✝️ Homily – Friday, Week XI in Ordinary Time (Cycle II)

📖 Readings: 2 Corinthians 11:18, 21–30 | Psalm 34 | Matthew 6:19–23
Theme: “Where Your Treasure Is, There Your Heart Will Be”

😂 1. Introduction 

A preacher once said:

“If you want to know what someone loves most, don’t listen to their prayers—check their bank statements!”

It was a funny but honest reflection.
Jesus said, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be.”
Today’s readings challenge us: What do we truly value?
And how does that shape the way we live, serve, and suffer?

📖 2. The Word of God – 2 Corinthians 11:18, 21–30

St Paul, ironically and passionately, defends his ministry against critics who boast of power, privilege, and status.
He flips the script completely:

“If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.”

He lists:

• beatings

• shipwrecks

• hunger

• sleepless nights

• deep anxiety for the churches

This is no resume of power.
It’s the CV of a servant.

In South Africa, we too are tempted to admire the wealthy, the flashy, and the loud.
But Paul reminds us: the true measure of discipleship is not status, but sacrifice.

👁️ 3. Gospel – Matthew 6:19–23

Jesus challenges the crowd—and us:

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth… but treasures in heaven.”

Where do we invest our time, our energy, our love?
Is our “eye” clear—focused on God, or is it clouded by greed, fear, or envy?

Jesus speaks to the inner gaze—our deepest desires.
He is not condemning wealth or ambition—but calling us to conversion of values.

🇿🇦 4. What We Treasure in South Africa

In our cities and villages, too many live by survival, not choice.

• People pursue status symbols, not because they are greedy, but because they want dignity.

• Youth chase flashy success, not because they are evil, but because they long for recognition.

But Jesus calls us to a different kind of treasure:

• relationships that are honest

• work that serves

• hearts that forgive

• lives that bless others

In the Jubilee Year of Hope, this is the kind of wealth the Church must show the world.

⛪ 5. The Church’s Call – Boast in Christ, Not in Comfort

Paul didn’t boast about his education or his visions.
He boasted in his wounds—because through them, Christ was seen.

Our parishes must not only be beautiful buildings—but beacons of mercy.
Our leaders must not only be eloquent speakers—but humble servants.

We must ask:

What do I boast in—my career, my clothes, my car?
Or do I boast in how God held me through the storm?

✅ 6. Practical Application

• Look at your spending and your schedule. What do they say about your treasure?

• Choose one act of invisible generosity today—something no one will see but God.

• Say this line from Psalm 34 three times today:

  “The Lord hears the cry of the poor.”

💬 7. Reflection Quote

“You are rich not by what you keep, but by what you give away.
You are powerful not by what you control, but by what you can endure.”
– Fr Mathibela Sebothoma

🙌 8. Closing Prayer

Lord Jesus,
You see my heart and know my hunger.
Teach me to store up treasure that will last—
compassion, humility, mercy, and truth.
Help me to boast not in my strength,
but in how You sustain me through every weakness.
May I walk today with clear vision and a generous spirit.
Amen.

🌈 9. Jubilee Year of Hope Connection

In this Jubilee Year, we do not seek silver or gold.
We seek a heart aligned with God’s mercy.
We seek treasures that cannot rust or be stolen:

• Hope in despair

• Kindness in chaos

• Faithfulness in hidden places

May we be a Church that dares to lose everything except Christ.