THE POVERTY OF RICHES

20160816 THE POVERTY OF RICHES

Readings at Mass

Liturgical Colour: Green.

First reading

Ezekiel 28:1-10 ©

The word of the Lord was addressed to me as follows, ‘Son of man, tell the ruler of Tyre, “The Lord says this:

Being swollen with pride,

you have said: I am a god;

I am sitting on the throne of God,

surrounded by the seas.

Though you are a man and not a god,

you consider yourself the equal of God.

You are wiser now than Danel;

there is no sage as wise as you.

By your wisdom and your intelligence

you have amassed great wealth;

you have piles of gold and silver

inside your treasure-houses.

Such is your skill in trading,

your wealth has continued to increase,

and with this your heart has grown more arrogant.

And so, the Lord says this:

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.

Are you still going to say: I am a god,

when your murderers confront you?

No, you are a man and not a god

in the clutches of your murderers!

You will die like the uncircumcised

at the hand of foreigners.

For I have spoken–it is the Lord who speaks.”’

Responsorial Psalm

Deuteronomy 32:26-28,30,35-36 ©

It is the Lord who deals death and life.

I should crush them to dust, said the Lord.

I should wipe out their memory among men,

did I not fear the boasting of the enemy.

But let not their foes be mistaken!

It is the Lord who deals death and life.

Let them not say: Our own power wins the victory,

the Lord plays no part in this.

What a nation of short sight it is;

in them there is no understanding.

It is the Lord who deals death and life.

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 the Lord has delivered them up?

It is the Lord who deals death and life.

For it is close, the day of their ruin;

their doom comes at speed.

For the Lord will see his people righted,

he will take pity on his servants.

It is the Lord who deals death and life.

Gospel Acclamation

Ps24:4,5

Alleluia, alleluia!

Teach me your paths, my God,

make me walk in your truth.

Alleluia!

Or

2Co8:9

Alleluia, alleluia!

Jesus Christ was rich,

but he became poor for your sake,

to make you rich out of his poverty.

Alleluia!

Gospel

Matthew 19:23-30 ©

Jesus said to his disciples, ‘I tell you solemnly, it will be hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. 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.’ When the disciples heard this they were astonished. ‘Who can be saved, then?’ they said. Jesus gazed at them. ‘For men’ he told them ‘this is impossible; for God everything is possible.’

  Then Peter spoke. ‘What about us?’ he said to him ‘We have left everything and followed you. What are we to have, then?’ Jesus said to him, ‘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.’

THE POVERTY OF RICHES

SCRIPTURE READINGS: [  EZEKIEL 28:1-10; MATTHEW 19:23-30 ]

Jesus said to His disciples, “I tell you solemnly, it will be hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.  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.”   Twice, Jesus underscored the difficulties for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God. 

Why is it so difficult for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God?  The first reading from the book of Ezekiel explains the temptations of the rich and powerful.  The king of Tyre is a typical case of those who are powerful, wealthy and intelligent, who fall into the sin of pride and arrogance.

How true it is for us all.  Just because we are wealthy, powerful and knowledgeable, we think we are invincible.  When we are wealthy, we think we are self-sufficient.  We feel secure and think that nothing can be taken away from us.  Wealth makes us feel that we are better than others. As a result, we cannot feel with the poor and the sufferings of those who are deprived of the basic needs and comforts of life.  We do not know or understand their real struggles but only judge them when they fail.  Those of us who are powerful think that no one can control us.  We have absolute freedom and we can do what we are.  We begin to think that others exist to serve us, not just our needs but also attend to our whims and fancies.  Then there are those of us who are intelligent and knowledgeable.  Just because we have earned some academic degrees, we think highly of ourselves, as if we know everything and have the answer to every problem.  No longer do we consult others and hear what they have to share with us.  We work from our theories and our narrow perspectives instead of listening to the stories of others.

Indeed, the world seeks all these: power, wealth and knowledge.  Technology is nothing else but knowledge with the power to control.  To think that these can give us security, freedom and peace is an illusion.  Those who have wealth also do not have peace but worry constantly about how to grow their financial nest or to prevent them from being taken away.  They are afraid that they might not have enough in the future.  At any rate, material sufficiency alone cannot guarantee happiness.  Power makes us fearful and insecure because of our competitors and enemies.  Hence, those in power are often unwilling to step down from office graciously.  In truth, we can never be in full control over our life and health.  Regardless of who we are, we will have to suffer somehow, but in different ways.  The rich and powerful are equally unhappy because they seek to be richer than others and more powerful than others.  It is an abyss that no one can fill.

