August C—Season of Treasure Living Seasons of Change with Monsignor David LeSieur and Patti Brunner seek the treasure found in the readings of the liturgical 18th-21st weeks. Listen as they discuss how the Gospel prepares us to deal with our treasure and our possessions. Patriarch Ministries link: Season of Treasure. Audio link: LSC-C Aug. Or click link www.Paduamedia.com and listen to the Audio Archives of Living Seasons of Change. Continue reading for the script of the radio show originally aired August 2007 for Year C of the liturgical year, for the outline directed by the Lord for this episode and references.
Season of Treasure Script
Patti Brunner: Welcome to Living Seasons of Change. I’m Patti Brunner. Today, Monsignor David LeSieur and I will look at the readings from the 18th to 21nd week of Ordinary Time. Our listeners can find this season’s readings and the references from our show today at PatriarchMinistries.com.
All around America we are preparing for “Back to School”. Vacations are over and preparing for tests will soon! Having tests make us better students and we learn more. Jesus gives us tests for the same reason. Welcome Monsignor!
Msgr. David LeSieur: Thanks Patti, it’s good to be here with you. In the Sunday mass readings this month Jesus teaches us about tests and proper preparation. Instead of getting A’s or B’s, Jesus wants us to receive eternal life. The Gospels educate us in dealing with our treasure, our possessions.
Patti Brunner: Our Gospels are all from the Gospel of Luke starting in the 12th chapter. The 18th Sunday is about guarding against greed, “for though one may be rich, one’s life does not consist of possessions[i]”and then Jesus gives the story of rich man who built bigger storage bins, who thought he could rest, eat, drink and be merry! And then God said “You fool!–this night your life will be taken from you.”
Msgr. David LeSieur: On the 19th Sunday[ii] Luke talks about where your treasure is, there your heart is and it is all about being ready for the master’s return; much is required if you are given a lot. Again, it’s all about preparation, and what happens when you are not prepared.
Patti Brunner: The 20th Sunday[iii] continues the 12th chapter of Luke, this is where Jesus is saying he came”to set the earth on fire”. Jesus also talks about the division, not “long division” but Father against daughter, and on the 21st Sunday[iv] in the 13th chapter of Luke, its about “failing the test”. Jesus is asked “who will be saved”? He answers by talking about the narrow gate.
Msgr. David LeSieur: I’m glad he’s not talking about math, because I was never good in math. Jesus does tell of the rich fool who built bigger barns, to collect his grain since he had a good crop, and he thought he was set for life. With his next breath, Jesus says the birds of the air do not sow; they do not gather into barns[v]; and they trust their heavenly father. This man is exactly opposite of the birds; he is gathering into barns, building bigger barns. In Matthew 6 Jesus said “the birds of the air do not sow or reap nor do they gather into barns but your heavenly father takes care of them, feeds them, clothes the field.” He’s saying trust your heavenly father to give you what you need. And this man here, he’s a self-made man, but he’s a fool. And he has been hoarding all this treasure, building bigger barns. And the question is, to who does all this piled up wealth of his go when he dies? To whom will they belong? Jesus said, “Thus it will be for all who store up treasures for themselves, who are not rich in what matters to God.”
Patti Brunner: We might ask ourselves, what really does matter to God? Because when we are rich in that, we are indeed rich!
Msgr. David LeSieur: What matters to God, I think, is that we trust God and that we look to him for what we need, look more to him than we would anywhere else. Now, we do have to use our intelligence; we have to earn money, we have to take care of our family; that’s all prudent and wise.
Patti Brunner: In fact, when you do that, you are using the riches in the way that God intended. The Lord gives you riches, he wants you to have riches, but he also wants you to use them prudently according to the kingdom not prudently according to the way of the world, which would say ‘you save it for yourself’. Acting prudently in kingdom is you take care of your family, you take care of the needs of poor, you take care of the needs of the Church.
Msgr. David LeSieur: AndGod will take care of you as you take care of them
Patti Brunner: Right! Don’t worry about spending to benefit others because the Lord will replenish anything you give out.
Msgr. David LeSieur: In a way it’s a good stewardship gospel.
Patti Brunner: It is!
Msgr. David LeSieur: So this man did not grow rich in the sight of God but rich for himself. If you grow rich for yourself, you feel that you have to be in control. You have to plant the bigger crops, build the bigger barns, its all you. In the gospel, if you are living in the kingdom, God takes care of you more than he would a bird; more than he would a flower.
