Homily Notes 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time 2018
23rd Sunday of Ordinary Time…….”God Blesses Rich and Poor”
Who are those who are most pleasing to God? Is it those who achieve material prosperity? Or is it those who are poor in spirit? We are confronted with that question in the Liturgy today.
Once there was a deacon named Lawrence who lived in Rome during the earliest days of the church. He lived in the time of the Emperor Valerian. Lawrence oversaw the church’s monies. The rumor was that the church had a lot of gold and silver. Valerian wanted it. He made a plan to arrest St. Lawrence so he could steal the church’s wealth. Lawrence quickly disposed of the money entrusted to him. The emperor arrested him. Valerian told Lawrence that he could escape death if he would give up the treasure of the church. Lawrence asked for three days to collect the wealth of the church. Valerian, greedy as he was, agreed to the proposal. In three days at the appointed place at the appointed time hundreds of poor people arrived. Valerian came. When he saw the beggars of Rome gathered together he asked Lawrence where the gold and silver were. Lawrence told the emperor that the poor were the real wealth of the church. For his witness to Gospel poverty Lawrence was put to death. The church forgets this Gospel ideal all too often. And we pay a spiritual price.
The Galleria Bor/ghe/se is a wonderful art gallery located in Rome. In that gallery are works of art by Bernini, Caravaggio and Raphael. The gallery is located in a mansion in Rome. Now, it is not unusual to see great woks of art in Rome, but these pieces were owned by Cardinals of the church who amassed personal fortunes. The Renaissance bishops were part of several powerful political families. The church controlled the government, also, the Rome’s wealth. The men who controlled the church controlled Roman society. For that reason, the papacy was bought and sold along with other church offices. Men who became bishops really did not have much of a religious vocation. How did these Renaissance Churchmen justify accruing all these riches? How could they feel right about ministering in the church for worldly gain? How could they have elaborate banquets in their manicured gardens in their silk robes while the poor starved in the streets? The churchmen I describe believed that all they owned was a gift from God. God smiled on them because they were better than other people. God cursed the poor because they were unsophisticated in their beliefs.
We could say that all of this is a perverse Theology that is long past, but we see that same type of Theology being touted in Christian Churches today. We have what we call the “Prosperity Gospel.” Someone has called this the greatest Christian heresy in the 21st century. What does this Theology say? Such a Theology says, that God rewards the righteous. If one has money it is a sign of that person’s strong belief in God. If a person is poor it is a sign of weak belief. A minister who amasses wealth is not an incongruity, but a validation of that minister’s holiness.
Such a Theology has several difficulties if we really believe in the message of Jesus Christ. One problem is that when we believe in Prosperity Theology we begin to worship material things rather than the person of Jesus Christ. Our self-worth is all about what we own. If we are wealthy, we are important. If we are poor, we are of no value. Another Christian doctrine Prosperity Theology denies is the doctrine of the cross. Suffering has no meaning other than it is a punishment for weak faith. When we suffer it is because of a lack of virtue on our part. But we know Jesus talked about each of us carrying a cross. True Christian doctrine teaches that our suffering is united with Christ’s.
The Letter of St. James, which we read from today in our second lesson, reminds us that Jesus did not see the wealthy as better than the poor. Rich and poor were all children of God. The Gospel has often been twisted throughout history to justify vice. We must not be fooled. We must go back to the Gospel when we suspect someone teaches falsely in the name of Jesus. Today, we remember what Jesus preached about wealth when he said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, the reign of God is theirs.”
Please Note: rough draft~grammar may not be perfect