Do not Love the World because You Were Made for Something More.

Homily for December 30, 2017.

“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life, is not of the Father but is of the world.” 1 John 2:15-16. 

If you recall, a few days ago we celebrated the feast of John the Apostle and we rightly observed that he was often referred to as the one who Jesus loved. John knew what it meant to love God and his very life is a practical example of this.

For John to have loved God so deeply, it is clear that he also knew the futility of loving the world and the things of the world. In fact, John summed up everything this world could offer in three boxes:

1. The Lust of the Flesh.
2. The Lust of the Eyes.
3. The Pride of Life.

According to Pope Francis in his message for Lent last year, these three things correspond perfectly to the three temptations of Jesus. First Satan told him to turn stones to bread (lust of the flesh), then Satan told Jesus to bow to him so he could have all the riches and kingdoms of the world (lust of the eyes) and finally that Jesus should throw himself down from the pinnacle of the temple that people may see it and worship him (pride of life).

Even Abraham Maslow would agree that these three things correspond to the needs of every person. They are just what we want in life; bodily satisfaction, (food, comfort, pleasure), riches, (abundant wealth, security) and respect (worship from fellow humans, praises and honour).

The fact remains that as much as these things tend to deliver some form of happiness, they also bring about the highest degree of pain. This is because of the principle of change in created things. The person you once saw as your source joy suddenly becomes a monster, the car you daydreamed about for years before buying now becomes your worst nightmare. In fact, I may go on and on but the point is this: the world does not deserve our love. We are made for more!

Just look around you, consider everything you have in this world, do you know that none of these things would still be there in just a few years (or even days) from now? There is going to be wear and tear, things would break down, they would not look good again, even your face will grow wrinkles, your health would soon begin to deteriorate, just face it, one day you will die and none of these things will go with you. How can we who were created to last forever stoop so low as to love things that don’t last forever?

Dear friends, just as Jesus resisted the three temptations in the wilderness, we must constantly resist the temptation of loving the world and what it contains. We must never get attached to worldly things, they come and go but God alone remains.

There is an inner peace we suddenly acquire when we no longer allow the things of this world determine our joy. We become carefree, we find it easier to give things away, we become more forgiving of others, we become lighter and freer to serve God and keep his commandments; our numerous worries disappear; we are no longer controlled by cravings and desires for worldly achievements and material riches. In fact, the freer we become, the easier it becomes to eliminate sin from our lives.

See how Anna, the prophetess. We are told that Anna spent her entire life in the temple serving God night and day. Didn’t she have anything else to do? Wasn’t she supposed to be pursuing a career? Anna did not need all these because she had found God; she had found Love. She never saw her time in God’s house as wasted because it really gave her Joy to just be there and as we see today, she joined her voice with Simeon in acknowledging the baby Jesus.

Let us Pray: Lord Jesus, may my love for you be greater than this world and all it contains. Amen.

Merry Christmas. Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Sixth Day of Christmas. Bible Study: 1^st John 2:12-17 and Luke 2:36-40).