The reading from Colossians, on the 18th week, says “Think of what is above not what is on earth.” The rich fool was thinking about the earth. Thinking of the here and the now, and maybe his limited future, you know, “I’ve got enough for years to come, I’ll eat drink and be merry.” But then he forgot to finish it, that tomorrow he would die. He didn’t know that.
Patti Brunner: Right! I like the story about the rich man who talked St. Peter into letting him bring something of his earthly possessions with him when he died. St. Peter said, “Ok, you can bring something, but it has to fit into a knapsack. You can bring whatever you want, but it has to fit into a knapsack. He was a wealthy man, so he shows up and St. Peter says, “Well, ok, what did you bring?” And the man pulls out these big heavy gold bars. And he empties out his pack. And St. Peter looks at him, a little confused, and says, “You brought PAVING STONES?” ! [laughter]
Msgr. David LeSieur: That’s good, You brought paving stones! [laughter] That’s cute. The streets are lined with gold aren’t they, as far as we know!
It ties with the first reading from Ecclesiastes 1: “All things are vanity” This man was vain. You know I did a paper on this very passage when I was in seminary, I didn’t get a very good grade on it.
Patti Brunner: So that probably means you reworked it a million times in your mind!
Msgr. David LeSieur: Thank you, but I’ve forgotten most of it.Let’s put it this way: I know he’s called a fool. A fool is somebody who doesn’t acknowledge God. Psalm 14 tells us “a fool has said in his heart there is no God[vi]”. So, a ‘biblical fool” is somebody who just leaves God out of the picture entirely, and this man has left God out of the picture; he’s just thought of his own limited needs, his own limited future, his own pleasure, and if he would trust God he would not have to build bigger barns, God would keep supplying him as he would a bird. If he’ll supply them certainly he’ll supply us. The person who trusts God will say “I have enough for today. God will give me enough for tomorrow, as well.
Patti Brunner: Right.
Msgr. David LeSieur: God will take care of me,
Patti Brunner: I wonder if part of the desire to accumulate great wealth is a search for happiness. When we have to tear down to build something bigger, not only do you feel that you don’t have enough– that would be a horrible feeling– it’s also that you are still looking to be happy. You think if you just do “this” you will be happy. That if you tear down and you’ve got more then maybe “more” will make you happy. I’ve seen a lot of people like that. You know, they’ve got so much “stuff” they don’t know what they’ve got, yet they are still looking for something down the road, that’s going to make them happy.
Msgr. David LeSieur: Some years ago, I read an article about a famous heavy-weight boxing champion[vii], back in the 70’s, he became champion in the first round. I remember listening to the fight on the radio. He went on to become the champion. Eventually, he lost the championship, and then he retired from boxing. What struck me about the article is that it said at one point in his life, this former champion had so much money he got depressed because he didn’t know what else to buy. Can you imagine that? He was so wealthy that he had everything. And he went into depression. That’s when he found religion. He became a preacher after that[viii]. He got back into boxing, eventually, and then he got the George Foreman Grill and became a businessman. He seems to take himself less seriously now. He did go on preaching. But that just struck me, you know, that he went into depression because he didn’t have anything else to buy with his money; it’s like he needed a bigger barn.
Patti Brunner: That’s interesting. The 19th Sunday stays in that same theme; I love the line, “Where your treasure is so is your heart”. What is important to you? If your treasure in your life is your money, money is everything that is important to you, if your treasure is your family, if your treasure is your belief in God, if your treasure is your children or your grandchildren, or your dog, or whatever your main focus. I’ve heard someone say, if you’ll figure out how you spend your time, especially your “free” time that will show you where your focus/where your treasure is. In this Gospel, we are being “tested” about being ready for the master’s return. No one knows when he is coming. Is your focus on having a good time for yourself, not concerned about when the master is coming, or is your focus on being ready? So that when the master comes, he will be pleased?
Msgr. David LeSieur: Right, it doesn’t matter when he comes, you’ll be ready for him anyway.
Patti Brunner: If you live life that way.
Msgr. David LeSieur: On the 21st Sunday we have the narrow gate. The narrow gate is discipline. I’m reading Matthew Kelly’s book “Rediscovering Catholicism”. It’s very basic, but he says some very good things. He says everybody has a goal; everybody needs a goal. He mentioned Michael Jordan, the basketball player and Mother Teresa as examples. Her goal was “to be the most loving person she could be”. He said you have to have disciplines that will help you achieve that goal. If your goal is to be the best basketball player, you are going to have to practice every day.
