Twenty-eighth Sunday

Twenty-eighth Sunday
October 15, 2006

"I pleaded, and the spirit of wisdom came to me... I deemed riches nothing in comparison with her" (Wisdom 7:7-11). "Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me." (Mark 10: 17-30).
Wisdom is more valuable than health, attractiveness, or wealth. More than learning, spiritual insights or technical training, it is divine "common sense", practical knowledge about living well. What or how much we possess is of little consequence without the generosity of heart and mind which accompanies wisdom. We often refer to people being "successful" or "doing well" when they are wealthy or famous and attribute wisdom to their opinions simply because of this. The myth of the "self-made" individual does not hold up to the scrutiny of God's wisdom.

Jesus meets this wealthy young man who thinks he has already mastered the challenge of living according to the commandments. Does he equate his wealth with wisdom? In any event he now inquires about what more he can do to make sure that he will inherit eternal life. Jesus looks at the man "with love" in spite of his obviously shallow grasp of what wisdom requires of the disciple. He tells him that he is "lacking only in one thing" and then proceeds to invite him to a more spiritual attitude than simply to obey the law. He must renounce the "one thing" to which he is overly attached -- his money. Oh, my, anything but that. Divine wisdom would have advised him that his wealth did not belong to him. Instead he "went away sad" that he could not possess the kingdom of God in the same way that he imagined that he possessed his wealth. All wealth is a gift, on loan for us to use to build the human community.

Yahweh's prophets, Jesus, and the church teach that property rights, individual initiative and the free market are meant to be exercised for the benefit of the whole human community. We have a sacred responsibility to make sure that our society is organized so that every person on earth, not just the clever "deserving" or fortunate, has their sacred right to freedom, justice and the necessities of life. This value is too central to be left solely to impersonal market forces. These powerful forces need to be used to accomplish the higher goals of the kingdom of God. The free market is for people, not people for the market. How we accomplish this is a subject for public debate. Whether we do it, at least for those of us who want to pursue a spiritual path, is not.

Whatever inordinate attachments keep us from wholeheartedly embracing the kingdom of God, need to be left behind. If not wealth, then perhaps other attachments: reputation, learning, looks, the admiration of others, being right. What stands between each of us and inheriting eternal life? It is easier to see it in others than to see it in ourselves unless we listen to others who love us.