October 13, 2024

28^th Sunday in Ordinary Time 

Our Worth Lies Not in Our Wealth

Msgr Thomas Gervasio 
 
Jacob Marley—do you recall that name? Jacob Marley is a character in Charles Dickens’ classic, A Christmas Carol. He is the deceased partner of Ebenezer Scrooge who appears to Scrooge on Christmas Eve, wearing a long chain, clasped around his waist, “made of cash boxes, keys, padlocks, ledgers, deeds, and heavy purses wrought of steel.” He tells Scrooge that he wears the chain he forged in life and that he now wanders the earth because in life his spirit never went beyond “the narrow limits of their money changing hole.”—a chilling warning to Scrooge that such would be his fate because of his attachment to money.
 
In the Gospel, a well-intentioned, well to do, sincere and respectful young man runs to Jesus and kneeling at his feet asks Our Lord a question that is of fundamental importance to us all: “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”
 
We know, by his own admission, he had done all things right...he was devout and faithfully observed the Commandments. He appeared to have it all…wealth, power, prestige. (In his account of his scene, St. Matthew tells us that this young man was also a ruler.) Yet despite all these positives, down deep, this young man still senses something is lacking. Down deep, he was insecure, doubtful.
 
Jesus, who is the reader of hearts, did not hesitate to put his finger on the source of the young man’s dilemma, his attachment to his possessions, and so Jesus invites, or should I say challenges him to take one step further to attain his desired goal—“Sell what you have and give to the poor.” In other words, detach yourself from those things that you think are so important, detach yourself from those possessions that you have made the center of your identity. The young man could not bring himself to take up the challenge. He went away, not angry but sad, a better translation is that he went away…grieved.
 
The young man’s problem lay not in his possessions per se, but in his attachment to them, in his thinking that his value, his dignity, lay in what he had. Our Lord does not condemn wealth. In fact, he counted many wealthy people among his friends.
 
Wealth in and of itself is not immoral or evil. It can certainly help us do much good, but the Lord warns us of its potential dangers when it becomes an obstacle to holiness of life…when it turns into greed or avarice.
 
Some may find it easy to dismiss this Gospel, to say, “This lesson does not apply to me. I’m not wealthy. Better to proclaim this in the Hamptons, not Hamilton!” But let’s not be too eager to dismiss it. What the Lord desired for the rich young man; he desires for us all.
 
We’re not all called to the radical poverty of a St. Francis or St. Clare, but we are called to a detachment from possessions. Our dignity and worth as persons are not found in what we have. Detachment is not that we should own nothing and that nothing should own us.
 
St. Robert Bellarmine expresses this well: Your God is gentle and mild. He does not command that…you must utterly forego creaturely consolations. Indeed, he created all things to serve you, But he did command that you use them with moderation, sobriety, and temperance…that you share them cheerfully with the needy…that your possessions not be your master, but you theirs and that you use them to attain God.