Word to the Wise
Tuesday, August 16, 2016 - Tuesday in the 20th Week in Ordinary Time
[Ezek 28:1-10 and Matt 19:23-30]"Amen, I say to you, it will be hard for one who is rich to enter the Kingdom of heaven. Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the Kingdom of God." When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and said, "Then who can be saved?" Jesus looked at them and said "For humans this is impossible, but for God all things are possible." [Matthew]
The great singer, Sophie Tucker, is quoted as saying, "I've been poor and I've been rich, and rich is better." Presumably the disciples would have agreed, although the chances of their improving their income were just about nil. In their day, wealth was something that some were born to and some weren't. There was only so much wealth in the world and some had more than others. If any of the "others" got more, there was suspicion about how they managed to get it. Thus, there was a corresponding duty of the rich to show compassion and share their wealth with those who were less well off. Wealth was considered a great blessing. Thus, Jesus' teaching did indeed astonish the disciples! If wealth was considered a blessing and Jesus says that isn't necessarily so, then who is blessed? Jesus says that only God can do that. Accumulating more wealth is dangerous, as illustraed by the camel/needle image!
The Gospel of Matthew makes it clear that Jesus will not accept anyone who places anything or anyone else ahead of him. He promises to the disciples that if they put the Kingdom of heaven first, they will receive "a hundredfold" more in material and personal wealth. This teaching continues to astonish. To some it seems like "pie in the sky by and by," especially because some who have become wealthy by exploiting the poor have urged the gospel of wealth and prosperity by saying it was their duty to become richer so they could help the poor more! Given the current political disclosures of the wealth of those who are hoping to lead our country, it certainly makes one think about Jesus' words. The dire poverty of a majority of the world's people is not a blessing, but we are warned by Jesus that great wealth may very well be a curse! AMEN
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