I think I have always been attracted to things that glitter and are brand-spanking new. These were things I did not have in my younger years since I grew up dirt-poor. We made do and fixed the unrepairable to last 
another day. From that foundation I gained a vantage point that those glimmering things seemed to mean stability, since the absence of wealth proved to be quite an eager struggle. I was determined that while I was young and healthy I needed to secure my retirement years by working hard and taking risks. After all, I had little to lose and the world to gain! I bet on the one thing I knew I could trust; me!
I didn’t really know we were poor until I begin to embrace my independence and wanted a car, insurance and money for upkeep. I viewed the car as a means to get on my feet and pounce on the world and all it had to offer. I liked to work hard so I was on my way to stability and freedom! Look out World, here I come!
No doubt, we are supposed to work hard and save for our future, but we cannot be selfishly hoarding and not helping the poor and hungry. And please don’t forget your tithe to the church. With everything, we first submit to God, our hearts, families, time, talent and wealth. Blessed Theophylact writes about the Gospel reading this morning: “The Lord, then, fashioned this story to teach those who show no mercy and give no alms what punishments await them, and to teach those who are suffering what good things they will enjoy on account of the sufferings they patiently endure in this life.” (Bl Theophylact, commentary on Luke 16:19-31)
In this Gospel reading the rich man thought he had it all but yet God refuses to call his name. God does not know him, or as St. Gregory of Rome says: “Now our Lord mentions the name of the poor, but not the name of the rich, because God knows and approves the humble, but not the proud.” The rich owned the world but failed to know the One who created it and therefore lost everything!
It is easy to find the world and lose yourself. It is so easy to get caught up in things that glimmer and miss the life-sustaining crumbs in life. Our Lord has given us a path to follow which offers us wealth not of this world but a richness that cannot be stolen or decay. We just need to follow the path the church has to offer: prayer, fasting, almsgiving, loving our neighbor, forgiveness, humility, tithing, suffering, repentance, attendance, and mercy.
As we age we come to realize as our health begins to fail that we must trust in the Creator and not the created. Follow the salvific bread crumbs He has placed for you on your path to salvation and in all things praise the Lord. And I pray that one day you and I will be carried away by the angels into the bosom of Abraham.
Fr. Gabriel Weller 11-4-2018