Patti Brunner: Right! You don’t want to practice early in the morning, but you do it because you want to improve and be the best. If you want to be the most loving person, then you will do what it takes to love people.
Msgr. David LeSieur: Whatever your goal is, you will discipline yourself to achieve that goal, the athlete will practice, the artist will paint, and the dancer will dance. If our goal is to be a disciple of Jesus, we’ll have disciplines that will enable us to do that. If our goal is to be ready for the master, then our disciplines will be prayer, familiarity with the Lord, reading the bible, and so on.
Patti Brunner: We’ll choose good over evil when evil is easier and more simple. We’ll take the Eucharist, for the nourishment; I think it’s the original “power drink”. Our discipline will be obedience, to do what he says.
Msgr. David LeSieur: And there’s knowing his word, what he wants us to do.
Patti Brunner: Right, reading the scripture, the “owner’s manual”, so to speak. And also evangelizing and sharing. It’s the concept of pouring out, because to get new stuff in you have to pour out. It’s like the example given about the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea in the Holy Land. The River of Jordan feeds both seas. The Sea of Galilee collects the water then flows out through the land. It is full of fish that gives nourishment. It is constantly spilling over as the Jordan River continues.
Msgr. David LeSieur: It keeps giving.
Patti Brunner: The Dead Sea receives the same water but because it lies in low elevation nothing flows out of it. And nothing grows in it. It becomes stagnant and dies. It is dead. If we never give of ourselves to others, if we are takers only and never share, we too can become like the Dead Sea. The last thing in preparing for the master’s return is to replace self with care and concern for others. If we are self-centered, even in our relationship with the Lord, it’s going to be difficult.
Msgr. David LeSieur: That’s a good example, about the river flowing through one body of water and stopping at another. If your treasure is “giving”, you’ll keep giving and more will come. You’re creating a capacity to receive more. The Lord never stops giving. When your treasure is “keeping”; you’ll tear down not to give but to build yourself bigger; to retain more.
Patti Brunner: You build a dam around yourself. People do this with their emotions also. The wall seems to protect you but as you keep all your emotions to yourself, as you need a bigger and bigger wall to hold everything in, eventually the area within the wall will become stagnant and die.
Msgr. David LeSieur: The bigger barn is a dam that collects more. But never gives.
Patti Brunner: The Gospel gives us this long list of how to prepare. “Gird your loins, light your lamp” in other words “expend now!” Do it, get in practice! Give of yourself. And that way when you are vigilant you will be prepared. Then, the rest of the story tells us what happens when you are not prepared.
Msgr. David LeSieur: “He says to himself, while the master is away, eat drink and get drunk.” He knew his master’s will but did not take precautions.
Patti Brunner: So, he will be punished. My husband, Rick, has given his witness and he says that, before he really had a relationship with the Lord, he used to hope for a death-bed conversion for himself.
Msgr. David LeSieur: What’s wrong with right now?
Patti Brunner: He witnessed that he just didn’t feel the Lord’s love, he didn’t have a relationship with the Lord, he didn’t know scripture. He witnesses that he was aware of his own sinfulness, but he couldn’t figure out God’s love until he had a conversion of heart that came about as he set aside his own needs, to be with his father while he was critically ill. As he traveled, he started praying the rosary for his dad as he drove the six-hour trips. How many people still feel that way? My small church community group in our parish have a running joke about their goal to “make it to the purgatory bench”.
Msgr. David LeSieur: They don’t want to go to hell!
Patti Brunner: They don’t want to go to hell, they want to make it to the bench! They are all spiritually active people, but it is the thought of a lot of people—to do just enough to get by.
Msgr. David LeSieur: It’s a minimalist approach.
Patti Brunner: We’re kind of hearing that a little bit in this parable. The guy says, well, he’s coming later, I’ll be good later. I’ll do that later. Its “I’ll wait until my deathbed; I’ll get right with God then”.
Msgr. David LeSieur: If you are lucky enough to know when you are going to be on your death bed!
Patti Brunner: That’s it exactly!
Msgr. David LeSieur: Just like the rich fool who went to bed one night. He didn’t realize it was his last day.
