18th Sunday OT, Year C
Alexander Albert
St. Peter Catholic Church, New Iberia
“Teacher, tell my brother to vote for my candidate!” “Teacher, tell my boss to pay me better!” “Teacher, tell the police to punish that criminal!” And why not, Jesus! Do you not care about injustice? Do you not care that people are being manipulated, rightful property is being stolen, and that evil is spreading everywhere? So why do you not do what I ask, Lord? Why say something so strange as “who has appointed me your judge and arbitrator?” You are the very source of justice and the God who judges souls, how could you not be our final arbitrator? . . .
Do not fall for this trick! It is superficial and is a deception. Those who are wise, and especially Jesus Christ, have the ability to see more than the words of this question. By the words alone, it seems like a strange answer, but it is what is going on beneath the surface that matters. Jesus is not answering the question, he is answering what is really happening in the man’s heart. He didn’t want justice. He only wanted more money and he saw that he could use justice to get it.
And so it is with so many people in our world! How many of us are simply hiding our selfishness under a cloak of something more respectable like justice, balance, and altruism! Should an inheritance be shared fairly? Yes. Should the unborn be protected? Yes. Should we take care of the environment? Yes again! But how many of the people who claim to seek these things only seeking them because they attain some other benefit? How many times do people claim that their position is “Catholic” in order to use the Church to further their ambition? More money, more votes, more power! Vanity of Vanities! It’s all vanity!
Do you believe it is vanity? Do you really understand what the readings are telling us today? They all agree – it is silly to worry about your wealth because you can’t take it with you. Forbes, the famous business magazine, has a list of 30 greats who died under 30. On this list are the rich, famous, and powerful that died before they could even really enjoy all that they had. There are some interesting figures: James Dean, who was killed by the car he so dearly loved. Kurt Cobain, the singer for Nirvana, who evidently succumbed to a feeling of despair and ended his own life not long after his band finally made it big. Heath Ledger, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and even Pocahontas and King Tut make this list. But there were two names that struck me most of all: the maniacal Roman Emperor Caligula and the Catholic St. Joan of Arc.
Born into the ruling class of Rome and having survived various political intrigues, Caligula became emperor of the massive empire at age 24. He had everything: money, power, and was even loved by the people of Rome. It wasn’t long before he revealed a remarkable cruelty and even began to claim that he was divine. Many Jews and Christians were killed under his reign.
Then, there is St. Joan of Arc. I believe we all know something of the story: A little girl who received a vision from God to drive the English out of France. She followed the orders and had some serious successes, all without actually killing anyone herself.
Such a diverse list, and what is it that they have in common? Just that they all died before 30? But, in the eyes of the world, is it right to call all of these people “Great?” It seems that the world is half-right about this whole thing. They lament that these people died young, and that can be a sad thing. But just what are they lamenting? That they couldn’t enjoy their success? Do some people really believe that it’s fair to compare the success of the murderous Caligula to the victories of Joan of Arc?
Well, from the perspective of the world, one success is like the other. Victory in battle, fame, fortune – who cares how you get these, just so long as you get them. We are still talking about these people, right? If you can’t take it with you, at least you can make yourself memorable. But how sad that really is! They miss what made Joan of Arc great. She did not chase worldly fame and she did not want to drive the English out just to prove she could. There was only one thing she wanted – to serve God. It was God who asked her to do what she did.
And that’s the secret of today’s readings. The Will of God. Though scripture tells us that wealth is vanity and that rich men will have serious difficulty getting into heaven, our responsorial psalm prays these words and even repeats them for emphasis: “Prosper the work of our hands, Prosper the work of our hands.” If wealth and labor are vanity, why would we pray such a thing? Because these thing are only vanity if they are done for their own sake. The difference between Caligula and St. Joan of Arc is not the century they lived in, but that one succeeded in a worldly way, the other in a heavenly way.
Christ’s closing exhortation is aimed at “all who store up treasure for themselves but are not rich in what matters to God.” The key phrase is “treasure for themselves.” Private Property is a right, but it is not an absolute right. In the end, everything belongs to God and it is only when you use something to serve God that it has any lasting value. The only time the Gospel says something good about the wealthy is when they are using their wealth to help someone else. The psalmist prays for God to “prosper the work of our hands” because that work is meant to serve God. St. Paul tells us to “Think of what is above, not of what is on earth.” Yet, because we are still on this earth, we do have to deal with earthly things. But, we must have a higher perspective. If you want to bake a cake, you shouldn’t eat the eggs that you need to make the cake batter – so you should not focus on consuming worldly things when they are but ingredients and tools to serve heavenly realities.
Going back to my first question – does Jesus not care about injustice in our world? Yes, but in a way far more authentic than most of us. We care about injustice usually because it means we don’t get something we want. He cares about injustice because he cares for the soul of the one doing wrong and about the dignity of the person who is suffering. His perspective is always heavenly and he is always mindful that death will filter out everything that is not love.
So, what does that mean? What should you do next? You still have to feed yourself and your family. You still have to be a good citizen. You still have to work for the rights of those are mistreated. But, you have to do it according to God’s plan. Fortunately for all of us, the Church has just released a book to help us do exactly that. It’s called the DOCAT from the words “do” and “Catechsim.” And the very first topic is exactly that: God created us and the world according to his plan – Love. You can get a paperback for $17 or you can download the ebook and smartphone app. Even better, because of World Youth Day, until Monday, it is free, you just have to promise to try to live it out. It is meant to teach Catholics how to live in this world while not being of this world. In other words, its meant to teach us how to become “rich in what matters to God.”