RBWords

     Both the singer, Sophie Tucker, and the comedienne/actress, Mae West, could lay claim to the statement: "I've been poor and I've been rich, and rich is better!"  Jesus' own response to that is a consistent, "Not necessarily....!"  His response is not the rather pessimistic one of Ecclesiastes in our first scripture for today, which sees everything in terms of life ending at the grave.  Jesus looks beyond that to eternal life.  That eternal life, however, will depend on how we live now.  The rich man in the parable thought his great possessions would guarantee him a long happy life.  That thought was fatal! 

 

     Jesus teaches us that the only life worth living is one that is lived in accord with the gospel.  Our culture is not oriented that way.  Instead we are invited by our culture to adore wealth.  Every day we can read of individuals who have been charged with crimes related to "Ponzi" schemes or market manipulation - all for gaining great wealth.  I live in Houston, TX, where memories of the huge "Enron" scandal are still fresh, yet more and more big buildings are going up.  Each day the national news invites us to see how the economy is doing! 

 

     I don't doubt that many people would agree with Mae West [or Sophie Tucker].  However, the gospel and the church's social teachings challenge us to see wealth not in terms of our own well being but in terms of how that wealth can be used to help others.  A reading of Matthew 25:31-45 should be warning enough [the Last Judgment scene] but the rich man in today's gospel is not focused on the hungry, thirsty, naked, sick or imprisoned millions in our world.  He is focused on himself.  Jesus' warning in today's gospel adds to another one in Matthew:  "Where your treasure is, there will your heart be, too."  Each of us can ask, "To whom or to what does my heart belong?"    AMEN