Patti Brunner: We are jolted with the inevitability of death when someone young dies especially when killed in an accident. When our relatives in their 80’s or 90’s die, it’s a little different. People expect death to be imminent at a certain age. However, the older I get the younger people seem to be! This steward in the Gospel, he’s thinking, “O well, that’s so far off in the future I can do whatever I want to do now and straighten up later.
Msgr. David LeSieur: He knows that someday it will all come to bear; he knows that much, but he’s thinking it a long way off.
Patti Brunner: If we want to put it in the theme of taking the test, he’s going to wait and cram for it in the last moment. Instead of taking the study guide that the Lord has given us to work on it and stay up with the assignments the Lord has given us.
Msgr. David LeSieur: That way you don’t have to cram the night before the exam. The facing of difficulties are indeed tests. Trusting God is the “passing” of the test whether the particular is overcome or not.
Patti Brunner: If you have ever taken a test and prepared for it with a study guide, have you ever noticed how easy the test seems? But if the teacher didn’t give you a study guide or you didn’t use it, and you tried to decide on your own what was important, you can spend a lot of time preparing and then walk in there and panic because nothing you studied is on the test. In the liturgy this month the Lord is giving us some of the key issues to put on that study guide, to prepare so that when we have that final test it will be a breeze.
Msgr. David LeSieur: On August 15 we have the feast of the Assumption. It is about the end of Mary’s life here on earth. The Catholic Church defined the Assumption of Mary into heaven as dogmatic because it wants to teach us that at the end of our life, if we’re prepared, we shall someday go body and soul, to heaven where our bodies and spirits shall be united again. Mary’s body and soul didn’t have to be separated; she just went straight up there, because she was obedient, she was faithful, because she didn’t sin, and that was all with God’s grace. This is a foretaste of what we can have; if we study, if we prepare, if we are faithful, if we are disciplined.
Patti Brunner: As we continue with the Gospel of Luke on the 20th Sunday[ix], the Lord is giving us a sense of urgency in our preparation. “I’ve come to set a fire on earth; I wish it were already blazing! There’s a baptism with which I must be baptized, and how great is my anguish until it is accomplished! Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the Earth?” No, “but rather division!”
Msgr. David LeSieur: Have you ever heard that story of the story of the ship that was out on the ocean, and they saw a light up ahead. When ships encounter one another at night they may have to change course to avoid collision. The light signals to the ship “change your course 20 degrees”. And the captain of the ship doesn’t want to change and signals back to the light “we’re a battleship, you change 20 degrees; we’re not going to change! And the light signals back “change your course 20 degrees”. And the captain continues to signal back demanding that the light should be the one to change course. Finally, the captain gets a final signal that says, “Change your course 20 degrees, I’m a light house!” [laughter] Jesus is the rock, and he doesn’t move; the division he causes is the division of those who accept him and those who do not accept him. Those who obey him go where he wants them to go. He is immoveable. That’s why division comes between those who live in the same household sometimes, between those who follow him and those who don’t. Those who don’t obey him will crash. Those who do obey him will live.
Patti Brunner: When I’ve heard women say, “we don’t go to church very much in the summer, because my husband wants to go to the lake, and I don’t want to cause strife at home…” I always think of this scripture.
Msgr. David LeSieur: That is exactly what he is talking about.
Patti Brunner: They are choosing to please someone instead of trying to please God.
Msgr. David LeSieur: And if they stuck to their guns, to their principles, to their faith and went to mass, without their husband, he may or may not get the picture, but at least they are staying true to what they believe. To sway somebody to the right path you must be true to yourself, instead of following the wrong path with someone else. So, setting fire on the earth, division, these are hard words and Jesus is already heading towards Jerusalem; I think that’s chapter 11, He knows he is heading toward death. This is a man on a mission, and he is probably tired of talking nicely.
Patti Brunner: It’s getting down to the gritty of the study guide.
Msgr. David LeSieur: And “this is a final example, and you better listen to me”, and he is preparing for his death. He knows where he is going, and he is preparing and getting ready. And so, this is a very serious statement he makes.
Patti Brunner: I think we are all by nature want to have “status quo” and not make changes, and just kind of go along. Sometimes it takes things like a death in the family, a calamity, a tornado, to shake us up! So that we can get back on the course the Lord sets us on. That fire Jesus wants to start up in us, a conversion of heart, comes for a lot of people as a result of some trauma in their lives.
