharisees today in St John’s Gospel….Jesus tells them something very important - Why is it important? - Because what Jesus stated applies to this very day - Yet sadly is ignored by so many….”You belong to this world, but I do not belong to this world. That is why I told you that you will die in your sins”…There is no such thing as the “Prosperity Gospel” - One cannot “be of this world” and also belong to Christ - American Christianity in many ways embraces this false teaching of the “Prosperity Gospel”…..The Gospel of Jesus Christ contradicts the “ways of the world”!…Read the Beatitudes - Read the Sermon on the Mount - Do these proclamations sound like something that would be said around corporate board rooms or in the halls of power in governments around the world today? - ”Blessed are the meek” - Are you crazy!!!!!!………As Catholics, we have to be at peace with this reality  - That we are to be in the world but not of the world….To live as a Christian means we too will be a contradiction to those around us - If you are not - Maybe you have to reassess our commitment to Christ and his Church…….The Pharisees today were not willing to live in the manner Jesus spoke about - This is why Jesus told them - “You will die in your sin”…..The only way to heaven is through the Cross!….The only way to heaven is “to lose your life” in order to “gain life” - The only way to heaven is to live sacrificially!….That is the only way!….And those who live worldly lifestyles are not willing to do this - This is why they will die in their sins just as the Pharisees did.

“The seed is the word of God, Christ is the sower; all who come to him will live for ever”

Before Jesus entered Jerusalem, he fasted for forty days in the desert…During that time Jesus was tempted three times…..”Then the devil took him up to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in their magnificence, and he said to him, “All these I shall give to you, if you will prostrate yourself and worship me.” At this, Jesus said to him, “Get away, Satan! It is written: ‘The Lord, your God, shall you worship and him alone shall you serve’ “………It is absolutely impossible to serve God and mammon (i.e. money)…Notice how the devil tempted Jesus - He offered him all the “good things of this world” - Look at our world today - Look at those in the ruling class who are the most gifted - What have they chosen to serve? - Is it God or mammon?……….The “good” things of this world are not sinful in and of themself - However, the good things of this world must be used to serve others and if we do not use them in this manner - They become idols, which replace God, whether we realize it or not…….Today in American elite circles…Those going to the best Universities - Those getting the best jobs…These individuals sadly many times are not having children….They have the resources to raise many children, but chose not too……….My wife graduated from an elite University in America…If she chose too - My wife could have been a very rich woman - Instead, my wife had five children in ten years - That was a choice! - This is a modern day example of what the Pharisees in St John’s Gospel would not do…The Pharisees, as Jesus put it - “Belonged to what is below” - Which means they were “of this world” and would not put aside their status in society to embrace the Christ - This is why they were “blind”  and “deaf” to the Truth………..My wife on the other hand did the exact opposite - She was given a great intellect and could have used her intellect to make a tremendous amount of money in the business world - Instead - She was open to life in our marriage and gave birth to five children……When you get right down to it - Each of us are tempted in a similar manner that Jesus was tempted, during his forty day fast in the desert….”Then the devil took him up to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in their magnificence, and he said to him, “All these I shall give to you, if you will prostrate yourself and worship me”…Its for us to make a choice and don’t deceive your self - We cannot have it both ways - As many today believe we can - You can not serve God and mammon!

“The nations shall revere your name, O LORD, and all the kings of the earth your glory, When the LORD has rebuilt Zion and appeared in his glory; When he has regarded the prayer of the destitute, and not despised their prayer”

Today at Mass Jesus tells the elite of his society, who were convinced of their own righteousness, that they were on the wrong path - And as we all know - The Pharisees did not believe in what Jesus had to say…What prevented them from “hearing”? - The Pharisees liked the “good life” - They used religion to gain status and power in society and in doing so, they lost “sight” of God, even when the Son of God stood right before their eyes…This same thing can happen to us today….As Catholics, if we have been gifted with many things, those gifts are to be used to serve others - First in our family and second in the service of our neighbor…When we do this, our “eyes” open and we can “see” God for who he is…But if we hoard our gifts and do not share, our gifts prevent us from “seeing”…….We all want to live comfortable lives and what Jesus is telling us is - We can! - But in the mean time, we must learn to share…..No one ever became poor by sharing….The devil fools us in many different ways - Idols are created of many things - “All these I shall give to you, if you will prostrate yourself and worship me”…….The path of heaven is a narrow one - Don’t let anyone tell you different - Just as the Pharisees “missed out” - So can we just as easily today………God or Mammon - Which will it be?…..JMJ