Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Everybody needs money. We have all heard that money may not make us happy but it certainly makes life a little easy. Money will not buy us salvation but does get us groceries. There is money, there are riches, and there is wealth. All of us have some money, some are wealthy, some are rich, and there are those few who are scandalously rich. Money, riches, and wealth comes with its share of challenges. Because of the uncertainty of life and our lifespan, for example, it is difficult to know how much money is enough. Contentment is hard when it comes to money, riches, and wealth. But we also know that greed and exploitation is rampant and has created staggering global economic inequalities.
For the past four weeks, the second reading has been taken from the letter of St. James. James has focused on some very real-life issues, and today he addresses economic inequality in his community. Many of the issues raised by James plagues our own society today. In my three points for today, I would like to address these issues from the Christian perspective.
God Cares for the Poor
We begin with James’ words, “Come now, you rich, weep and wail over your impending miseries” (Js 5:1) James was not against businesspeople, against doing business, or even against making a profit. Profit-making is an essential dimension of business. He was not writing these words about them simply because they were rich.
His first concern was that these people operated without any reference to God or God’s will. Life must be guided by God’s sovereign rule of the world and their actions defied God’s reign. His second concern was for what the wealthy did with their profit and wealth – that they showed little or no concern for doing good with what they have. Instead, they have stored it away for themselves. Thirdly, and most importantly, James’ main concern was the exploitation of workers. He says, “Behold, the wages you withheld from the workers who harvested your fields are crying aloud; and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts” (Js 5:4).
This is what we must remember from this first point – that God has something to say about money, riches, and wealth. Second, God takes the side of those who are poor, disadvantaged, exploited, and the unjustly treated.
With Great Riches Come Great Responsibilities
From the Christian perspective, whether we are rich or not, our relationship with wealth tells us much about ourselves. Our relationship with wealth can reveal our true self. Whether we are greedy or content, selfish or caring, good natured or ill-natured, and most importantly, Christian or unchristian can be evaluated by our relationship with wealth. James invites us to examine our relationship with wealth today, and ask ourselves two questions: What has God to do with my money, wealth, or riches? Second, with the riches or wealth I have, how much do I concern myself with the common good?
James was writing in a time when there was a limited supply of the goods of the world. Those who had wealth had a greater responsibility. And this is true of us too. The more we have, the greater is our responsibility.
Contentment and the Common Good
I want to bring two things to consider as people of faith – contentment and the common good. First, let us consider contentment.
In the consumeristic and materialistic world in which we live, there is something called the marketing of discontent. Iphone16 was released this week and I have received a myriad of messages telling me that my iphone15 is just not good enough anymore. A better phone, just that extra bedroom, just that better car, just another hundred thousand or a million dollars… it is never ending.
As Christians, the lack of contentment, first and foremost, is a spiritual problem. As you know, I draw much from the mysticism of John of the Cross and I have spoken about the appetite of the soul. Discontentment comes the soul searching for gratification in all the wrong places. If I feed my soul with that which it truly longs for, i.e., union with the Divine, it will have an impact on the rest of my life. The virtue of contentment flows from a deep union with God who fulfills the deepest desire of the human soul.
The second point is the need to focus on the common good. Catholicism has much to say about the common good. To quote the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the common good is "the sum total of social conditions which allow people, either as groups or as individuals, to reach their fulfillment more fully and more easily” (CCC 1906). The common good concerns the life of all, not just the rich, wealthy and privileged. Whether it is the questions of food, hygiene, education, health, or the weakest and most helpless members of the human race, everything must be subordinate to the dignity of the human person and not the other way around. This order is founded on truth, built up in justice, and animated by love.
This week, let us reflect on the Christian virtue of contentment and concept of the common good. May our relationship with money, riches, and wealth be guided by the virtue of contentment and concern for the common good. Most of all, may we remember that relationship with wealth has much to do with salvation. Yes, our relationship with wealth has much to do with salvation.
- Fr. Satish Joseph