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A Tale of Two Readings: Treasures Best Not Sought After
Today we will look at the importance of this famous Bishop Fulton Sheen quote, “This is the choice before us: either try to revolutionize the world and break under it or revolutionize ourselves and remake the world.”
I never really realized the true importance of this quote until I looked at these two readings. The first was an Epistle Reading from 2 Thessalonians Chapter 2 and the second is from the Gospel Reading in the 12th Chapter Luke verses 13-21. These readings deal with exactly what Bishop Sheen was getting at in this quote.
2 Thessalonians 2:
For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work, but only until the one who now restrains it is removed. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will destroy with the breath of his mouth, annihilating him by the manifestation of his coming. The coming of the lawless one is apparent in the working of Satan, who uses all power, signs, lying wonders, and every kind of wicked deception for those who are perishing because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason, God sends them a powerful delusion, leading them to believe what is false, so that all who have not believed the truth but took pleasure in unrighteousness will be condemned
Brothers and Sisters, now is the time and now is the place. This what Paul was writing to the people in the Church at that time. Jesus had recently been on the earth and gone back to his heavenly father. However, Paul was talking about a time when the lawless one would return and deceive people. He explained that the mystery of the lawlessness was already happening but lawless one had not returned at least yet. Brothers and Sisters who was Paul addressing here? Was he talking to the people of Thessaloniki or was he talking about the people of today and the future?
Paul’s writings are true today as they were then and as they will be tomorrow. Paul talks that in the end, all of the people who were deceived and sucked into living in lawlessness will be face God’s condemnation. Is this what you want? Is this what you need in your life? God is a loving God. He loves us so much that he allows us to exercise our free will. Exercise daily on the path that leads to the eternal reward and do not seek the pleasures of this earth.
Luke 12:13-21
Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to share the inheritance with me.” He replied to him, “Friend, who appointed me as your judge and arbitrator?” Then he said to the crowd, “Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one’s life does not consist of possessions.” Then he told them a parable. “There was a rich man whose land produced a bountiful harvest. He asked himself, ‘What shall I do, for I do not have space to store my harvest?’ And he said, ‘This is what I shall do: I shall tear down my barns and build larger ones. There I shall store all my grain and other goods and I shall say to myself, “Now as for you, you have so many good things stored up for many years, rest, eat, drink, be merry!” But God said to him, ‘You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you; and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?’ Thus will it be for the one who stores up treasure for himself but is not rich in what matters to God.” This is the Truth. Peace be with you.
In this passage today we learn the harms and rewards of living a life for this earth. If all we did was eat, drink, and be merry- we might have temporal fun for a short moment but we would be totally foolish because we would give up on the eternal award that awaits us in Heaven. The problem here is Abstract Conceptualization. This is the process of making sense of what has happened and involves interpreting the events and understanding the relationships between them. At this stage the learner makes comparisons between what they have done, reflect upon and what they already know. In effect, some people know who God is and who Jesus is. They do not deny their existence they just deny their divinity or choose to ignore. Satan falls into this group. He is not only a fallen angel he will not be happy until and unless he takes others with him into this fallen state. Brothers and Sisters do not be fooled. Keep your eye on the prize in heaven and remember these verses
“There was a rich man whose land produced a bountiful harvest. He asked himself, ‘What shall I do, for I do not have space to store my harvest?’ And he said, ‘This is what I shall do: I shall tear down my barns and build larger ones. There I shall store all my grain and other goods and I shall say to myself, “Now as for you, you have so many good things stored up for many years, rest, eat, drink, be merry!” But God said to him, ‘You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you; and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?’ Thus will it be for the one who stores up treasure for himself but is not rich in what matters to God.” This is the Truth. Peace be with you.
Amen, and may all of you readers live a life here on earth that will revolutionize ourselves.
I have a B.S. and M.S. in Historical Geography from Texas A&M Commerce, and 123 semester hours past my Masters in Education.
I am Certified to teach 9 different subjects and have Principal, Supervisory, and Superintendent Certification
I have thirty years experience as a secondary school teacher, coach, and principal. I am currently teaching at Del Valle High School and I'm the Director of World Class Schools- 150 high schools all around the world who are actively doing video conference projects.
I am a Deacon in the Maronite Catholic Church.
I am extremely interested in Eastern Catholic History
