Friday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time

 Lectionary: 369

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth,
where moth and decay destroy, and thieves break in and steal.
But store up treasures in heaven,
where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal.
For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.

 P eriodically, every Christian is called up short by the cost of discipleship. We set out with good intentions and genuine fervor to follow the Lord and live by the Gospel, and then discover that the sacrifices we've so far made do not suffice. More is required to meet the minimum! As the ailing Saint Francis said toward the end of his life, "Let us now begin for hitherto we've done little."

Never mind the fact that everyone apparently knew him as a living saint, and that his exemplary life had inspired tens of thousands of men and women to takes vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. The Assisan was overwhelmed by the holiness of God , and that knowledge demanded far more of him, and of his admirers. 

While a person's life is invaluable, even that worth pales to nothingness in the light of the Sacrifice on Calvary. If the devout admit that their pious efforts are little, they should never suppose they have given enough for today. 

“Listen, my people, I will speak;

Israel, I will testify against you;

God! Your God, am I!

Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you,
your burnt offerings are always before me.
I will not take a bullock from your house,
or he-goats from your folds.
For every animal of the forest is mine,
beasts by the thousands on my mountains.
I know every bird in the heights;
whatever moves in the wild is mine.
Were I hungry, I would not tell you,
for mine is the world and all that fills it.
Do I eat the flesh of bulls
or drink the blood of he-goats?
Offer praise as your sacrifice to God;
fulfill your vows to the Most High.
Then call on me on the day of distress;
I will rescue you, and you shall honor me.” (Psalm 50:7-15)

As we "Look at the Humility of God!" we realize how small our best efforts are, and that God is pleased with our sacrifices, but never satisfied.  And we understand that our sin begins with the pretense that we have, or should have, standing in God's sight. Rather, our prayer begins by acknowledging that everything is grace, from the breathing of this moment, the work we have finished, to the appreciation that others may show for our goodness. Even when we accept the gratitude that others might show us, we hope their attention is drawn to the One who gives life itself. 

The Lord did not give until it hurt; he gave until it stopped hurting and others took what remained of him down from the cross. He calls his disciples to do no less.