You’d think I learned this when I was in a crazy place in the Navy. It was there that the dictator of that US ally held a birthday party (7th to be exact) for the nation’s martial law that he declared. When his regime fell, the sitting US president announced his support for the dictator and was quickly silenced by his staff. “No, No we do not publicly announce our support for that Crazy man.” I am sure he was instructed.

No I learned this important principle during the reign of a duly elected president in a South American Republic. He was the first democratically elected head of state after the fall of a dictatorship. So, now there were people who were free. However, I learned that many citizens of that country wanted to go back to the dictatorship. I was shocked, but learned the truth. Even the worst of all governments benefits someone. Usually a whole group of someones and they keep the regime in power. No matter how bad a government is, it is benefiting someone, and they will always support the government.

I want you to understand that principle when we look at two scenarios: The first reading and the Gospel. When we can understand the first reading, we can understand the gospel.

Jeremiah is the prophet who suffered terrible persecution as he preached for the people to repent. He warned if they did not then, their government would fall to their enemies, at the behest of God and they would be lost. It is the the 7th century BC. Unbeknownst to the people to whom he was preaching, their years were numbered and Babylon had numbered them.

Jeremiah railed against the abuses at the time. There were many who were building altars to false gods which of course was forbidden by God. Such altars are designed to use religion in a way to benefit someone and indeed, when there is a move to benefit someone, it does not benefit someone else. Dictatorships benefit someone outside of the dictator and those someones will do everything possible to keep even the most evil people in power. The false religion and the corrupt government worked hand in hand.

Jeremiah is complaining that these people are being deceived, that they are creating an unjust society which is being weakened by their injustice. The people do not listen and persecute Jeremiah. They uphold their false prophet who says Jeremiah is wrong. They learn, however, the hard way that Jeremiah is right. As he predicted, Babylon, which was on the march, has come to wipe out Judah, destroy the temple and absorb the people into into its population. The unjust dictatorship is gone and now benefits nobody.

Yet, remember, it was injustice that kept it going. Injustice is always a grave sin that God rails against. Indeed, everything that people will ascribe to the bible against sexual sins, is also said by God against sins of economic disparity. Being rich and turning a blind eye to the poor.

This brings us to the gospel. Here, unlike in the gospel of Matthew, we have Luke not only giving us the word of the beatitudes, we also see the woes. One of the first woes is woe to you who are rich.

Wow? Is it a sin to be rich. Actually no, but Jesus is also working with an unjust regime that has turned the beauty of God’s love into a dead set of rules. Remember, even the most unjust regime benefits someone.

What Jesus is railing against is those who are rich on the backs of the poor. These are not just rich people, these are rich people who turn their backs on those who are poor. It is not a sin to be rich, every poor person is not by default a saint. Yet, it is a sin to be rich by cheating others out who are poor and or making them poor.

These are the people to whom Jesus is condemning, those who turn a blind eye to their neighbor’s plight and live in luxury.

Massachusetts has some of the more richest residents in the US. Not the richest but they are up there. I get a kick out of those who visit from other countries and learn of houses along the coast or on the islands that cost 5million dollars. We have usually priests who visit from areas of the world where there is great poverty. They are in shock that with great poverty in the world there are people that live in five million dollar houses. I have to add to their shock when I explain that they are looking at the summer house. There is another house elsewhere in the country that may be worth even more.

They look at me and say, how can people live like that when there are such poor starving people in the world?

It is this principle that Jesus addresses. It is not a sin to be rich, but it is not a key to sainthood to be poor. It is a sin to be closed to your neighbor because of your riches or even your poverty. If we want to see this dramatized we can look no further than the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. Woe to him who turned a blind eye to the suffering of Lazarus, blessed are you Lazarus for you will spend eternity in Heaven.

It is easy for those who are rich to look down upon and condemn the poor. It is easy for those who are poor to by default condemn and hate the rich. Yet, Jesus said to be people who love others and love means to act towards others in ways that bring them into the fullness of humanity. If you are rich, make sure your riches do not dehumanize you and do help you to humanize others. If you are poor rely more and more on God and ask him to help you not to reject the rich.

Fr. Jonas teaches that the poorer we are the more we have to rely on God for our riches, and through his own experience, he teaches that is a blessed position to be in. It in that position that we learn to be thankful for all things.

Be thankful for all you have whether in abundance or in short supply. Ask God to help you and to help you to love all around you: rich or poor.

God Bless You,

Fr. Robert J. Carr

Fr. Carr is the pastor at St. Benedict Parish in Somerville, MA USA, an alliance member of the New Song Community and the editor of this blog.

Photo Credits

All but top Middle: Bigstockphoto.com

Top: Stefie

Bottom Middle: Andres

Bottom: Daniel Weidmann