10 October 2020
Saturday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time
If family were like friends and you got to go back and choose, whose child would you choose to be? Jeff Bezos? Bill Gates? A child of the Walton or Mars family? To do so would most probably secure you an inheritance in the tens of billions of dollars. But from the Christian point of view, it would be insufficient. Billions of dollars for an inheritance simply is not enough in comparison with another option (which also has the added advantage of being a real option). “For through faith you are all children of God in Christ Jesus. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. … And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to the promise.” (Gal 3:26, 27, and 29)
Jesus will not allow us to remain just on the surface in our worship of Him or in devotion to His Blessed Mother. Our faith plunges us, baptizes us into Christ. Rather than staying on the surface, our reliance is to grow roots through hearing the Word of the One who cares for us more than any other can (with whatever earthly fortune). Our reliance is to bear fruit through acting on that Word, cooperating with that Word, living into our inheritance as sons with the Son by loving others as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit do for us and tell us to do for others. “Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.” (Lk 11:28) If you want to be happy, billions are not enough. Only One can make you truly blessed.