The psalmist makes it clear that only God has power over life and death. “I should crush them to dust, said the Lord.  I should wipe out their memory among men, did I not fear the boasting of the enemy. But let not their foes be mistaken! Let them not say: Our own power wins the victory, the Lord plays no part in this. What a nation of short sight it is; in them there is no understanding.”  To the king, God said, “Since you consider yourself the equal of God very well, I am going to bring foreigners against you, the most barbarous of the nations. No, you are a man and not a god in the clutches of your murderers!”

Even those of us in the priestly and religious life are not exempted from these so called temptations of the world.  Peter and the apostles represent us when without shame he asked, “What about us? We have left everything and followed you.  What are we to have, then?”  This is true, especially for candidates who enter the priestly and religious life for the wrong reasons, sometimes to get out of the vicious poverty trap and to move up the social ladder, all in the name of service of God and the Church.  The truth is that such insecurities are found in every human person.  We all seek comfort, recognition and security.  Even entering religious life does not free us from mundane concerns.

The scandal of the priesthood and religious life is that ironically, in taking the promise or vow of the evangelical counsel of poverty, we become even more self-sufficient, at least for those of us who live in affluent countries. Everything is taken care of.  Being a priest or a religious is like having an iron rice bowl which even communist governments no longer provide for their people.  Whereas in the Church, it our obligation to look after them since they have, so to speak, given their lives for the service of the Church.

With all these blessings and privileges, ironically, priests and religious technically no longer have to trust in God for their needs because they are all very amply provided. Unlike the ordinary people who have to worry about their financial, housing and medical needs, we are assured of all these.  Such self-sufficiency can put us out of touch with the poor and the ordinary man and woman.  Worst of all, we are tempted to take all these privileges as our right, and take them for granted.  We have high demands and expectations to be served and to be provided all these luxuries.  At the same time, we demand honour, respect and special treatment. Lastly, because we are always in authority and have people to serve and obey us, we forget that we are also under authority.  Many of us no longer know how to take instructions from others.  We are so used to giving orders that we lose the humility to take orders.

What is said of priests and religious is equally true of all those who come from affluent families, where the children are accustomed to having all their needs and wants provided for. When this happens we begin to take everything for granted.  We lose compassion for others who are suffering, or who are sick because we do not have to go through what they are going through.  We do not know what it means to worry about food for tomorrow, to be without a job, to be anxious about finding the means to support our children’s education, or pay for their medical expenses, etc.  Only those who have suffered much in life can truly empathize with others who are suffering, whether it is illness, misfortunes, depression, etc.  We condemn these people for not being independent or not trying hard enough to get out of their predicament.  Only those of us who are in it or have been in it, know how difficult it is to get out of our trap or addictions. Indeed, when we are intelligent and have everything, we lose humility to listen to others.  We are too sure of ourselves and our opinions.  There is no place for God because in truth we do not need Him very much as we can do without Him.

Indeed, “when the disciples heard this they were astonished.  ‘Who can be saved, then?‘ they said.  Jesus gazed at them.  ‘For men’ he told them ‘this is impossible; for God everything is possible.’”  Does it mean, then, that being rich is a liability to entry into the kingdom of God?  Is it wrong to be rich and talented?   Of course not!  But keeping ourselves humble is a conscious effort; something we need to constantly remind ourselves about.  Jesus says, “Many who are first will be last, and the last, first.”  In other words, even whilst we are blessed with all the riches of life, whether in the material or personal sense, we must remember that in the kingdom of God, the values are reversed.   What we seek at the end of the day is love, service and relationship.  This is what makes us alive.

Thus, Jesus told the disciples to go beyond seeking for earthly or worldly rewards.  He promised the disciples, “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.”  Those who give up our lives for the service of others, using the resources that we are blessed with, will gain new friends, a bigger family and most of all, a greater capacity to love.  This joy is greater than what the world can offer because the whole creation becomes our home and humanity becomes our family members, not our enemies or competitors.   If we were to sit with the Lord in His throne of glory and be His judges, then we need to discern what is truly transcendent and lasting.   Jesus said to Peter, “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.”   This is what we need to pray for, that we see life from the perspective of the Lord.

Written by The Most Rev William Goh Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved