A billionaire said that he could marry only a woman who didn’t know how rich he was. Otherwise she could marry him for his money. That’s why he had a little house in a middle class suburb where he would socialize with people who didn’t know about his fortune. He said that in that little house he felt that he had friends who loved him not because of his money but because they wanted to love him, and they valued his love for them. We could say that he lived a double life or that he put on a disguise of not being a rich person.
Do you know how many billionaires there are in the world? According to the Forbes Billionaire List there are 1645 of them. However today I want to talk about somebody who has got more than Bill Gates- the richest man on the Planet, I mean God. As the Holy Bible says: “The heavens are yours and the earth is yours” (Ps 89:11), “All that is in heavens and on the earth is yours” (1 Chr 29:11), “To God belongs earth and all it holds, the world and all who live it” (Ps 24:1). Before the Forbes Magazine started its list of the richest people the Bible had already listed God as the richest person in the whole Universe. I am not sure how long Bill Gates is going to be on the top the Forbes list but I do know that no one is going to replace God.
My Brothers and Sisters!
As you read the Holy Scriptures you discover that right until his death and Resurrection Jesus didn’t reveal himself fully as God. On the contrary even when it could be seen he would stop his disciples from telling people about that; like after the Transfiguration. That day the disciples could see his glory shining like the midday sun. But Jesus said t them: “Don’t tell anybody about that until the Son of Mas is risen from the dead.” Today’s Gospel begins with Jesus: “Making the disciples get into the boat and goon ahead to the other side while he would send the crowds away.” The original text is more dynamic as it says: “Jesus forced or pushed his disciples to go ahead to the other side of the lake.” What all this haste and rush about? Because he just has fed thousands of people by multiplying five loaves of bread and two fish. Everybody is getting excited about the miracle. They realize that Divine is among them. But Jesus also knows: It is the wrong reason to follow me, to believe. They look at the profit they can make from following me.
Just think how often you find yourself going to God when you need to get something from him. How often do you come to Church without thinking of asking for something but just to spend your time with Jesus?
Imagine someone going to see Bill Gates. I don’t know how pleasant he is to be socialized with, but I presume that he has got more to offer then a cheque for millions dollars. How sad his life would be if he had friends only coming to get something from him.
Sometimes I am asked why God doesn’t give us things we ask for. However my question is: “Do we believe that what he gives us is awesome, like his love for us, his forgiveness, being his children?” I go to God not because he owns so much or he can do so much and I can profit from that, but I go to God because happiness comes from having a person in my life who loves me and who values my love. That’s why I don’t look at God as a billionaire friend but rather I prefer thinking of him in the way Albini Luciani did, who is also known as Pope John Paul I, the smiling pope. His pontificate was very short only 33 days. Once he wrote this: “If God has got an office in heaven and there, in his office, there is his desk I am sure that there is my photo on the desk.”
If this believe, that you are important to God who owns the whole Universe, can’t put smile on your face nothing else is going to brighten up your days.
Do you know how many billionaires there are in the world? According to the Forbes Billionaire List there are 1645 of them. However today I want to talk about somebody who has got more than Bill Gates- the richest man on the Planet, I mean God. As the Holy Bible says: “The heavens are yours and the earth is yours” (Ps 89:11), “All that is in heavens and on the earth is yours” (1 Chr 29:11), “To God belongs earth and all it holds, the world and all who live it” (Ps 24:1). Before the Forbes Magazine started its list of the richest people the Bible had already listed God as the richest person in the whole Universe. I am not sure how long Bill Gates is going to be on the top the Forbes list but I do know that no one is going to replace God.
My Brothers and Sisters!
As you read the Holy Scriptures you discover that right until his death and Resurrection Jesus didn’t reveal himself fully as God. On the contrary even when it could be seen he would stop his disciples from telling people about that; like after the Transfiguration. That day the disciples could see his glory shining like the midday sun. But Jesus said t them: “Don’t tell anybody about that until the Son of Mas is risen from the dead.” Today’s Gospel begins with Jesus: “Making the disciples get into the boat and goon ahead to the other side while he would send the crowds away.” The original text is more dynamic as it says: “Jesus forced or pushed his disciples to go ahead to the other side of the lake.” What all this haste and rush about? Because he just has fed thousands of people by multiplying five loaves of bread and two fish. Everybody is getting excited about the miracle. They realize that Divine is among them. But Jesus also knows: It is the wrong reason to follow me, to believe. They look at the profit they can make from following me.
Just think how often you find yourself going to God when you need to get something from him. How often do you come to Church without thinking of asking for something but just to spend your time with Jesus?
Imagine someone going to see Bill Gates. I don’t know how pleasant he is to be socialized with, but I presume that he has got more to offer then a cheque for millions dollars. How sad his life would be if he had friends only coming to get something from him.
Sometimes I am asked why God doesn’t give us things we ask for. However my question is: “Do we believe that what he gives us is awesome, like his love for us, his forgiveness, being his children?” I go to God not because he owns so much or he can do so much and I can profit from that, but I go to God because happiness comes from having a person in my life who loves me and who values my love. That’s why I don’t look at God as a billionaire friend but rather I prefer thinking of him in the way Albini Luciani did, who is also known as Pope John Paul I, the smiling pope. His pontificate was very short only 33 days. Once he wrote this: “If God has got an office in heaven and there, in his office, there is his desk I am sure that there is my photo on the desk.”
If this believe, that you are important to God who owns the whole Universe, can’t put smile on your face nothing else is going to brighten up your days.
The Tomb of John Paul I (Smiling Pope) in the Vatican Grottos
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