20140819 THE PROSPERITY GOSPEL
Reading 1, Ezekiel 28:1-10
2 'Son of man, say to the ruler of Tyre, "The Lord Yahweh says
this: Because your heart has grown proud, you thought: I am a god; I am
divinely enthroned far out to sea. Though you are human, not divine, you have
allowed yourself to think like God.
3 So, you are wiser than Danel; no sage as wise as you!
4 By your wisdom and your intelligence you have made yourself
a fortune, you have put gold and silver into your treasuries.
5 Such is your skill in trading, your fortune has
continued to increase, and your fortune has made your heart grow prouder.
7 very well, I am going to bring foreigners against you,
the most barbarous of the nations. They will draw sword
against your fine wisdom, they will desecrate
your splendour,
9 Will you still think: I am a god, when your slaughterers
confront you? But you will be human,
not divine, in the clutches of the ones who strike you down!
10 You will die like
the uncircumcised at the hand of foreigners. "For I have spoken --
declares the Lord
Yahweh." '
Responsorial Psalm, Deuteronomy 32:26-27, 27-28, 30,
35-36
27 did I not fear the boasting of the enemy.' But do not
let their foes be mistaken! Do not let them say, 'We have got the upper hand
and Yahweh plays no
part in this.'
28 What a short-sighted nation this is, how thoroughly
imperceptive!
30 How else could one man rout a
thousand, how could two put ten thousand to flight, were it not that their Rock
has sold them, that Yahweh has
delivered them up?
35 Vengeance is mine, I will pay them
back, for the time when they
make a false step. For the day of their ruin is close, doom is rushing towards
them, for he will see to it
that their power fails. that neither serf nor free man remains.
Gospel, Matthew 19:23-30
23 Then Jesus said to his disciples, 'In truth I tell
you, it is hard for someone rich to enter the kingdom of Heaven.
24 Yes, I tell you again, it is easier for a camel to pass
through the eye of a needle than for someone rich to enter the kingdom of
Heaven.'
25 When the disciples heard this they were astonished.
'Who can be saved, then?' they said.
26 Jesus gazed at them. 'By human resources', he told
them, 'this is impossible; for God everything
is possible.'
27 Then Peter answered and said, 'Look, we have left
everything and followed you. What are we to have, then?'
28 Jesus said to them, 'In truth I tell
you, when everything is made new again and the Son of man is seated on
his throne of glory,
you yourselves will sit on
twelve thrones to judge the twelve tribes of Israel.
29 And everyone who has left houses, brothers, sisters,
father, mother, children or land
for the sake of my name will receive a
hundred times as much, and also inherit eternal life.
THE
PROSPERITY GOSPEL
Some Christian churches
preach the spirituality of the prosperity gospel. What is this
spirituality all about? They claim that Jesus was not poor and He did not
live poorly. He did not advocate poverty as something to be valued.
Instead, He desired that all of us be rich. In fact, to be poor is a sign
that we are cursed, and to be rich means that God is blessing us in the way we
live our lives. So if anyone is living the gospel life, the sign that he is on
the right direction is when he is blessed with riches.
On the surface, there
appears to be some scriptural basis for such a theology. The
disciples held such a view. Hence, they were shocked when Jesus said it
“will be hard for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God.” As if He
wanted to be heard clearly, He repeated “Yes, I tell you again, it is easier
for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter
the kingdom of heaven.” So scandalized were they by Jesus’ remark
that Peter asked, “’What about us? We have left everything and followed
you. What are we to have, then?’”
Apparently, Jesus seemed
to accept this tradition as well, though not without qualification, “I tell
you solemnly, when all is made new and the Son of Man sits on his throne of
glory, you will yourselves sit on twelve thrones to judge the twelve tribes of
Israel. And everyone who has left houses, brothers, sisters, father,
mother, children or land for the sake of my name will be repaid a hundred times
over, and also inherit eternal life. ‘Many who are first will be last,
and the last, first.’” Of course, the answer in itself is also
ambiguous. After all, expectation of such rewards in this life was an
outlook of the Old Testament where blessings from God were reckoned in terms of
land, wealth, power and kingdom. Conversely, the wicked were cursed and
were deprived of worldly goods.
