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“Jesus moved about within Galilee; he did not wish to travel in Judea, because the Jews were trying to kill him” (John 7:1).

Jesus knows his death is coming, so he tries to do as much good as he can before it happens. For now, he stays within Galilee, where his Word is bearing fruit. He wants to make as many disciples as possible before his humiliating death.

Those who believe in his words before his death will certainly rejoice in what happens afterwards. Stay tuned.

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But what about us? Death will come for us all. How do we react to this truth? Do we try to ignore our mortality and simply find pleasure in each day? Or, like Jesus, do we try to do as much good for others as possible?

How do we want to be remembered?

If we follow the difficult and humbling path of Christ, if we seek the benefit of others and not our own, then we will be remembered by others with love; even more, we will receive the reward of eternal life.

As Jesus himself says, “Where I am, there also will my servant be” (John 12:26). Follow him. And get ready to rejoice.

In the Gospel today, Jesus refers to John the Baptist as a “burning and shining lamp,” meaning he revealed something of God to others (John 5:35).

John lived a simple life. He wasn’t rich or powerful; he was poor, often hungry, dirty, and covered in camel’s hair. He lived in the desert.

His appearance was rather off-putting; yet people traveled long distances to listen to him preach, because his words cut to their hearts like a sword. The Spirit of God was burning within him like a shining lamp and that is what attracted so many.

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Whether we’re aware of it or not, the world sees us like John the Baptist. Like John, we claim to know God. We claim to love him. We promise to act like him. Thus we’re held accountable for our daily words and actions. All of them.

How often do my words lead others to God? Or how often do they lead others astray?

This is the simple, humbling, and often difficult scope of our mission: to be a “burning and shining lamp,” to lead others to Christ.

How will I do that today?

 

Have you ever seen the t.v. show American Greed?

It tells the stories of people who will do anything to get rich. Some of them are truly shocking. For example, I just saw the episode about Martin Shkreli, a 34-year-old businessman who was recently labeled, “The most hated man in America.”

In September 2015, Martin bought the rights to a life saving drug called Daraprim, raising the price for a single pill overnight from $13.50 to $750, making it almost impossible for some to buy it, effectively killing them.

Even worse is the fact that most of the patients affected by it are the elderly, people with AIDS, and pregnant mothers.

Martin admitted this outrageous price hike was motivated by his greed; he doesn’t care about the crippling financial toll it takes on others, only making money.

Understandably, his story has provoked widespread anger. Perhaps the only good news is that he’s currently imprisoned, awaiting trial for fraud and corruption charges. As the old saying goes, “You reap what you sow.”

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Just as many are rightfully angry with Martin Shkreli for being so greedy, so Jesus was angry with the religious leaders of his time working in the temple. Like Martin, they took advantage of people, specifically pilgrims who came to worship.

As it is says in the Gospel, “Jesus found in the temple area those who sold oxen, sheep, and doves, as well as the money changers seated there. He made a whip out of cords and drove them out of the temple area… (John 2:14).”

While it may sound strange to us today, Jews used to worship God by sacrificing animals in the temple. It was an ancient practice, dating back to the Passover in the Book of Exodus. Devout Jews didn’t have a choice; it’s what God asked of them.

But the religious authorities took advantage of this practice by selling animals inside the temple at unfairly high prices, making plenty of profit as a result.

They’d even make pilgrims purchase these animals using the temple currency, meaning you had to exchange your money for theirs, again, at a very high price, hence more profit.

Think of it like this… Imagine if we raised the price of a candle here in church from $2 to $200… There’d be a lot of angry parishioners! You light these candles because you want to pray – and we should never take advantage of that.

That is why Jesus was so angry. These “religious” leaders had lost their faith; they had broken the first commandment and worshipped another god, that of money. Like Martin Shkreli, they were simply corrupt businessmen acting falsely in the name of God.

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We, on the other hand, are here to worship God!

But the Gospel should still challenge us, as it urges us to consider how well we do that. In what ways does our parish bring glory to God? And in what ways might we improve the way we worship?

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For example, are we engaged throughout the Mass, or do we let our minds drift? It matters to God how focused we are on him.

It matters to God how much effort priests put into their Sunday homilies… It matters to God whether or not we pray for one another. It matters to God whether or not we offer each other peace from our hearts.

It matters to God how loudly we sing… It matters to God how devoutly we pray after receiving communion…

It matters to God how deeply we listen to his Word, and whether or not we’re changed by it. It matters to God how much we care.

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As we move forward with this Mass, may our hearts remain open to Him, who alone is deserving of all our attention, all of our praise, and all of our love.