A National Treasure

Seniors – a natural resource and a national treasure

Reading 1 Genesis 12:1-4a;
Reading 2 2Timothy 1:8b-10;
Gospel Matthew 17:1-9

We hear today, in our first reading from the book of Genesis, that the Lord spoke to Abram – God told Abram that it was time for him to pack up his family and all of his belongings and to move to a new place.

What our reading doesn’t tell us is that Abram was 75 years old when God told him to pack up his belongings and move on – and most people if not all people, that age, would be more than a little hesitant to pack up their belongings and their families – to journey out into the wilderness and leave behind the comfort and security of their home and the land where they grew up for an unknown place.

Let’s face it – at seventy five years old most people today really don’t want to be bothered let alone asked to completely start over – at that age we want to sit back and enjoy the fruits of our life’s labor – maybe do some fishing or play a little golf – but that is not what God had in mind for Abram – and maybe that’s not what God has in mind for each of us as we grow older too.

Maybe for most of us it takes a lifetime before we are spiritually mature enough to listen to God. Maybe for most of us we have to go though life doing it our way until we finally realize that only by doing it his way will we find true and lasting happiness. Maybe for most of us it takes us a lifetime to get our priorities straight and put God first in our lives.

Maybe it is our twilight years that can be the most productive years of our lives for the Lord – helping Him build up His kingdom here on Earth – what a challenge to most of us – what a shift in the way we have been socialized into believing – just when the world is telling us we can settle back and enjoy retirement, that we can turn the reigns over to the younger generations, that we have done our jobs – that we are entitled to take it easy; maybe when the world is telling us that we don’t matter any more – and our bodies or minds are telling us we can’t do this or that anymore – maybe God is telling us today that it isn’t time to settle back, that He wants us to redouble our efforts.

I think if there is one lesson you take home today it would be a good one if you always – always – question the things that the world tells you – that the world wants you to believe – that our seniors aren’t “valuable” anymore, that they aren’t productive – maybe not in the worlds eyes But certainly not in the eyes of God.

Certainly it is true that seniors have more time on their hands because they have retired from full-time work – they have more time than the rest of us who are still working and maybe still focused on the wrong priorities – still believing it is more important to build up our earthly kingdoms – that it is more important what the world thinks of us than God does – that achieving worldly titles, power, and material things matter.

I think one of the challenges of today’s readings asks our seniors to take a look at what they do with their time. Do you give it back to God? Do you become one of His prayer warriors? Do you continue or hopefully increase your efforts to nurture your faith and the faith of those around you?

When this world is telling you that you don’t matter anymore, when your families perhaps may turn away from their responsibilities to support you, when you feel that you are inconvenient for them or a bother – when you feel isolated or alone – when you feel your mind and your strength diminishing – God is telling each of us that as we grow older – He is with us through it all – the good times and the bad – He is telling us that age doesn’t matter when it comes to doing His will – that He will give us the blessings and the strength we need to accomplish His plan for our lives no matter how young or how old we may be.

Seniors don’t believe the world – you are not a burden – you do matter – you are indeed a natural resource IF NOT a national treasure – but you can be certain that satan wants you to believe the opposite – he realizes your value and he wants to discount and discredit it – he doesn’t want you taking the free time you have now and giving it to God.

Our first reading today and Abram’s response should be lesson if not an inspiration to all our seniors today – God needs each and every one of us to fight the good fight, to build up His kingdom and age doesn’t matter.

It shouldn’t be a surprise though that Abram – even though he was past retirement age, even though he didn’t know where he was going or how long it would take to get there, even though he knew that the journey would be dangerous and difficult – it shouldn’t be a surprise though that Abram went as the Lord directed him – why – BECAUSE – we hear in our first reading that the Lord our God, the Great I AM – the Creator of heaven and earth – of all that is seen and unseen – actually SPOKE to Abram – they had a conversation.

What a blessing – what reassurance – to have God actually speak to you – to tell you what it is that He wants you to do with the life He has given you – isn’t that something each of us would like to experience – to have God speak to us – and then to tell us what it is He wants us to do with our lives?

But even stepping back from the reality that God actually spoke to Abram and told Abram what He wanted him to do with his life – the more amazing thing is that Abram had no doubt after God spoke to Him that all this isn’t just some story or make believe – that God really does exist – and isn’t that also something that each of us wonder at times about – whether God really does exist? Wouldn’t each of us like to know – beyond a shadow of a doubt – that God does exist and that it is not true what the world says that the cross will make a fool out of you?

It is no wonder that Abram did what God told him to do – Abram knew that God would be with him on that journey – he knew that with God behind him he had nothing to fear what laid before him – God told Abram that he would make his name great and that he would bless those that bless him and curse those that curse him.

Wouldn’t that be amazing – if God would actually spoke to each of us – but tell me, what would you do – how would that change your lives? Would you be willing to cast out into the deep – to start all over again like Abram OR would you worry about whether or not the world would think you crazy and not believe you – would you allow the world to keep you from doing God’s will?

Our second reading from St. Paul to Timothy, continues to talk about serving the Lord – we hear that each of us are called to “bear our share of hardship for the gospel” – that following Christ will not be easy in this world but know that God is with us through it all – even though it may seem at times that He isn’t – God gives us the blessings and the strength we need when we need it to do His will.

