Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lk 12:32-48
August 7, 2022

The term “long hauler” has taken on a very negative connotation…once again…thank you, Covid! But don’t be too hasty to recoil from those words: LONG HAULER!

Because of his uncanny ability to predict what is going on in the global financial markets, billionaire and philanthropist extraordinaire, Warren Buffet, is often referred to as the “Oracle of Omaha” (his home state). I think of him as a modern-day Ben Franklin. Franklin’s advice on how to live a good life…even suggesting how to accumulate wealth…is quoted to this very day (a penny saved is a penny earned). Both Franklin and Warren Buffet offer pithy, sage one-liners full of wisdom.

Reacting to this roller coaster economy we are experiencing; Buffet has been quoted as saying: no one wants to get rich slow! But he goes on with calming words in the midst of so much economic uncertainty. He is telling investors to relax…be patient…be long haulers. He believes that the economy will rebound. I wonder if Warren Buffet’s financial genius is inspired by St. Paul?

From a spiritual perspective: no one wants to be SAVED SLOW!

We want laws and rules and regulations to follow so that we can say: I did everything required of me, so I am saved! We use special prayers and devotionals like spiritual vaccines, believing that once we’re done…we are completely protected…immune, so to speak. And all of that is good. BUT…

After we finish a novena…or Nine First Fridays…or the perfect Lent…we must go back into the world. Life can be hard…and full of temptations and challenges. It’s then we look to the first part of the little parable we heard in the Gospel and seek God’s mercy and forgiveness.

In our Second Reading, St. Paul uses Abraham as the perfect example of a “long hauler,” whose patience, sustained by faith, paid unimaginable dividends.

Uprooting his family, Abraham left the security of his home, taking up residence in a tent. Relying on faith as opposed to the security of GPS, he wandered in search of what he left behind…a new homeland. During these LONG years of uncertainty, he and Sarah proved that nothing in this world is truly certain…except for this: nothing is impossible for God!

And so, late in life, they were blessed with a son. His unshakable confidence in God’s goodness, mercy, and love has been memorialized through the generations as we recall his willingness to give back to God, this much-loved child.

The consummate “long hauler,” Abraham died without seeing the fruits of his spiritual investment…only to discover that his reward was twofold. First, he left a great inheritance to his children, who have become as numerous as the stars in the sky or the sands on the seashore. That, by the way, would include us. We are also the beneficiaries of this great legacy of faith in the One True and Living God.

Isn’t that one of the major reasons good and loving parents worry about their investments? They want to leave something of value for their children. Abraham and Sarah did! What more valuable treasure can we bequeath to our children than belief and dependence on God’s unfailing mercy and love?

Through his powerful example of faith in our Creator, Abraham has passed on to the generations a treasure of unparalleled value…at least to those who accept and reinvest it. Then, of course, his faith, patience, and endurance were rewarded when he was FINALLY resettled in the Promised Land of the Kingdom of God.

What a contrast to the scoundrel in Jesus’s parable. Clearly, he was looking for a “get rich quick” scheme. Borrowing, defaulting, forgiving…it all sounds like a Biblical Ponzi scheme…and it ended badly for him. He paid the price that all scoundrels pay.

The Church has given us three Readings this weekend that, at first glance, seem to be somewhat challenging to harmonize with one another. However, if you sit with them for a bit, it seems that the message is fairly obvious. The Passover from time and into eternity…in other words…the journey from death into new life, for most folks, is a marathon, not a sprint. We face any number of challenges along the way. But when we meet those challenges with FAITH…we will certainly survive and ultimately arrive in the Promised Land.

On those occasions when we might make a wrong turn, get misdirected or misguided…feel lost…we need only to look to the Master for forgiveness.

In short, no one wants to be SAVED SLOW! But, for most, that is the way it is. The good news is that Christ is with US for the LONG HAUL. So be patient…be calm…and be faithful…and someday, you will arrive in the Promised Land!