YEAR B: HOMILY FOR FRIDAY OF THE 11TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME (2)
YEAR B: HOMILY FOR FRIDAY OF THE ELEVENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
HOMILY THEME: CHRISTIAN STEWARDSHIP
BY: Rev Fr Joseph Nyarko Asare
(2 Kgs 11:1-4, 9-18, 20/Ps 132/Mt 6:19-23)
At times, humanly speaking, Jesus speaks in a way that “seems” counterproductive. He appears to be a discourager of wealth acquisition and investment. But, studying his life and words critically, you discover an interesting contrary view. Jesus calls us to minister to the poor, needy, rejected, and the needs of the community of believers.
In our generation, the Lord expects us to build Churches (building and life), educate the younger generation (need for schools and good teachers), restore human health and dignity (need for hospitals and rehab centres), feed the hungry (with food, employment opportunities, and entrepreneurial guidance), and make life better for all.
Without financial and other resources, these cannot be achieved efficiently and successfully. Storing treasures in heaven, thus, include creating wealth. To store treasures in heaven is to love like Jesus; reaching out to all in order to make their lives better. This calls for both prayer and hard work dictated by Christian stewardship and the evangelical counsel of poverty. We need to work hard to make the world better by raising enough resources to meet the needs of others. God is not against creating wealth or getting higher incomes. Labour and work is part of the expression of human dignity and the exhibiting of the creative powers in us. What we ought to do is to work with the mindset of making our world better for all (spirit of love) and keeping in mind that the fruits of my labour are not solely mine. We are custodians, equipped to distribute resources given by God and created by us with the help of his grace. Let us serve all with what the Lord blesses us with; and we will be storing treasures for ourselves in heaven.
PRAYER POINTS
~For the grace of hard work and creative mind
~That we will make our world better for all through the institutions we create
~For a heart of detachment
(Rev Fr Joseph Nyarko Asare of the Catholic Diocese of Obuasi)