Each of us, who wonder what it is God wants us to do with our lives can find the answer in this passage – God chose each of us, not according to our works or deeds we are told – not based on any merit of our own – but according to His own design and the grace bestowed on each of us in Christ Jesus BEFORE time began – before we even existed, each of us were chosen, chosen to live “holy” lives – each of us are called to turn away from sin and the world and to be faithful to the Gospel.

We are to be faithful to the Word of God – Christ destroyed death and brought life and immortality to us “though the Gospel” – the work of Christ on earth may have been completed on the cross – when He said “it is finished” – but the life-giving effects of His work are ongoing in the proclamation of His Word that we hear each week.

There are two main parts to the Mass we celebrate – the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist. We are first nourished on God’s eternal word and then we are nourished by His body and blood – then we are to take Christ – who we received in Word and in the Eucharist out into the world.

Each of us called here to this supper – are to proclaim His death – to preach Christ crucified – that is just another way to say that each of us – no matter how young or old we may be – are called to evangelize. One of our Eucharistic Acclamations after the Consecration of the bread and wine is “When we eat this bread and drink this cup we proclaim your death, Lord Jesus, until you come in glory.”

When we gather around this table we are participating in an act of love, each of us here are to reflect the love of Jesus towards each other – each of us here are to radiate the love of Christ – poured out for us on the cross. If we gather around this table and we really don’t care about each other, if we really don’t care about the plight of the homeless, the poor, or the immigrant or the elderly – then our Eucharist and our celebration of it is meaningless.

In our Gospel reading today we hear the story of the transfiguration – we are told that Jesus’ face "shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light." Jesus was showing Peter, James and John what he would look like after his resurrection. He’d appear transformed, in His glorified body.

Then we are told that "A bright cloud cast a shadow over them” and that from the cloud came a voice that said, “this is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him."

The first thing that phase “listen to him” reminded me of was the wedding feast in Canna – where they ran out of wine and Jesus’ mother said to the servants – “do whatever he tells you to do”. Well today we hear the same message but it is God our Father who is telling each of us to “listen to him” – to do whatever he tells us to do.

There can be no doubt in Peter, James and John’s minds any more that Jesus, this carpenter from Nazareth, is the Messiah, the Son of God and that we need to listen to him. Just like Abram in our first reading who talked with God – Peter, James and John heard God’s voice.

These disciples had been with Jesus as he cured the sick, drove out demons, made the cripple walk. They had heard Jesus tell stories and parables, and they knew that he spoke with an authority greater than any prophet. Now, God tells them and us very clearly today that, "this is my beloved Son” and we are to “listen to him."

On one side of Jesus, there was Moses, who represented the Law – the Ten Commandments; on his other side was Elijah, the great prophet. Moses and Elijah link Jesus with the traditions of the Jewish faith (or, Old Testament). On Mount Sinai, Yahweh had spoken to Moses face to face and coming down from Mt. Sinai, the face of Moses was radiant with a light so bright he had to cover his face with a veil. Now, Christ himself radiated that same light of God. The message to His disciples and to us today is that Jesus speaks with authority greater than that of Moses; Jesus is the law and the commandment He gave us is that we are to love one another as He loved us.

Elijah had been the first great prophet of Israel – he was able to call down the power of God when he needed it - but Jesus is the new prophet, a prophet that not only preaches with authority – but a prophet who is the Word – a prophet who has the power because He is the Son of God.

Jesus stands with Moses and Elijah, but He transcends both of them and we are to make no mistake, a cloud appears and God tells us that this is His "beloved Son” and we are to "listen to him."

But in order to “listen to him” we have to make time in our lives. If all we do to “listen to him” is to go to Mass once a week – then the world has an unfair advantage – there are 168 hours in a week and if we are only giving God just one of those hours then God isn’t getting through – we won’t hear Him speaking to us.

There are many good ways to let God in – to open ourselves to hear Him – but we have to change your priorities – we have to sacrifice perhaps some of our personal time – we have to make an effort – we have to take the initiative we have to knock and the door will be opened. Just practicing our catholic faith – praying the prayers the Church has given us – the Our Father, the Hail Mary, the Rosary – adoration – are excellent ways to grow closer to God and can be said anywhere at any time.

Opening our hearts to one another – but especially to those who can not repay our kindness is another way to nurture our relationship with God. When we listen with a heart of compassion and not with our ears then we will begin to radiate the love of Christ.

We can also hear God speak to us in spiritual reading – we should prepare for Mass by reading and mediating on the readings we will hear at Mass every week; we should read and meditate on the bible; we should read books on the lives of the saints; read the catechism of the Catholic Church and it’s never too late to get involved in the why catholic program, then once we are nourished on God’s Word we are called to share what we have heard and what we have learned with others.
God does want to speak to each of us – just like he spoke to Abram and just like the disciples heard him on the mountain – the question for each of us today is what are we doing to turn out ears to God – to hear Him speak?

Are we listening? Do we follow our Catholic faith close enough to hear when God talks us? Do we live the sacramental life of the Church, do we regularly come to Mass, do we turn to God each day in prayer? Do we listen to the prompting of our heart? Do we do some spiritual reading, so that we might be inspired? God often times speaks to us through those that we come into contact with every day – we just have to be open to hear God’s voice coming through them.

God the Father said, "This is my beloved Son, listen to him." What voices do we listen to, noises of the world or the gentle whisper of God?

If there is one thing our readings tell us today it is that we are never too old to do God’s will – just when we might of thought God was done with us we find out that it was really us who were done with God.

As we prepare to receive Jesus – God’s beloved son – let us reflect on how it is we make time to listen to Him.