Weekly HOMILY for October 11, 2009: Consumed by What We Consume

28th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B
Our Lady of Grace
October 11, 2009

Consumed by What We Consume
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato


Story of the Snail

There is a species of jellyfish found in the Italian Mediterranean that feeds on tiny snails of the nudibranch variety.

The snail, however, is protected by its shell, so the jellyfish cannot digest it.

So, once the jellyfish eats one of these snails, a bizarre reversal of roles takes place: the dinner – the snail – becomes the diner of the jellyfish.

Attaching itself to the wall of the jellyfish’s digestive tract, the snail begins to eat the jellyfish. By the time the snail grows to maturity, it has completely consumed the jellyfish.

Yes, the poor jellyfish is eventually consumed by what it had first consumed!

I share the story because in a similar way what we consume can also consume us. Think of the workaholic, the sports adict, or Mr. or Ms. Perfect.

Yes, you and I can be swallowed up in our pursuit of wealth, prestige, power, or a hundred other things, and in the process become immune to the joy of God’s presence in our lives.

Jesus’ warning to the rich young man is a warning to all of us to be careful of the “snails” we consume, “snails” that can swallow us up, displacing the eternal things of God with the immediate, but momentary things of the world.


The Rich Young Man

The story of the rich young man is a case in point and reflects issues appropriate for our times.

This man’s money is not the real problem; rather, it’s allowing any earthly thing to dominate us. That is at the heart of the problem!

Any thing, any person, any life goal that “possesses” us, pulling our focus off our ultimate destination, this is the problem and for this reason, people with wealth or lots of “stuff” can make poor disciples.

Why? Because they lose the ability to approach God with empty hands. The “rich-in-stuff” lose a sense of being in need of anything. Being filled with earthly “things” leads to holding on to those things with the clenched fists of comfort or control.


Camel and the Needle’s Eye

What are you clutching far too tightly in your life? What prevents you from letting go and letting God?

The phrase Jesus uses in today’s Gospel is, “It is easier for a camel to pass through a needle’s eye than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God.”

Any good Jew at the time would understand the image well.

The “Needle Gate” was a narrow opening in the walls of Jerusalem, requiring camel heavily laden with riches and possessions to be unloaded before entering.

So it would be easier for that laden camel (arms out and on hips) to get through the narrow passage than for you or I to get to heaven burdened by what we’re holding on to.

What is the “love of your life” to which you cling? How free are you of your “stuff”?


What’s Consuming You?

As I think about moving next June, I have been trying to get rid of two-thirds of my personal books. It hasn’t been an easy task and I’m ashamed to say how stuck to them I am.

When I look at what the “holding on to the books” is about what comes to mind is (1) How they make me look, (2) The false sense of thinking that I know everything that is in them, and (3) Believing that someday I will actually need the information.

Notice that each of those reasons removes me from God as my source of satisfaction, joy, and possession.

So I too being “rich-in-stuff” – in my case, books – must unburden myself to enter more deeply into a relationship with Jesus, a relationship that will one day help me enter heaven’s gates!

Earthly treasures – my books or your “stuff” – have deceived us. They have given us a false sense of security. They have demanded loyalty, attention, and care, all of which belong to God alone.


Conclusion

So what is it for you? Whatever you need to let go of, to unburden yourself from, to release control of, to enter heaven’s narrow gate – do it now!

It isn’t so much what you’ll be loosing, but more a question of the security and joy you will be finding in God!