One of my favorite stories was written about 16-hundred years ago in a little town of North Africa. In that book, a young man is brutally honest in telling us about his search for the meaning of life. He was the Charlie Sheen of the Roman Empire. At first he looked for happiness in the pleasures of drinking, eating and bodily pleasures of every sort. When these left his soul feeling empty, he began to pursue oriental philosophies. He thought those teachings seemed more sophisticated than the Bible he had listened to growing up. But something about those philosophies did not ring true to him, so he decided he would spend his life making money - and making a name for himself. At a certain point - it was like a divine intervention - he experienced a conversion. He wound up dedicating himself totally to God. The young man's name was Augustine - and after St. Paul he is considered the Church's greatest theologian. St. Augustine summed up his quest for life’s meaning in these famous and haunting words of his confessions: "You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you."
All of us can probably identify with his experience and his search for fulfillment. Our hearts are also restless - and nothing in this world can give us enduring peace. Today's Psalm says "Only in God is my soul at rest..." In the Gospel Jesus tells us how to find peace in God.
Jesus lays it on the line. "No man can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other.You cannot serve God and mammon." Well, what the heck is mammon? The word mammon comes from a Hebrew root that means "to entrust." It referred to material, worldly things, things that money can buy, like today we speak about credit, trust funds and bonds. Mammon came to represent those things in which a man places his trust." It became a substitute for God, an idol, a false God.
What are the false gods in our lives? What are the things in life that if you had them -- you would feel like your life would be complete....that you would be happy? Is it a new car? a nicer home? A better job? A raise?
Is it a cute, popular boyfriend or girlfriend? Winning a state championship? A later curfew? A friend who doesn’t hurt you or talk about you behind your back? A social media account or a better cell phone?
Is it more time?More space? Less weight? More hair? Nicer clothes?
In today's Gospel Jesus identifies one of the sure signs of clinging to a false god: worry. A person devoted to an idol becomes consumed with worry. Our hearts are filled with fear as we wonder what will happen if I lose the thing that gives my life meaning? What happens if I lose my job? Don’t get that promotion? If my child doesn’t make the team? If my boyfriend/girlfriend dumps me? If I am suddenly no longer popular or if my parents take away that one thing I love?
I have talked to people who know that something is ruining their lives - but they cannot stand the thought of living without it, whether that be someone or some thing that is slowly destroying them and their families and friendships. Whatever the specifics are, the general rule is always the same: their obsession, their mammon and the worry of what to do without it have become false gods.
Jesus invites us to turn from idols and to trust in God. God is the one thing, the one thing that not only will make us happy, but will bring us peace. We know this. We’ve known about this for two-thousand years. No self-help book about happiness has been reprinted as many times, in as many languages, for as many years as the Bible. So why do we keep turning away? Why do we keep looking for happiness elsewhere when the answer, the only answer, is right here, within feet of us every day.
Christ knew that we would have a hard time letting go of the various mammon in our lives. He knew we would struggle to place our full trust in the hands of our Heavenly Father. That is why he reminds us in today’s gospel to “Look at the birds in the sky; who do not sow or reap, who gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are not you more important than they? To drive the point home he continues: Learn from the way the wild flowers grow. They do not work or spin. But I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was clothed like one of them. 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?”
The next time you feel alone, or helpless, or you’re worrying about something or chasing something you think will make you happy, take a moment and pray. Thank God for all the gifts he has given you. Talk to Him about what’s on your heart, and ask Him for his guidance. Let go of the earthly things and riches which demand our allegiance and let your heart rest in God alone. He changed the life of St. Augustine. If you ask God, He’ll change your life, too.
