Search

Results

In other words

14 Oct 2018 - Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

As he went out into the street, a man came running up, greeted him with great reverence, and asked, “Good Teacher, what must I do to get eternal life?” Jesus said, “Why are you calling me good? No one is good, only God. You know the commandments: Don’t murder, don’t commit adultery, don’t steal, don’t lie, don’t cheat, honor your father and mother.” He said, “Teacher, I have—from my youth—kept them all!” Jesus looked him hard in the eye—and loved him! He said, “There’s one thing left: Go sell whatever you own and give it to the poor. All your wealth will then be heavenly wealth. And come follow me.” The man’s face clouded over. This was the last thing he expected to hear, and he walked off with a heavy heart. He was holding on tight to a lot of things, and not about to let go. Looking at his disciples, Jesus said, “Do you have any idea how difficult it is for people who ‘have it all’ to enter God’s kingdom?” The disciples couldn’t believe what they were hearing, but Jesus kept on: “You can’t imagine how difficult. I’d say it’s easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye than for the rich to get into God’s kingdom.” That set the disciples back on their heels. “Then who has any chance at all?” they asked. Jesus was blunt: “No chance at all if you think you can pull it off by yourself. Every chance in the world if you let God do it.” Peter tried another angle: “We left everything and followed you.” Jesus said, “Mark my words, no one who sacrifices house, brothers, sisters, mother, father, children, land—whatever—because of me and the Message will lose out. They’ll get it all back, but multiplied many times in homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and land—but also in troubles. And then the bonus of eternal life!” (from Mark 10). From A New Message 4 Next Week (actapublications.com) based on The Message: Catholic/Ecumenical Edition by Eugene Peterson (ACTA Publications, 2013).

jesus and the rich young man camel through the eye of the needle

Restricted
The inner word

14 Oct 2018 - Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

God provides all that we need. The first reading says if we choose wisdom, all other riches come to us. The second reading says God’s word is living and effective. The gospel tells the familiar story of the rich young man. What does choosing wisdom look like in today’s world? How have I demonstrated that choice lately in my own life? Do I really believe that the word of God is living and effective in the place and time and circumstances in which I find myself? Or do I hedge my bets? How so? What keeps me from dropping everything and following Jesus? What “wares” am I loaded down with that keep me from the freedom Jesus offers?

