SPEAKER_00: There's a question hidden beneath both of the readings today.
SPEAKER_00: It's a question every Christian eventually has to answer.
SPEAKER_00: Who are you living for?
SPEAKER_00: We've asked this question many times.
SPEAKER_00: In the first reading, Elijah is about to be taken up into heaven.
SPEAKER_00: One of the most dramatic moments in all of Scripture, a world when chariots of fire, horses of fire, the great prophet of Israel being taken into the presence of God.
SPEAKER_00: But what's interesting is not Elijah, it's Elisha.
SPEAKER_00: Because Elijah gives him one final opportunity.
SPEAKER_00: Ask for whatever I may do for you before I'm taken from you.
SPEAKER_00: Imagine that.
SPEAKER_00: The greatest prophet in Israel standing before you and saying, Ask it.
SPEAKER_00: What would you ask for?
SPEAKER_00: Well, most people would probably ask for success.
SPEAKER_00: Some would ask for security.
SPEAKER_00: Others may be influence, wealth, health, or power.
SPEAKER_00: But Elisha asks for something entirely different.
SPEAKER_00: May I receive a double portion of your spirit.
SPEAKER_00: He doesn't want Elijah's position.
SPEAKER_00: He doesn't want Elijah's fame.
SPEAKER_00: He doesn't want Elijah's reputation.
SPEAKER_00: He wants Elijah's intimacy with God.
SPEAKER_00: He wants holiness.
SPEAKER_00: He wants the spirit of God.
SPEAKER_00: And that tells us something important.
SPEAKER_00: The things that matter most cannot be bought.
SPEAKER_00: They cannot be inherited.
SPEAKER_00: They cannot be transferred through status or position.
SPEAKER_00: The greatest treasure in life in a soul that belongs completely to God, that's the greatest treasure.
SPEAKER_00: Now, if we listen to the gospel, Jesus speaks about almsgiving, prayer, fasting, three pillars of the spiritual life.
SPEAKER_00: But notice that he's not primarily teaching us what to do.
SPEAKER_00: The Jews already knew they should pray, fast, and give alms.
SPEAKER_00: They knew this.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus is teaching them why they do it.
SPEAKER_00: He keeps repeating the same phrase to win the praise of others.
SPEAKER_00: That is the disease he is confronting.
SPEAKER_00: The desire to be seen, the desire to be admired, the desire to receive applause, the desire to build an image rather than a soul.
SPEAKER_00: And if we're honest, that's the temptation that we see everywhere.
SPEAKER_00: We live in a culture obsessed with visibility.
SPEAKER_00: People document everything.
SPEAKER_00: Every meal, every vacation, every accomplishment, every opinion, every act of charity, every workout, every achievement, everything.
SPEAKER_00: The modern temptation is not simply to do something.
SPEAKER_00: The temptation is to make sure everyone knows about it.
SPEAKER_00: If I didn't film it, it didn't really happen.
SPEAKER_00: And that temptation can even enter the spiritual life.
SPEAKER_00: We can pray so people think we're holy.
SPEAKER_00: We can serve so that people think we're generous.
SPEAKER_00: We can give so people think we're charitable.
SPEAKER_00: We can volunteer so people think we're committed.
SPEAKER_00: But Jesus says something else.
SPEAKER_00: If the applause of others is what you're after, you'll get it.
SPEAKER_00: But that's all you're going to get.
SPEAKER_00: He says they have received their reward.
SPEAKER_00: In other words, if human praise is what you're seeking, human praise is all you're going to ever receive.
SPEAKER_00: But if God is what you're seeking, then God Himself becomes your reward.
SPEAKER_00: I think this is one of the greatest tests of spiritual maturity.
SPEAKER_00: Would I still do this if nobody knew?
SPEAKER_00: If nobody's watching?
SPEAKER_00: Would I still pray if nobody saw me?
SPEAKER_00: Would I still come to mass if nobody complimented me?
SPEAKER_00: Would I still serve if nobody thanked me?
SPEAKER_00: Would I still be generous if nobody ever found out?
SPEAKER_00: Would I still remain faithful if there were no recognition whatsoever?
SPEAKER_00: Those are dangerous questions because they expose our motives.
SPEAKER_00: And the truth is that God does some of his greatest work in hidden places.
SPEAKER_00: Think about Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: Thirty years of his life were hidden.
SPEAKER_00: We don't know very much about it.
SPEAKER_00: Thirty.
SPEAKER_00: The Son of God spent far more time in obscurity than he did in public ministry.
SPEAKER_00: Nazareth was hidden.
SPEAKER_00: The carpenter shop was hidden, the prayers were hidden, the sacrifices were hidden.
SPEAKER_00: But it was in the hidden life that the foundation was laid.
SPEAKER_00: The same is true for us.
SPEAKER_00: The strongest Christians are usually not the loudest Christians.
SPEAKER_00: The holiest people are often the least noticed people.
SPEAKER_00: The grandmother who quietly prays the rosary, a husband faithfully caring for his sick wife, the parents sacrificing for their children, the person who comes into church every morning before work, the soul that battles temptation day after day and never gives up.
SPEAKER_00: Most of that never makes a headline.
SPEAKER_00: But heaven sees it.
SPEAKER_00: That's what Jesus wants us to understand.
SPEAKER_00: Your father sees what is hidden.
SPEAKER_00: He sees the prayers nobody else sees.
SPEAKER_00: He sees the sacrifice nobody else notices.
SPEAKER_00: He sees the tears no one else knows about.
SPEAKER_00: He sees the act of charity that remains completely secret.
SPEAKER_00: Nothing, absolutely nothing is lost before God.
SPEAKER_00: Today Elisha asks for a double portion of Elijah's spirit.
SPEAKER_00: Perhaps we should ask for the same thing.
SPEAKER_00: Not more attention, not more recognition, not more applause.
SPEAKER_00: Lord, give me a deeper love for you.
SPEAKER_00: Lord, give me a pure heart, a strong faith.
SPEAKER_00: Lord, give me a greater desire to please you and you alone.
SPEAKER_00: Because in the end the saints were not people who were trying to be noticed by the world.
SPEAKER_00: They were people who were trying to be noticed by God.
SPEAKER_00: And that, my friends, makes all the difference.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.