13th October 20th Sunday after Trinity
Readings: Amos 5. 6-7, 10-15; Heb. 4. 12-16; Mark 10. 17-31
Theme: Stewardship
Despite the injunction of Jesus that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven, at the end of the western Roman Empire, the church was the richest organization around. How is it that Christianity and wealth have been such difficult bedfellows over Christian history and what does it mean for us and how we use our wealth?
When one reads a passage such as we have in our gospel for today, it is almost inconceivable that the church should become an institution of such great wealth. Yet, that is precisely what happened in Christian history and the various attempts at reform have brought attention to the contradictions between the gospel and the behaviour of the church in different periods of history.
One incident in particular stands out in Christian history and it is instructive for us and how we are to think of and use our wealth today. The incident in question is the fourteenth century dispute between the Franciscans and the papacy. The Franciscans had argued that they should not own anything at all, but simply use the property and the goods that were associated with them. In order to make this a reality, it was necessary that the papacy should be the legal owners of all the wealth that lay in the hands of the Franciscans. The problem for the papacy with this, of course, was that it was a rebuttal of the excessive wealth enjoyed by the papacy at that time. It also meant that a certain demonization of wealth grew up which had the effect of associating wealth with the devil.
Such a reaction against wealth clearly has biblical roots and our gospel passage for today is one of the examples in scripture which acts as a warning over the dangers of wealth. When wealth becomes an end in itself, the goal of life, then it is easy to see how losing sight of the values of the gospel is often a consequence. Yet, the rich man in the gospel seems not to be in this danger. He clearly follows all the commandments and seems to be living an upright life. Something else is going on in this conversation between him and Jesus. Traditionally, in the Roman Catholic Church at least and in some Protestant groups, this something else has been interpreted as speaking about the invitation to the life of a religious vocation, living under the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. The abandoning of the world for the life of the cloister is a narrative familiar to many literary novels, for example, whose cultures have been permeated by this gospel culture.
The various attempts at reforming the church, both Protestant and Catholic, have often focused on this aspect of the life of the church to identity areas that need reform. One only has to think of the protests of Martin Luther over the sale of indulgences or the various Catholic reform movements of early modern times to appreciate this fact.
Yet, for us who are called to live in the world and have to buy our own food and perhaps pay the mortgage and so on, it is not as easy as simply renouncing all worldly goods and entering the cloister. The key for us who live in the world is surely one of the proper stewardship of our resources. Whatever we own or whatever wealth we possess, the issue for us is how to responsibly, wisely and generously steward our resources. This means having our focus clearly on the kingdom of God. What is it that will best serve the goal of entering the kingdom of God? This is the question that we should ask ourselves as we contemplate this gospel passage for today. It is our way of apportioning our goods towards the goal Jesus sets before us and taking up his challenge to come and follow him.
Perhaps that was what Jesus saw in the man who met him on this journey. He saw a man for whom the goal of life was not yet clear for him. A certain kind of ambiguity lived within him about what life was all about and Jesus spots this and uncovers it with this challenge to give away all that he owned. The man is clearly attached to his wealth in a way which hinders him from following Jesus and so he departs from Jesus, grieving.
Yet, when we come to the disciples there is a certain twist in this story. Peter asks Jesus, what about us who have left everything to follow you? What do we get? Interestingly, Jesus says anyone who leaves everything to follow him will receive a hundredfold both in this life and in the next. In other words, Jesus is using the language any investor will understand here. The pay back of following Jesus is infinitely more than the initial investment. There is a maximization of return as we might say in following Jesus, both in this life and in the next. But this is not without persecutions, as we have slipped in at the end of this passage in order to temper the enthusiasm of any would-be-gospel investor.
Nevertheless, the message is clear. Wealth in itself is not really the issue here, despite what that wonderful Abba song may say and the fact that this is October gift month! No, the real issue is the question of stewardship. Are we wise, generous and faithful stewards of our wealth who are clear that the objective of all wealth is to facilitate the building of the kingdom of God and the maintenance of our focus on following the Lord? When we have this clear, then unlike the rich young man, we need not depart from Jesus in sadness, but rather be grateful to him for the many blessings which he has showered upon us both in this life and hopefully in the age to come.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.