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| “St. Lawrence Giving the Wealth to the Poor” by Palma Giovane, 1581-82 |
Readings and Commentary:[3]
Reading 1 James 5:1-6
Come now, you rich, weep and wail
over your impending miseries.
Your wealth has rotted away, your
clothes have become moth-eaten,
your gold and silver have corroded,
and that corrosion will be a
testimony against you;
it will devour your flesh like a
fire.
You have stored up treasure for the
last days.
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.
You have lived on earth in luxury
and pleasure;
you have fattened your hearts for
the day of slaughter.
You have condemned;
you have murdered the righteous
one;
he offers you no resistance.
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Commentary on Jas
5:1-6
The author reminds his audience of
the importance of building up spiritual riches, rather than secular wealth.
This passage could be a commentary on the parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man
(see Luke 16:19-31). The
transitory nature of wealth is decried (“…Your wealth has rotted away, your
clothes have become moth-eaten, your gold and silver have corroded”), and
God’s coming justice for the poor is predicted (“…the cries of the
harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts”).
CCC: Jas 5:1-6 2445; Jas
5:4 1867,
2409, 2434
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 49:14-15ab,
15cd-16, 17-18, 19-20
R. (Matthew 5:3) Blessed are
the poor in spirit; the Kingdom of heaven is theirs!
This is the way of those whose
trust is folly,
the end of those contented with
their lot:
Like sheep they are herded into the
nether world;
death is their shepherd and the upright
rule over them.
R. Blessed are the poor in spirit; the Kingdom of heaven is
theirs!
Quickly their form is consumed;
the nether world is their palace.
But God will redeem me
from the power of the nether world
by receiving me.
R. Blessed are the poor in spirit; the Kingdom of heaven is
theirs!
Fear not when a man grows rich,
when the wealth of his house
becomes great,
For when he dies, he shall take
none of it;
his wealth shall not follow him
down.
R. Blessed are the poor in spirit; the Kingdom of heaven is
theirs!
Though in his lifetime he counted
himself blessed,
“They will praise you for doing
well for yourself,”
He shall join the circle of his
forebears
who shall never more see light.
R. Blessed are the poor in spirit; the Kingdom of heaven is theirs!
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Commentary on Ps 49:14-15ab, 15cd-16,
17-18, 19-20
Psalm 49 (a “Wisdom Psalm”) echoes,
in these strophes, the hellish fate of the unjust rich. Like Ecclesiastes
(see Ecclesiastes
1;2ff) and the letter of St. James (James 5:1-6), the
psalmist explains that the wealth of this earth cannot be taken into the next.
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Gospel: Mark
9:41-50
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Anyone who gives you a cup of
water to drink
because you belong to Christ,
amen, I say to you, will surely not
lose his reward.
“Whoever causes one of these little
ones who believe in me to sin,
it would be better for him if a
great millstone
were put around his neck
and he were thrown into the sea.
If your hand causes you to sin, cut
it off.
It is better for you to enter into
life maimed
than with two hands to go into Gehenna,
into the unquenchable fire.
And if your foot causes you to sin,
cut if off.
It is better for you to enter into
life crippled
than with two feet to be thrown
into Gehenna.
And if your eye causes you to sin,
pluck it out.
Better for you to enter into the
Kingdom of God with one eye
than with two eyes to be thrown
into Gehenna,
where their worm does not die, and
the fire is not quenched.
“Everyone will be salted with fire.
Salt is good, but if salt becomes
insipid,
with what will you restore its
flavor?
Keep salt in yourselves and you
will have peace with one another.”
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Commentary on Mk
9:41-50
In this passage, Jesus finishes his
warning to the disciples against jealousy and intolerance toward others. Having
said that, he warns that those who call people to faith in him, even if they do
not walk with the disciples, are friends. He speaks of those who would lead the
people away from him, again using the “little child” as a symbol of the weak in
spirit and the poor. Those that mislead, or who are tempted to do so, should
resist such temptation at any price, or they will find an eternal punishment waiting
for them. The Lord makes this warning using a paraphrase from Isaiah 66:24.
The final verse speaks of salt,
using the analogy of purifying and preserving food. The word of Christ will
have the same effect, that is, purifying and preserving the believer.
CCC: Mk 9:43-48 1034
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Homily:
There are those who would say that Holy Scripture, properly used,
should always be “uplifting.” Today
instead we get a reality check. When we
hear that God will deal harshly with the unjust rich, those who covet their
wealth and ignore the plight of those less fortunate, we are forced to examine
our own circumstances. We, who live in
the richest nation on earth, must constantly be vigilant not to allow wealth to
become the motive for what we do. As
scripture points out, there are unpleasant consequences.
It is easy to fall into that trap of serving wealth instead of
God. Our society praises those who are
able to gain great wealth. Likewise,
society tends to turn a blind eye on those who abuse wealth and the power that
comes with it. Our children are exposed
to these misguided values (“Whoever
causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better
for him if a great millstone were put around his neck and he were thrown into
the sea”), and it is sometimes tempting to rationalize that, by focusing on
the accumulation of wealth, we can do more good with the money we hoard.
Look at the transcripts from a recent exchange between corporate
executives of the oil companies and the Senate Energy Committee (when gas
prices were very high in the US). They
were asked how they could continue to justify huge profits while the people are
suffering because of high gas prices. Their response was that they are forcing
the country to become better at conserving those energy resources. Even a firm believer in the free enterprise
system would agree that sometimes things get out of hand.
The Gospel mandate is clear.
While we are called to use the gifts God gives us to provide for
ourselves and our families, we must constantly be on guard against allowing our
search for prosperity to override the need to express God’s love to those with
less. Our prayer today is a simple one:
God help the prosperity of the work of our hands for your greater glory, and
may what we do help those less fortunate, that they too might know their loving
Father and His Son, Jesus.
Pax
[1]
The picture used today is “St. Lawrence Giving the Wealth to the Poor” by Palma
Giovane, 1581-82
[3]
The readings are taken from the New American Bible with the exception of the
Psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for
English in Liturgy (ICEL). This
re-publication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
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