Msgr. David LeSieur: It takes that sometimes. This fire that he has come to light, his desire to blaze the earth on fire with the fire of the Holy Spirit, we’re meant to catch that fire. Jesus talks about baptism. Its funny, he uses fire and water as the same thing. Baptism of course, here, is his death. Complete conversion takes place at death. He is consumed by fire; he wants to consume the earth with fire because he himself is consumed by the baptism of death. He is totally giving himself over to it. Until we give ourselves over to it, to him, to his kingdom, to the fire of our baptisms it won’t be accomplished in us. So, those in a household of five who caught fire will be divided against those who have not caught fire, even if is in the same household
Patti Brunner: Yes, I have noticed that sometimes if someone is on fire for the Lord and other people in the family aren’t it causes further division. The Lord is wanting us to get all stirred up and get bold and that can be irritating to people! As we on to the 21st Sunday of ordinary time, Jesus tells us again what will happen if we fail the test.
Msgr. David LeSieur: “Jesus passed through the towns teaching as he was making his way to Jerusalem. And someone asked him, Lord, will only a few be saved? He said, “Strive to enter through the narrow gate,” for many will attempt to enter but will not be strong. After the master of the house has risen, then will you stand outside knocking saying “Lord, Open the door for us!” and he says, “I don’t know you” and you say, we ate and drank with you, you taught in our streets”. He will say again I do not know where you are from.” We ate and drank in your company—we went to mass! You’ve got to walk the walk, talk the talk. The goal is to enter the narrow gate; we are going to have to strip away anything that will keep us from going through.
Patti Brunner: If you carry too many paving stones you can’t make it through! So, he’s really laid it on the line here. People may think they are doing the right thing, eating and drinking and spending time with Jesus yet their heart is not there. He’s not their treasure.
Msgr. David LeSieur: There heart is somewhere else. Their words are here, “you ate and drank in our presence; you preached in our streets”. But what did they do after they heard him preach? Or Sunday after they got home from mass?
Patti Brunner: It can be a little convicting there.
Msgr. David LeSieur: These are all like the final exam.
[Break]
Patti Brunner: Welcome back to Living Seasons of Change. I’m Patti Brunner and today I’m talking with Monsignor David LeSieur, a priest of the Diocese of Little Rock. Let’s go to the Hebrews readings now.
Msgr. David LeSieur: We’ve got a month of readings from Hebrews, the 11th and 12th chapter, for the 2nd reading
Patti Brunner: Usually the first reading is chosen to match the Gospel and the 2nd reading is a continuous reading, but it looks like this section of Hebrews is placed here specifically to go with the Gospel. It’s telling us not to lose heart! –the cloud of witnesses, the church has chosen these readings to give us hope and encouragement while the Gospel is disciplining us, indeed, shocking us with truth.
Msgr. David LeSieur: Jesus has set a fire on the earth, a division, but we’re not meant to lose heart. Because we have this cloud of witnesses, that surround us, the saints … I love that expression.
Patti Brunner: It’s really giving us encouragement to stick with it. Jesus is saying, “you do this or you’re going to be punished, you’re going to be split off, so Hebrews is telling us, ok now “faith is the realization of things hoped for.” Of things not seen! So, stick with your faith. And then the next week: it’s hard but you’ve got the cloud of witnesses urging you on. And then the 21st week “enduring your trials as discipline” no matter how tough it gets; don’t think you failed the test; it’s really just more preparation. Look at it that way.
Msgr. David LeSieur: That’s right.
Patti Brunner: It’s knocking off a few extra “pounds” to help us get through that narrow gate.
Msgr. David LeSieur: Right. Strengthen your drooping shoulders, you’re drooping and weak knees.
Patti Brunner: Who was Hebrews written for specifically? Was it to explain the Jewish faith to the Gentiles or to apply Jewish heritage to Christ?
Msgr. David LeSieur: It was probably written to the Jews, it’s a letter to the “Hebrews”. Its more, it’s a treatise more than it’s a letter; it’s a very beautiful theological treatise on the priesthood of Jesus. How it all comes to bear. I guess he’s trying to explain it to Jewish people, so they’ll get the connection. Jesus’ priesthood is not inherited like the Levites, the priesthood that Aaron had. The Jewish priests inherited their priesthood. Jesus is in the order of Melchizedek. He seems to have no mother or father; he comes from nowhere. He has an eternal priesthood, the same priesthood Jesus had.