But did Jesus favor this
view, or was He accommodating them? He was ambivalent towards earthly goods. Certainly,
riches and earthly blessings in themselves belong to the proclamation of the
Good News. God does indeed want us all to be happy and be blessed with the
gifts of creation. And so even in the ministry of Jesus, He went about
championing the cause of the poor, the call for justice, and He always
performed miracles and healings for the poor and the marginalized. So
having earthly blessings is not against the gospel message.
However, in the same
vein, Jesus warned us against the danger of riches. Why will the rich
find it difficult to enter the kingdom of heaven? The answer is found in
the first reading. Prophet Ezekiel warned the King of Tyre of his arrogance and
self-sufficiency. Having achieved much success for himself and his
kingdom in terms of wealth and the economy, he became so proud of his wisdom
and intelligence, his political and economic skills that he even supplanted the
position of God. As a consequence, God pronounced His judgement of
destruction. “Since you consider yourself the equal of God very well, I
am going to bring foreigners against you, the most barbarous of the nations.
They will draw sword against your fine wisdom, they will defile your glory;
they will throw you down into the pit and you will die a violent death
surrounded by the seas.”
What happened to them
happens to all of us who have allowed our successes and achievements to get
into our heads. We
have seen so many tragedies of capable, good and inspiring leaders who, in
their success and glory, forgot all about God and the responsibilities that
came with their gifts. Instead of using their talents, power, position,
money and influence for the service of others, they allowed themselves to be
slaves of power and wealth. They were swallowed up by their luxurious,
self-centeredness and sensual lifestyle. Eventually, they lost their
spiritual life and became worldly in their attitudes. Yes, riches and
wealth, the lure of power and fame have destroyed good people, even those in
ministry!
The gospel warns us on
many occasions of the potential pitfalls of riches. In the Magnificat, Mary reminds
us that God will fill the starving with good things but the rich, He sends
empty away; and the mighty He will tear them down from their thrones and lift
up the lowly. Jesus too, knew the snares of wealth, power and
self-worship, for He was tempted by the Devil right at the beginning of His
ministry. These temptations did not end there. Throughout His
ministry, He was constantly drawn to take the easy path and to build for
Himself a kingdom. Like Him, regardless of who we are and in whatever
state of life we are in, these temptations will haunt us right through our
lives.
This is not to say that
riches and power are evil. In themselves, the value of riches and
power are neutral. They are means only to an end, not the end in
themselves. They can be used to destroy us, or improve our lives.
What is important is that we use our wealth for others and for the service of
love. So money in itself cannot bring happiness unless it is used wisely
and responsibly, to uplift the suffering and pain of those around us,
especially those who are without the basic necessities of life.
Jesus was rich, but He
became poor for our sake.
He emptied Himself of His divinity in order to give us a share in His
life. He Himself lived simply since His birth at Bethlehem. He was
a man who, although could have become rich because of the many miracles He
performed, yet remained detached from worldly wealth and power. Jesus
shows us what it means to be a truly free man and a happy person, irrespective
of our possessions.
If the rich man in
yesterday’s gospel went away sad when he was told to give everything to the
poor, it was because
he knew his heart was still under the bondage of his wealth. His heart
was not free; a heart that is attached to this world and its possessions cannot
be free for God and free for the love of others. A man who is not free in
love and free for love will remain sad always and incomplete. He might
have everything but he does not have a genuine loving relationship with God and
others.
Hence, today, we must
find true freedom and joy, like St Francis of Assisi. We must resolve
to use our riches and whatever we have for others and for the works of
love. Of course, we must be good stewards, but we must remain indifferent
to them. Otherwise, our love for wealth will make us turn away from the poor
and especially from God. Like St Paul, we must learn to be content in
times of plenty and famine, full or empty stomach. When we are no longer
controlled by material riches, then we are truly free. This is the joy
and happiness of the Kingdom.
Of course, this kind of
life is not possible for man. As Jesus in the gospel says, “For men,
this is impossible; for God everything is possible.” Only with the grace
of God, can we acquire the Wisdom to see the ultimate values of life.
When we look at things from the values of love and relationship, and also the
transience of this earth’s riches, then everything will fall into
perspective. Most of all, when we have the eyes of God to see the
sufferings of the poor and the deprivations of our brothers and sisters of the
basic needs of life, and how little things can make them so happy, then we will
be able to sacrifice what we have for them. The joy of seeing them
alleviated of their pains will bring even greater joy and satisfaction than if
we were to enjoy the goods ourselves.
WRITTEN BY THE MOST REV WILLIAM GOH
ARCHBISHOP OF SINGAPORE
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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