26th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C
First Reading: Am 6:1a, 4-7
Second Reading: 1 Tim 6:11-16
Gospel Reading: Lk 16:19-31
This Sunday’s Readings give a clear message: “Alas for those who are at ease in Zion, and for those who feel secure on Mount Samaria!” – those who live in luxury, “but are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph,” like the rich man in the Gospel parable.
When God created the world, “he saw that it was good,” but only insofar as it remained “tied to its origin,” said Pope St. John Paul II.
The things of this world are good in themselves. However, for us fallen human beings, they are dangerous, for they tempt us to put our trust in them, to think of them as our security for the future, to think of our money like the bank whose ad I saw on the side of a bus recently, “Growth with forever in mind.”
If we really want “growth with forever in mind,” we will put our trust in Christ, who alone “has immortality.” He is “the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords.”
Jesus said that “only with difficulty will a rich man enter the Kingdom of God.” In fact, in his first “beatitude,” he said that “the poor in spirit” are blest, for they have God as their Lord – here and now, not just hereafter in Heaven.
The first beatitude does not command us to give away all our goods. First, it is not worded like a command. Second, it states that “the poor in spirit” are “blest,” not that they are holy. As Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI pointed out, material poverty does not guarantee salvation; the poor may be greedy for material things, forgetful of God, and covetous of other people’s possessions. If we are poor, we must accept our poverty, thank God for it, and even embrace it, thus giving it a spiritual dimension called “poverty of spirit.”
The Catechism of the Catholic Church says that “in the beginning, God entrusted the earth and its resources to the common stewardship of mankind, to take care of them, master them by labour, and enjoy their fruits.”
Now the essence of “stewardship” is care for goods that belong to someone else. We “should regard the external goods” we legitimately own, not merely as exclusive to ourselves, but “common to others also, in the sense that they can benefit others” as well as ourselves. “Those who hold goods for use and consumption should use them with moderation, reserving the better part for guests, for the sick, and [for] the poor.”
We can test ourselves on this point. If we heard that all, or the greater part, of our savings were lost, what would our reaction be? Would it be the utter despair that made people jump out of buildings in the October 1929 “crash”? Or would it be the resignation of Job?
In the Book of Job, the Lord says to Satan, “Have you noticed my servant Job, and that there is no one on earth like him, blameless and upright, fearing God and avoiding evil?” But Satan replies, “You have blessed the work of his hands, and his livestock are spread over the land. But now put forth your hand and touch anything that he has, and surely he will blaspheme you to your face.”
With God’s permission, Satan takes all Job’s possessions and later afflicts him with severe boils. In his grief, Job casts himself on the ground, but all he says is, “Naked I came forth from my mother’s womb, and naked I shall go back again. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”
“The appropriation of property is legitimate for guaranteeing the freedom and dignity” – or worth – “of persons, and for helping each of them to meet his basic needs and the needs of those in his charge,” says the Catechism, However, “the universal destination of goods remains primordial.”
Father Hawkswell will start teaching The Catholic Faith in Plain English, with new insights, in September. The whole course will be available in written form and, one session per week, in YouTube form at beholdvancouver.org/catholic-faith-course. Father will also be teaching the course in person: on Sundays at 2 p.m. in the John Paul II Pastoral Centre, 4885 St John Paul II Way, Vancouver (on 33rd Avenue between Cambie and Oak Streets) starting Sept. 11; and on Mondays at 10 a.m. in St. Anthony's Church hall, 2347 Inglewood Avenue, West Vancouver, starting Sept. 12.