What is truly valuable in our lives? In our consumer driven society we all want things, we buy plenty of stuff. We may know in our brain that the meaning of our existence is not rooted in possessions, but often we want more. The challenge arises in trying to balance the desire for economic wellbeing with the heart of the Gospel message. The Gospel this weekend asks us to take a hard look at what we have. Our riches are not the things that we hold in our hands, but those that we hold in our heart.
Henri Nouwen, in his book With Open Hands, he teaches us how to pray. He says we must open our clenched fists and let go of what we grasp most tightly. With hi, let us pray: Dear God, I am so afraid to open my clenched fists! who will I be when I have nothing to hang on to? Who will I be when I stand before you with empty hands? Please help me to gradually open my hands and discover that I am not what I own, but what you want to give me. And what you want to give me is love, unconditional, everlasting love. Amen.
