Word to the Wise
Sunday, August 5, 2007 - Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
[Ecclesiastes 1:2; 2:21-23; Colossians 3:1-5, 9-11; Luke 12:13-21]Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one's life does not consist of possessions.
. This weekend I am in Houston, TX, to preside and preach at a Eucharist celebrating the 60th anniversary of religious profession (Diamond Jubilee) of three Houston Dominican sisters. (One of the sisters taught at the grade school in the parish where I was pastor in San Antonio, TX, 1994-98 - hence the personal connection.) The richness of ministry and experience represented in their lives is very much in line with what Jesus is addressing in the gospel scripture for today. "One's life does not consist of possessions!" Materially, these three sisters possess very little, but oh are they rich! It is what St. Paul refers to when he speaks of other people he has ministered to as being "letters written on the heart." This is not just a pious thought! When I look back on my much fewer years in ministry than theirs, I see right away the blessings of friendship and care that my fumbling efforts have accomplished and I count those blessings as the greatest wealth. The three sisters represent a combined 180 years of preaching the gospel through their teaching and other ministry. It is not just their richness that should be celebrated, however, it is also the way they have enriched others and touched other lives. In short, this is love made incarnate, and when this love has been steadily expressed in each of them for 60 years, how can the community do anything BUT celebrate! They are rich in what matters to God! But they are rich in what has mattered to God's people too! AMEN