Wealth Wisdom jesus and the rich young man

Restricted
Exploring the word

14 Oct 2018 - Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

Is it a sin to be rich? We might well ask the question. So much of the gospel teaching seems to focus on the perils of acquiring wealth. The parable of Dives and Lazarus, as well as the man counting on his abundant storage in the barn, gives us a sense that the rich are damned, the poor blessed. After all, isn’t that what it says in the Beatitudes: “Blessed are the poor, they get the Kingdom”? Jesus warns his disciples not to take a purse or extra cloak with them on the mission trails, and to accept whatever hospitality is offered, like beggars for the sake of the gospel. There is such a strong emphasis on the apparent virtue of poverty in these stories, it certainly sounds like owning stuff is a minor infraction, if not a major miscalculation. The widow with her surrendered mite is certainly more of a hero than the rich man who wants to inherit eternal life—on top of everything else he’s already inherited, apparently. Acquiring wealth is obviously a really bad idea according to Jesus. After all, his stash was in heaven, and he walked around Israel without a pillow for his head at night. I once heard a gentleman express the novel idea that Catholics were incapable of being professionally successful. “Why is that?” I asked. “Because your religion is opposed to it. It’s a sin for you to do well,” he told me frankly. I thought long and hard about this. Was I at odds with the idea of doing well, or did I think I would be in spiritual jeopardy if I became successful? The truth is, religion has often swung the other way entirely, interpreting success as a sign that God was blessing you. Strains of Christianity present among us today still consider material wealth the “fruits” that suggest God is behind you all the way. They read poverty as a clear indication of moral failure as well. Is God for or against wealth, or doesn’t heaven care either way? “I deemed riches nothing compared to wisdom” For those who are unsure, the Catholic position in a nutshell is this: Poverty is not a virtue, nor is wealth inherently sinful. Success can obviously be measured in a lot of ways, but if it happens to include a nice fat paycheck, that’s OK, too, as long as it is earned ethically. The real measure of our wealth, of course, is the treasure we’ve stored up in heaven, which makes whatever we have or don’t have here ironically immaterial. The best kind of riches to bank on, according to scripture, is wisdom of the ways of God. If we’ve got that, our relative worth in dollars and cents won’t impede our spiritual progress. But here comes the rub: Without holy wisdom, money can well become the root of every evil. Because the plain truth is that possessions possess us. Recent reports on the empire of the Husseins reveal that both Saddam and his sons spent time regularly counting all their belongings to be sure none had been stolen. They even weighed their staff members routinely to see if they were gaining weight at their employer’s expense! They may be at an extreme end of the spectrum, but the fact is, having stuff does obligate us in certain ways. When you have stuff, you have to maintain it: servicing the car, dry-cleaning the clothes, dusting the furniture. If you have investments, you have to mind your portfolio. Or as Franciscan Father Richard Rohr says, “The more you have, the more you have to protect.” Wealth proves to be a distraction, if not an obsession, which is why some have recently adopted the slogan of “downward mobility,” simplifying their lives in order to have more time for the things they insist are their priorities. A lot of the saints led the way down this path, surrendering worldly wealth and position, even vanishing into cloisters to escape the bondage of possessions. Passing through the needle’s eye The rich man who came to Jesus was obviously a good fellow. Jesus loved him, we are told, presumably because his yearning to do the right thing was so sincere. The man claims to have kept all the laws since he was young (except the one about humility, we may imagine). So Jesus invites him to embrace a real challenge: translate his wealth into alms, divest, and join the disciples. This suggestion floors the man, who sadly turns away. In the end, he realizes he loves his possessions more than God. This is the heart of the matter: It’s the love of money that’s the root of evil, and how can we not love money? It claims our hearts because of what it can do: liberate us from want, provide us with comfort and opportunity, secure our futures, take care of those we love. Money does a lot of good things, and it’s good for us to have. But the difference between having money and being had by it is thin ice, treacherous to the spirit. The way to test our attraction to money is the same way we test our love for people: Do we clutch them jealously to us, to serve our own agenda, or are we free to surrender them to God’s purposes? If we attempt to possess our spouse, our children, or our friends, they, too, become our wealth. And the needle’s eye will shrink around us as tightly as if we dragged bags of gold bullion behind us. Applying the Word Then who can be saved? The bottom line is: It’s not what we have, it’s how we have it that matters in the doorway of the Kingdom. Can we let our wealth go when it is required of us—and by wealth, I mean our stuff, our advantage, the esteem others have for us, our relationships, our health, and even our lives? Is there anything we’ve got in our fists that’s clutching us back so tightly that we are afraid to let it go? Following Jesus is a lifestyle that is only available to people who are truly free. If there’s a prior claim on our hearts, we’ve still got some divesting to do. Related scripture links Teachings about riches: Matt. 5:3 (Luke 6:20); Matt. 6:2-4, 19-21, 24-33 (Luke 12:22-34; 16:13) Stories about money: Luke 12:13-21; 16:19-31; Mark 12:41-44 (Luke 21:1-4) Extreme poverty: Luke 14:33 The love of money is evil: 1 Tim. 6:6-10 Discipleship and freedom: Matt. 10:37-39 (Luke 14:26-27); Matt. 16:26 (Mark 8:36-37; Luke 9:25) Catechism links Material wealth: CCC 1905-1917; 1928-1942; 2401-2449; 2534-2550 Salvation: CCC 161; 169

Authors Alice Camille

acquiring wealth poverty holy wisdom Possessions jesus and the rich young man love of money

Restricted
Homily stories

14 Oct 2018 - Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

A doctor I know finds today’s gospel about the rich man going away sad the most disturbing of all Jesus’ stories and parables. He has notes and comments scratched alongside these verses in his Bible, and his personal journal is filled with pages of reflections about what it takes to follow Jesus. The doctor, who happens to be a very generous person, is constantly looking for a catch, a way out of Jesus’ command to the rich young man. But there is no catch—except to say the gospel isn’t necessarily about wealth and personal possessions. It is about our spiritual journey and what it takes to progress. For some of us, money gets in the way; for others, it is a desire to be liked or admired or perfect or in control that prevents us from taking that last leap and trusting in God for all our joy and happiness. Jesus loves the rich man, and the rich man is trying to do his best to be a good and decent person, but Jesus is telling him and us: “Don’t hold anything back. Love God with your whole heart, mind, and soul, and love your neighbor as yourself.” Like the rich man and my doctor friend, most of us end up sad after hearing this gospel because we know we still have some major hurdles in our spiritual journey.

Authors Patrice J. Tuohy

jesus and the rich young man Wealth Possessions spiritual journey

Restricted
Homily stories

13 Oct 2024 - Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

A doctor I know finds today’s gospel about the rich man going away sad the most disturbing of all Jesus’ stories and parables. He has notes and comments scratched alongside these verses in his Bible, and his personal journal is filled with pages of reflections about what it takes to follow Jesus. The doctor, who happens to be a very generous person, is constantly looking for a catch, a way out of Jesus’ command to the rich young man. But there is no catch—except to say the gospel isn’t necessarily about wealth and personal possessions. It is about our spiritual journey and what it takes to progress. For some of us, money gets in the way; for others, it is a desire to be liked or admired or perfect or in control that prevents us from taking that last leap and trusting in God for all our joy and happiness. Jesus loves the rich man, and the rich man is trying to do his best to be a good and decent person, but Jesus is telling him and us: “Don’t hold anything back. Love God with your whole heart, mind, and soul, and love your neighbor as yourself.” Like the rich man and my doctor friend, most of us end up sad after hearing this gospel because we know we still have some major hurdles in our spiritual journey.

Authors Patrice J. Tuohy

jesus and the rich young man spiritual journeys

Restricted