“For though one be rich, one’s life does not consist of possessions.” Yet the acquiring of possessions is an important influence in our country’s economy. I like to think that I am not lured into the mindset of the accumulation of things. Yet I have on occasion purchased items over the internet. Ever since I constantly receive e-mails inviting me to buy more with the enticing line that those who have purchased what I did also purchased these other items. Temptation to accumulate possessions is as present as it was in the parable of the rich man in today’s Gospel. I am not faulting this business approach. I am faulting me for giving into this temptation for things.
As I anticipate retirement and vacating the Bishops House for my successor, the stuff I have accumulated seems overwhelming. It causes me to wonder and perhaps you might as well: If I were to die tomorrow, how comfortable would I be for others who attend to my affairs rummaging through my closets and my drawers. What estate would they uncover? When I practiced law it was not uncommon that when someone died the question to be asked: ‘how much did he leave.’ A wise scribe responded; “he left everything.” And so will we.
Someone said that “a man is rich in proportion to the number of things he can afford to live without”. Possessions, money, things are not wrong in and of themselves. We need them for healthy and safe living. After all we take a collection each Mass to allow the Church to continue its mission which is an extension of the mission of Christ. It is when we identify or define ourselves or others in relation to wealth or possessions rather than our relationship with Christ that we can go off track.
Saint Mother Teresa once said, “Here in America you can easily be suffocated by things. And once you have them you must give time to taking care of them. Then you have no time for each other and for the poor.”
A mother felt overwhelmed financially. So much was needed to pay for college and dentist bills, a broken washing machine, plane tickets to visit distant parents. “I wish I had more faith,” she said to a friend. “You have a lot of faith,” the friend responded. “You have faith in your bank balance, that’s all. Where we put our faith is where our god is.” Then he told her how he and his family decided to take 10% of their income every paycheck and put it in a special account to give away as a means to thank God for all the blessings they had received. The idea was to change the focus from what they did not have to giving thanks for what they did have. Every Thanksgiving Day the family would together decide how to distribute what they called their ‘Thank You fund’. Some of it went to church, some to charities, some to needy persons. He said it turned around the meaning of their lives.
The mother decided to try it. She later wrote: “How freeing it is to live with an attitude of grateful giving. I no longer wrestle with the question that used to haunt me, can I afford to give. Since I have already committed to give 10% what is left is the joy, yes and even the fun of deciding where to spend our thank you account.” Obviously that approach is not possible for everyone but the attitude of grateful giving can be.
The problem with the rich man in the Gospel was that he focused on himself. “What shall I do; I have no place for my harvest. I know, I will build greater storage. And then I will eat, drink and be merry.” What he missed was that if he had not been freely gifted with life and come upon the Creator’s gift of the land on which his harvest grew, he would not have all this bounty. “You fool,” God said, “to whom will all this piled up wealth of yours go?” Something we all might ponder. To whom will this piled up stuff in my house go?
Our readings emphasize the point. Ecclesiastes tells of the illusion of a happy life centered on self and things of this world: vanity of vanities. Vanity such as this is without substance, like blowing smoke, here today and gone tomorrow. St. Paul challenges us to “think of what is above, not what is on earth.” Jesus said, “Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one’s life does not consist of possessions.” We are called to store up treasure in what matters to God: virtue, charity, humility, faith, love and mercy. We must be more than what we own if we are to have life and have it to the full as Jesus invites us to.
Remember Ebenezer Scrooge in Charles Dickens “The Christmas Carol.” It may seem strange to talk about Christmas in summer, but perhaps it is now that we need to remind ourselves of God becoming poor for our redemption. And also to recall the joy which is Christmas giving to so many. After Scrooge went through his dark night of the soul which revealed the emptiness of his life despite his worldly success, he discovered the joy of giving. Dickens wrote about the impact of the conversion of Scrooge: “The chuckle with which he spoke and the chuckle with which he paid for the turkey and the chuckle with which he paid for the cab and the chuckle with which he recompensed the boy were only exceeded by the chuckle with which he sat down breathless in his chair again and chuckled until he cried.” Always rich in the bank now he was rich in spirit, in the matters of God who humbled himself for our salvation.
It is important once in a while to reflect on what we have that really matters, the real gifts of life which make us truly rich, beginning with the gift of life itself and Jesus Christ as our savior. A newly wed husband said to his wife, “I’m going to work hard and someday we are going to be rich.” His wise wife responded, “We are already rich, we have each other; someday maybe we will have money.” As the old saying reminds us, “A man is rich in proportion to the number of things he can afford to live without.”
One thing we cannot afford to live without is Jesus at the center of our lives and the love and mercy he offers us.