TITLE: “Diversification"
August 4, 2013 / 18th
Sunday / •• Ecclesiastes 1:2; 2:21-23 ••
Psalm 90 •• Colossians 3:1-5, 9-11 •• + Luke
12:13-21
[__01] In our Gospel reading from Luke, chapter 12,
someone approaches Jesus to ask about wealth and inheritance. He wants some protection, safeguard of his inheritance. If were to plan for the future, we would diversify, to
protect our resources.
[__02] As
a country, we have NATURAL resources in many different places and many different
kinds.
As a families and individuals, we have assets in
different institutions, in different types of investments. We try to manage our
wealth.
“Wealth”, then, could be the property of Yellowstone, Yosemite,
or the Grand Canyon … manifest and spread in different places
“Wealth” could be our personal home and assets.
And, we want to diversify. As the saying goes, we try not to put all of
our precious eggs in one carry-on or knapsack-basket.
[__03] Also, for airline travel leaving JFK or Newark,
we are also told, “don’t check all of your valuables, all of your
clothing. ‘Diversify’ … hold on to
valued items lest they be
misplaced or delayed on the baggage carousel. Carry some
of them on.”
[__04] In
the Gospel, a man approaches Jesus. The man is concerned about what he is
carrying, what he wants to hold on to. He is concerned about his material
wealth.
But, our Lord is asking him, “in what ways are you
wealthy?”
“In what ways are you and I wealthy?”
Are we spiritually wealthy?
And, could we be more diversified?
Could we take a different view of our assets, and of
our faith, our confidence in God?
[__05-“PRAYER SECTION”] Our own faith, our own practice of the
Catholic faith
invites us to take a long term view, a long time horizon.
This long term view applies to our experience of
forgiveness, of reconciliation.
Forgiveness is for the long term.
This does not mean that we will forget the trespass or
sin against us.
But, we are called to a long time horizon, in
forgiveness and reconciliation.
[__05.01]
Also, in a spiritual sense, we are called to persevere, to persist.
We ask God to help us to grow even after we have
sinned.
"The Lord delayeth not his promise, as some
imagine, but dealeth patiently for your sake, not willing that any should
perish, but that all should return to penance.” (2 Peter 3:9)
This is the Good News of our wealth management
[__05.02-] We are also called to consider this principle of
diversification when we consider à strengths,
talents, and effectiveness.
That is, we are called to ask WHOSE strengths, whose
talents, and whose effectiveness are
really at work in any of our projects, our
needs?
Is it my own strength, my own doing?
We are called to trust in God’s grace …and this the
Good News also our diversification and wealth management.
[__06-“ FASTING SECTION”]
Our practice of the Catholic faith also calls us to
take a diversified view of sacrifice and of “fasting.”
Isn’t it true that the sacrifice of yesterday is not
exactly the same as that of today?
Yesterday, the sacrifice might have been a down payment
of time. Today, the sacrifice might be a down payment of time.
In these moments of sacrifice, we lose a little …or we
may lose more than a little.
But, we are, as Jesus advises à growing rich in what matters to God.
And, in this sense, when we are fasting when we are
sacrificing, we are uniting our losses to Christ on the Cross, to his suffering
and death.
Certainly, we try to unite our gains to him, to give
thanks to God for good things and to pray for material help for ourselves and
our families.
Diversification also invites us to unite our losses to
Christ.
This is part of the Good News of fasting , the Good
News of our wealth management.
[__07-“ALMSIGIVING SECTION”]
This diversification is a return on investment… the R.O.I….
which enables us to give charitably.
By almsgiving or charitable giving, I’m not referring
to the donations or pledges we make according to the IRS or 501(c)3 code.
I am suggesting that there are contributions to our
family life, our work life, our contributions to be punctual, to be cheerful…
to be forgiving of the other’s faults.
In all of these things, we are growing a and are
capitalized, we are invested…and we hope that we are rich in what matters to
God.
[__fin__]
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