Patti Brunner: So, in that light, Hebrews takes the words of Jesus and shows the people that just because you go through the motions, and you inherited the God of Abraham, it takes more than that. It takes more than that, but to be encouraged that the Lord is sending helpers. He’s helping us.
Msgr. David LeSieur: And he’s using all of these Old Testament witnesses to give examples of faith, Abraham and Sarah, there’s a whole lot of them.
Patti Brunner: He is really giving us a synopsis of the Old Testament. He is giving us the “cliff notes”.
Msgr. David LeSieur: Yes, he is. He is using images that Jews would understand. He’s using their scripture, to say where it leads.
Patti Brunner: Do you remember any tests while you were preparing for the priesthood?
Msgr. David LeSieur: Well, yes. When I was a freshman in high school, I was in the seminary at St. John’s and I just struggled with math, like I referred to earlier. I never did well in math all through grade school, but it just got worse as I got to Algebra I in high school. I did ok even with Latin, but this Algebra, I just was not getting it. My parents would come visit me every two weeks. They would encourage me and tell me not to worry about it. I’m sure if I had not had their encouragement I would have quit. I would have gone back to Pine Bluff and quit the seminary, and said this is just not worth it, but I didn’t. My parents were encouraging, and they said to just not worry about it that this would pass. I barely made it through Freshmen Algebra. But I just remember the difficulty and discouragement that I felt. I was afraid that I would fail the course, and thought if I made an F in Algebra, I thought that might be the end of the world. But I did make an F in one nine weeks. I brought it up to a D after that. I passed by the skin of my teeth. I guess it was just a test for my vocation early on. The next year, I did a lot better. As a senior in high school, I took physics and I almost flunked that too, but I wasn’t so discouraged, I guess I was just more mature. I never again wanted to leave the seminary.
Patti Brunner: Isn’t that interesting that something that is totally unrelated to your vocation was the thing that just about separated you from it.
Msgr. David LeSieur: I know! When you think about it, it’s ironic.
Patti Brunner: Right, and how many times do other tests that are totally unrelated to the narrow gate seem to get in the way of following Christ? Instead of wanting to share in stewardship we get that fear of “well I need to save back, I need to save it all!” It’s not that I don’t prudently save back for emergencies, but that I want more, I want more!
Msgr. David LeSieur: It is prudent to save for emergencies and to provide for your family is perfectly alright
Patti Brunner: Sure.
Msgr. David LeSieur: It’s just when we get that bug to want the next thing, the newer car, the bigger house, the latest this, the latest that. And you know, young people are bad about this. I was talking to the teenagers one night, we were talking about the woman at the well, how she was thirsting for true water. I told the young people, “Think about what you asked for Christmas last year. Do you remember what it was, and do you still use it? Because this year you are going to want something else, something more this year because we have an insatiable thirst for more stuff.”
Patti Brunner: That’s right.
Msgr. David LeSieur: Our true thirst, of course, is for God, like the woman at the well had. I think any of us would admit that, yeah, I really want to go to heaven. I think anyone would admit that. Yet if our hearts are where our treasure is what are we willing to do about it? Again, it’s that goal. And the discipline it takes to achieve the goal.
Patti Brunner: To achieve the goal, we have to get the study guide. We have to start working on it, now instead of putting it off. That reminds me of the discipline of tithing. When you don’t have to give much because you don’t have much it’s easier than when you have a lot. If you wait until you have plenty before you tithe, all of a sudden, it’s a big amount and it’s hard to give. But if you tithe at each point of the way, it will grow, because the Lord will prosper you. It makes it so much easier if you trust God when you have a little; you continue that trust all the way up scale as God continues to prosper you which he will. We can attest to that. The Lord will always provide whatever you need. And as you give back to him, in tithing or in giving alms, in all the things we are called to do, you get into the routine of it, and it’s easy.
Msgr. David LeSieur: Yeah, and if you teach a child to tithe, say he gets a dollar a week and he gives a dime to the church every week, then he makes 5 dollars later on, and gives .50 cents, you are right, he will grow into it. So, when he is making a thousand dollars a week, or 10000 dollars a week, that notion of giving ten percent stays with him. You should start young.
Patti Brunner: I remember the story of a young man who decided to tithe 10% when he was making $70 a week. Each week he put $7 in the basket. It was easy, pocket change. As time went on, he was up to $100 a week, and his tithe was now $10. Eventually he made $200, and he tithed $20. Because of an innovative idea, suddenly he was recognized and received a bonus of $700,000. So, he went to the pastor to ask him to pray for him because he was struggling, he just couldn’t bring himself to tithe and give $70,000. So, the pastor began to pray: Heavenly father, please allow my brother here to return to making $200 a week so he won’t have to tithe so much!
