The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite us to go deeper in our detachment from attitudes and actions that cause us to focus on ourselves and our dependence on wealth for security.
Search for security
The reading from the Book of Wisdom describes Solomon’s respect for Wisdom.
* [7:12] Mother: lit., “she who begets.” Although Wisdom herself is begotten of God (Prv 8:22–24), she is here the one who brings into being.1
Psalm 90 contrasts God’s eternity and human frailty.
* [Psalm 90] A communal lament that describes only in general terms the cause of the community’s distress. After confidently invoking God (Ps 90:1), the Psalm turns to a complaint contrasting God’s eternity with the brevity of human life (Ps 90:2–6) and sees in human suffering the punishment for sin (Ps 90:7–12). The Psalm concludes with a plea for God’s intervention (Ps 90:13–17).2
The reading from the Letter to the Hebrews proclaims ‘the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword,’
The author saw the addressees in danger of apostasy from their Christian faith. This danger was due not to any persecution from outsiders but to a weariness with the demands of Christian life and a growing indifference to their calling (Heb 2:1; 4:14; 6:1–12; 10:23–32).3
In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus loves the Rich Man.
* [10:23–27] In the Old Testament wealth and material goods are considered a sign of God’s favor (Jb 1:10; Ps 128:1–2; Is 3:10). The words of Jesus in Mk 10:23–25 provoke astonishment among the disciples because of their apparent contradiction of the Old Testament concept (Mk 10:24, 26). Since wealth, power, and merit generate false security, Jesus rejects them utterly as a claim to enter the kingdom. Achievement of salvation is beyond human capability and depends solely on the goodness of God who offers it as a gift (Mk 10:27).4
Mike Cherney comments that Jesus brings a message that is at odds with some traditional thought. We would like to suppose that good things happen to good people. Many believe that wealth is a sign that one is among the elect. Indeed, this belief may have been one of the major contributors to the historical roots of the American work ethic. Jesus is challenging these ideas in his discourse on the difficulty of salvation for the rich.
Since retiring, I often tell people that my wife is my primary source of joy, and my grandchildren are my primary source of purpose. I think that we are much more tolerant of our situation if we think that there is a purpose to it. My mother would tell me that there is a reason for everything. That was a thought that guided my family through the time when my oldest sister died, although it was hard to see how the loss of a mother of 9 could be part of a grand plan. In his book, When Bad Things Happen to Good People, Rabbi Harold Kushner also is at odds with some traditional thought. I would describe his view of God as the Great Comforter (as opposed to being the Great Intervener). I think that over the years, I have moved more in Rabbi Kushner’s direction. Although I still find myself praying for changes for the better in this world, I am not expecting God to cheat on the sometimes chaotic physics and biology that define this time and this place. Still, I continue to think that it is having a purpose that keeps us going, and I see this as a purpose that grows out of our “free will.”5
Don Schwager quotes “Seek the life that endures,” by Saint Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D. The Word Among Us Meditation on Mark 10:17-30 comments that there was a strong strain in ancient Judaism that said that material wealth was a sign of God’s blessing. But here was Jesus telling the rich young man to join the ranks of the poor. What was he doing?
"The Lord said to a certain young man, 'If you would enter life, keep the commandments' (Matthew 19:17; Mark 10:17; Luke 18:18). He did not say 'If you would have life' but 'If you would enter life,' defining that life as eternal life. Let us first consider then the love of this life. For this life is loved, whatever its quality; and however troubled it is, however wretched, people are afraid to end it. Hence we should see, we should consider, how much eternal life is to be loved, when this miserable life that must at some time be ended is so loved. Consider, brothers, how much that life is to be loved when it is a life you never end. You love this life, where you work so much, run, are busy, pant. In this busy life the obligations can scarcely be counted: sowing, plowing, working new land, sailing, grinding, cooking, weaving. And after all this hard work your life comes to an end. Look at what you suffer in this wretched life that you so love. And do you think that you will always live and never die? Temples, rocks, marbles, all reinforced by iron and lead, still fall. And a person thinks that he will never die? Learn therefore, brothers, to seek eternal life, when you will not endure these things but will reign with God forever." (excerpt from SERMON 84.1.9)6
Friar Jude Winkler comments on the prayer of Solomon to obtain Wisdom that is not included in the Hebrew or Protestant Canon. The Letter to the Hebrews connects with the understanding that words make reality present and alter our reality. Friar Jude reminds us of the connection of Jesus' request of the young man to the Great Commandment.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, shares about how “seeing” or perceiving God in nature forms the basis of an incarnational spirituality. Creation spirituality has its origins in Hebrew Scriptures such as Psalms 104 and 148. It is a spirituality that is rooted, first of all, in nature, in experience, and in the world as it is. This rich Hebrew spirituality formed the mind and heart of Jesus of Nazareth.
Perhaps once we can see God in plants and animals, we might learn to see God in our neighbors. And then we might learn to love the world. And then when all of that loving has taken place, when all of that seeing has happened, when such people come to me and tell me they love Jesus, I’ll believe it! They’re capable of loving Jesus. The soul is prepared. The soul is freed, and it’s learned how to see and how to receive and how to move in and how to move out from itself. Such individuals might well understand how to love God.8
The fear we have of insecurity may keep us from experiencing freedom to live and love more fully.
References
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