Sixth Sunday After the Epiphany

Televangelist Joel Osteen published a book in 2004 entitled “Your Best Life Now”. It remained a bestseller for more than two years and sold over 8 million copies. Osteen pastors the largest congregation in the United States with some 30 thousand attenders each Sunday. Millions more tune in to his international broadcasts. In his book Osteen teaches that it is God’s desire for you to experience an abundance of health and wealth in this life, and accordingly you can experience ‘Your Best Life Now’ yet in this age! That teaching would seem to be diametrically at odds with what Jesus teaches in our Gospel Reading this morning. Is your best life now? Should it be? No matter how good or bad it is now, you better hope that it is not your best life…