August 7, 2016 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time. Deacon Dave McGhee

            Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time August 7, 2016

Reading 1 Wis 18:6-9

Responsorial Psalm Ps 33:1, 12, 18-19, 20-22

Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own. Reading 2 Heb 11:1-2, 8-19

Alleluia Mt 24:42a, 44

  1. Alleluia, alleluia. Stay awake and be ready! For you do not know on what day your Lord will come. R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel Lk 12:32-48

19th Sunday, Ordinary Time, Year C., August 7, 2016   

Our first reading today is from the Old Testament Book of Wisdom, which was written a hundred years or so before the birth of Jesus. It contains thoughts which are relevant even today.   

The big problem being presented here is how to live up to traditional values and beliefs, while everybody else around us is living a whole different kind of lifestyle.  

This theme should strike a recognizable chord for people of today. TIMES ARE CHANGING. We hear it often. Some of us older people are of the opinion that younger people just don’t have any morals any longer.  

Couples are living together and having children without being married. Teenagers are experimenting with sex and drugs. “Why when I was a kid growing up I didn’t even know what crack cocaine was.” And now I hear about it every day. And it isn’t limited to New York City or Los Angeles or Chicago; it’s right here in Dubuque, Iowa.  

What I’ve just said in the last few sentences is just a hint of the bigger picture.  

Personally I believe that our nation is no longer the Christian nation our founding fathers intended it to be. I’m not suggesting that we all go back to the Victorian age. It had its immorality too. I’m just calling your attention to the Word of God for today. 

Jesus reminds us in today’s Gospel, about an eternal truth when he says, “Wherever your treasure lies, there your heart will be.”  

If you treasure crack cocaine, that’s where your heart will be. If you treasure money and material possessions, that is where your heart will be. If you treasure good spiritual and mental health, that is where your heart will be.  

And then Jesus goes on to encourage us to be steadfast about our dedication to the truth. He says, “Let your belts be fastened around your waists and your lamps be burning and ready.  

That is a clever and catchy way of saying, “Be alert. Stay awake. Don’t be stupid. Don’t be lazy. Don’t compromise your very own self.”  

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