Msgr. David LeSieur: [laugh] well, when you explain it that way! That’s pretty good!
Patti Brunner: In conclusion, I think we have to realize that when we are studying, when we are trying to pass the test, that on our own we can’t do it. But we’ve got the blood of the Lamb that covers us and gives us the answer sheet when we need it. If we’re prepared, He’s there, covering us, watching us. He is there, he’s given us the study guide, and he’s given us the scripture. And he’s given us the Spirit as a coach,
Msgr. David LeSieur: He’s given us the sacraments for strength and endurance.
Patti Brunner: We’re asked to take him seriously, to do the work, but also turn to him when we don’t understand; not to sit back and say “gosh, I can’t do it, I don’t understand it” but to go and ask for help when we are struggling.
Msgr. David LeSieur: If we take him seriously and are honest with him, honest even with our sins, he’ll never turn us away.
Patti Brunner: But if we don’t then scripture is clear; the consequences are there. When I was kid “consequences” were taught by the Church a lot more than they are now.
Msgr. David LeSieur: Yes. There is a consequence to every action.
Patti Brunner: So, these readings are reminding us again of the dire consequences, I mean they’re serious; it’s a serious test. You either pass or you don’t pass. And if you don’t pass, you don’t enter the kingdom forever.
Msgr. David LeSieur: Right. Ultimately, purgatory goes away too. Purgatory is for those who passed but they still need a little extra help.
Patti Brunner: That’s right. They just didn’t get an “A”. They got that “D”. They got the “D” they’re there! [laugh]
Msgr. David LeSieur: I can relate. It’s like my Algebra. I got the “D”! Thank goodness! I don’t have to go to summer school!
Patti Brunner: If we seek first the kingdom of God, if we don’t resist the grace that the righteousness of the Lord has given us, we’ll make it.
Msgr. David LeSieur: Yes. That’s a good theme for this program, preparing for the exam and passing the test.
Patti Brunner: Monsignor LeSieur, will you close our show with a blessing?
Msgr. David LeSieur: [blessing]
Patti Brunner: Thank you Monsignor. This concludes our program, Living Seasons of Change. I’m Patti Brunner and I invite you to visit the website PatriarchMinistries.com for references used in our discussion.
Of The Lord Guidance
7/5/07 “Listen, for the August radio show, I call you to a new depth of discussion. My priest has more to give the people. Draw it from him. I will pour out his wisdom in libation before the people. It shall honor me. Read again the readings. This time consider the “pouring out”. Libation is for the Lord. It marks trust, it marks recognizing the source, the Giver, and it puts priorities where they belong. “I am God and you are not; he is not, they are not.”
7/12/07 “For your show continue the journey of Ordinary Time. The “pouring out” of self includes the old and decay as well as the best and the most precious; one makes room for the desire for the other. As you consider each week’s Gospel—tie the theme together.
- Introduce your program and theme; wrap it up with a cute bow, this present from the Lord.
- Go week by week and state the main theme of the Gospels
- Allow my servant to respond
- Discuss the continuing reading (2nd reading Hebrews Chapter 11 &12)
- Use the references for specific preparation to follow the Way. It is not the “easy way out” but it is the ease provided by preparation; those who prepare for a school exam or test find it “easy” when they prepared for what the test entailed. Those who “spin their wheels” studying the “wrong” things on the test—while providing “knowledge” and take a lot of “prep time”—leave the student in final distress and the test is failed.
- Continue with personal stories of “tests” met and passed and tests failed. The Lord always provides the answer guide to help you as you seek Him after failure. Your hope is in the name of the Lord.
- Wrap up the program with tying together the theme of tests that bring endurance and strength and ultimately reward.
“I shall go forth among the people of innocence with the blood of the Lamb and shall cover them with my glory. I shall hold back the gates of hell for those who deny me until the final judgement. Seek ye first the kingdom of God, resist not the grace poured upon you by the righteousness of the Lord.”
