Jesus does not give us everything we want just because we think our faith makes us eligible to have it.  . . . There is no prayer that can be said which will convince God to give us what is contrary to His righteousness.  And so, Luke tells us, . . . there were two brothers.  When their father died, his holdings of property were modest.  So, the elder brother, with the blessing of the president of the synagogue, arranged that his father’s property be kept in tact to be owned and managed jointly by the two sons . . . as equal partners, each receiving an equal share of the income.  . . . This arrangement didn’t sit well with the younger brother who thought he could do better for himself if he had half his father’s holdings to manage on his own.  . . . As a result, the brothers argued often.

    Well, one evening their exasperated mother said to them, as they were beginning to have heated words, . . . their mother said, “You know, there’s a Rabbi traveling to Jerusalem who is teaching in the market square.  He has worked several wonders, I’m told, and is very wise; . . . like Solomon!  Why don’t you bring your dispute to him?”  . . . And for a change the brothers agreed, . . . the elder brother being tired of all the bickering; the younger hopeful to have his own way.

    So, next morning the brothers arrive at the market square and squirm their way through the crowd already there; . . . the crowd of many, many people squeezed into that little space to hear Jesus teach and hopeful to see Him do a cure.  . . . And having squirmed his way to within several feet of Jesus, the younger brother waits for Jesus to pause, and he hollers out, “Teacher, convince my brother to divide the inheritance with me!”  . . . And Jesus looks up at the young man who has interrupted Him, and He says, “Who made Me your judge?”  . . . And the younger brother says, “You’re a rabbi aren’t you?”  So, Jesus tells a parable.  He says, “There once was a very wealthy man who did extraordinarily well in the stock market.  And so, he said to himself, ‘Self, it’s time to roll-over your IRA into an income producing account and sell off your stocks and use the money to buy annuities, so that when the IRA is depleted, the annuities will kick in!  . . . But I’ll keep back a little so I can buy myself a big yacht, find me a trophy wife, and live the good life, sailing from one resort to another.’  . . . But that night, as our friend was preparing for bed, his room was filled with the blinding glory of God . . . and an angel stood before him looking very sad.  And the angel said, ‘You know, instead of making all these elaborate plans for the money God has given you, . . . you should have at least asked God His purpose in giving it.  This very night you must give an account of your life; . . . you must tell who among the poor and needy and hungry and destitute has benefited from your wealth; . . . you must tell how you have provided for God’s Word to be taught so that the children might have hope.  . . . Tonight God will judge whether there is life in you, or if you have exchanged it for something lifeless.  . . . Tonight you will become what you are.’ ”  . . . And then Jesus says to the two brothers, “I’m not your judge.  God is your judge.  Go and make of your life and property something worthy of the God Who blessed you with both.”

    Jesus does not give us everything we want just because we think our faith makes us eligible to have it.  He doesn’t promise to give us everything we ask for just because we have the faith to ask.  In fact, Jesus tells us just the very opposite!  Jesus tells us to ask for ourselves everything that God wants.  . . . Jesus tells us to ask for ourselves everything that God wants because our life is from God.  We didn’t invent ourselves.  God formed us and breathed His Life into us so that we are made in His Image; . . . so that we represent God’s sacred Being in our sacred humanity.  . . . And Jesus came to us to show us the glory of our sacred humanity; … to show us what we really are . . . if we will but die to the things that deform us.  And so, Saint Paul the Apostle exhorts us,

Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.  For you have died, and your life is hid with Christ in God.  When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.  Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness . . . put . . . away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and foul talk from your mouth.  Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old nature with its practices and have put on the new nature, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.  . . . Put on . . . as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, lowliness, meekness, and patience, . . . forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.  And above all these put on love . . .

Saint Paul says that the crown of the Christian Life is to exhibit in our living the ineffable love of God.  Because, you see, when Paul commends us to love, he doesn’t mean those sweaty, carnal affections that are often confused with love.  Saint Paul doesn’t mean, by the word “love”, all the carnal affections that eventually bring us to the brink of covetousness, malice, slander and so on.  Saint Paul, instead, commends God’s sacred love to us.  He says,

put on love . . . [letting] the peace of Christ rule in your hearts . . .  And be thankful.

    The love which makes each one of us a sacred child of God arises out of the health of Christ; . . . it is the divine shalom . . . the sacred peace which is the fruit of daily prayer and regular reception of Christ’s sacred Body and precious Blood by which we become the Son’s Flesh endowed with the Father’s Life.  . . . The love which makes each one of us a sacred child of God arises out of the peace of Christ, . . . and it arises out of our own thankfulness.  . . . Saint Paul, along with Jesus, exhorts us today to live grateful lives; . . . to live lives that aren’t focused on things . . . but lives which are grateful to God for the things at hand by which we might communicate to one another and the world our heavenly Father’s mercy, grace, and love.  . . . Because, while Jesus does not give us everything we want just because we think our faith makes us eligible to have it; . . . while Jesus does not give us everything we want, . . . we have from Him everything we need.  We have from Jesus everything we need for sacred and becoming lives which reflect God’s glory.  . . . And so, “Whatever you do,” Saint Paul says,

whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.