Gospel
Matthew 19:23-30
23 Then Jesus said to his disciples: Amen, I say to you, that a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. 24 And again I say to you: It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven. 25 And when they had heard this, the disciples wondered very much, saying: Who then can be saved?
26 And Jesus beholding, said to them: With men this is impossible: but with God all things are possible. 27 Then Peter answering, said to him: Behold we have left all things, and have followed thee: what therefore shall we have? 28 And Jesus said to them: Amen, I say to you, that you, who have followed me, in the regeneration, when the Son of man shall sit on the seat of his majesty, you also shall sit on twelve seats judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And every one that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall possess life everlasting. 30 And many that are first, shall be last: and the last shall be first.
Again, we are reminded that the values of this world and those of God are inherently at odds. On the one hand, the “Prosperity Doctrine” has thoroughly infected most Protestant Churches, but is also believed by many Catholics – our cultural and our human reason tells us that the rich and powerful are somehow better than the poor and lowly. We give them honor and deference. We try to be like them. Yet, Jesus says that they will have a harder time being saved than those who are poor and lowly.
Meanwhile the “Social Justice” Marxism that has infected many of our churches and most all of our universities demonizes the wealthy, supposedly with the goal of championing the poor and lowly. Yet, what they do in reality is to denigrate all who work and hold traditional Christian moral values. They make a virtue of victim-hood and institutionalize theft. Under the guise of Christian charity, they champion all that is immoral and opposed to Christian teaching, teaching people to hate instead of love. They do not lift up the poor, but seek to denigrate good people, especially those who are faithful Christians and most especially if they are of European heritage and heterosexual.
To mistakenly view a wealthy man as favored by God is human nature. To hate a man because he is wealthy is envy, and that is of the devil.
Our Lord never promised the blessings of God to be distributed equally, quite the opposite! He promised that there would always be rich and poor. He established a hierarchy in which some had more authority than others. He promised that some would be more virtuous than others and that some would work and strive while others would inherit. Some would gain and some would lose. Through all of that, whether physical or spiritual, one thing only remains important, and that is our love for God and neighbor. In all circumstances praise God, rely on God, trust God, be humble and grateful and do your best. Our culture may place a value on you depending on how much money you have, or lack their of, your ethnicity, your education, etc. God does not. God values your love and obedience. When we die, we take with us neither our wealth nor our politics.
Judson Carroll is the author of several books, including his newest, A Daily Catholic Devotional, Reflections on the Daily Mass Readings July-December, 2024 It is Available in paperback on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D3ZTXQB4
and
Confirmation, an Autobiography of Faith. It is also Available in paperback on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C47Q1JNK
His new podcast is The Uncensored Catholic https://www.spreaker.com/show/the-uncensored-catholic
Excellent exposition of the realities in our culture Judson. Thank you for defining both extremes of today's "popular righteousness".
Amen, Judson, you are right on!