Liturgical Readings Guide
18th Sunday in Ordinary
Ecclesiastes 1:2; 2:21-23 “All things are vanity”
Colossians 3:1-5, 9-11 “Seek…Think of what is above, not is on earth”
Luke 12:13-21 Rich man built bigger storage bins, rest, eat drink be merry! fool! –this night death”
19th Sunday in Ordinary
Wisdom 18:6-9 “The night of Passover was known beforehand to our fathers”
Hebrews 11:1-2, 8-19 “Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen” in “faith”
Luke 12:32-48 Where your treasure is, is your heart; be ready for the master’s return; Much is required if given much
Assumption Vigil
1 Chronicles 15:3-4, 15-16; 16:1-2 David moved the Ark
1 Corinthians 15:54b-57 “Where, O death, is your sting?”
Luke 11: 27-28 Rather than the breasts Jesus nursed: “Blessed those who hear the Word of God and observe it”
Assumption Day
Revelation 11:19a; 12:1-6a, 10ab signs: “woman clothed with the sun” “dragon stood before the woman about to give birth”
1 Corinthians 15:20-27 “Christ the first fruits…last enemy to be destroyed is death”
Luke 1:39-56 Mary visited Elizabeth, Magnificat
20th Sunday in Ordinary
Jeremiah 38:4-6, 8-10 Princes threw Jeremiah into the cistern, king allowed Cushite to draw him out
Hebrews 12:1-4 “Cloud of witnesses” not lose heart
Luke 12:49-53 “Come to set the earth on fire” division
21st Sunday in Ordinary
Isaiah 66:18-21 “To the distant coastlands…they shall proclaim my glory”
Hebrews 12:5-7,11-13 “Endure your trials as discipline”
Luke 13:22-30 Who will be saved
References
[i] Luke 12:13-21
[ii] Luke 12:32-48
[iii] Luke 12:49-53
[iv] Luke 13:22-30
Matthew 6: 25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat (or drink), or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?
26 Look at the birds in the sky; they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are not you more important than they? 27 Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span? 28 Why are you anxious about clothes? Learn from the way the wild flowers grow. They do not work or spin. 29 But I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was clothed like one of them. 30 If God so clothes the grass of the field, which grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow, will he not much more provide for you, O you of little faith? 31 So do not worry and say, ‘What are we to eat?’ or ‘What are we to drink?’ or ‘What are we to wear?’ 32 All these things the pagans seek. Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom (of God) and his
righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides. 34 Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself. Sufficient for a day is its own evil.
Luke 12: 22 He said to (his) disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life and what you will eat, or about your body and what you will wear. 23 For life is more than food and the body more than
clothing. 24 Notice the ravens: they do not sow or reap; they have neither storehouse nor barn, yet God feeds them. How much more important are you than birds! 25 Can any of you by worrying add a moment to your lifespan? 26 If even the smallest things are beyond your control, why are you anxious about the rest? 27 Notice how the flowers grow. They do not toil or spin. But I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of them. 28 If God so clothes the grass in the field that grows
today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow, will he not much more provide for you, O you of little faith?
29 As for you, do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not worry anymore.
[vi] Psalm 14: I *Fools say in their hearts, “There is no God.”
[vii] George Foreman
[viii] George Foreman’s Second Chance
The boxing legend, ordained minister, and ‘King of the Grills’ talks about the power of forgiveness.
Interview by Dena Ross
When we last spoke to boxing great George Foreman in 2003 he told us about the amazing, life-changing experience he had in 1977 after his big match with boxer Jimmy Young. While in the locker room after the fight–which he lost–he said he had died and gone to a dark place from which he was ultimately rescued by the grace of God. Shortly after that incident, he gave his life over to God and became a Christian minister. Now he has a new memoir, “God In My Corner” which explores his spiritual transformation and the dark period of his life before he experienced God’s grace (he had considered hiring hit men to kill his enemies). Foreman also says that the “Rumble in the Jungle”—the 1974 fight in Zaire in which he lost his heavyweight title to Muhammad Ali–was one of the best things that ever happened to him.
Although Foreman is said to have made over $150 million from his popular line of grills, he continues to preach, as he has for years, at The Church of Lord Jesus Christ in Houston, Texas, and is currently a judge on ABC’s “American Inventor.” He spoke to Beliefnet recently about reading the Bible with Muhammad Ali, his favorite answered prayer, and whether he’ll be making another comeback to boxing.
http://www.beliefnet.com/story/219/story_21994_1.html Wednesday, July 11, 2007, 08:24 AM
[ix] 20th Sunday Luke 12:49-53
