Scripture Reflection, August 5: Growing Rich in the Sight of God

Scripture Readings:
Ecclesiastes 1:2; 2:21-23
Psalm 90
Colossians 3: 1-5, 9-11
Luke 12: 13-21

There are certain moments in our lives when we realize what is really important. A couple of years ago, I visited the Passionist Volunteers International in Jamaica, West Indies. This was a group of five post-college men and women who were giving a year of accompaniment of the poor in Jamaica. They were a wonderful group of young adults who really inspired me. They took me around to the various sites in which they worked and introduced me to many Jamaican people, young and old.

One of those visits has stayed with me all this time. One morning we dropped in on a family who live near one of the parish missions in the hill country of Jamaica. As we approached the house, two of the younger children who were playing in the field greeted the volunteers with great exuberance. It was soon obvious to me that the PVIs had formed a significant relationship with this family and that the children really enjoyed their visits. This family of ten – wife, husband, seven children and an ailing grandmother – lived in a rented two-room house that was falling apart. The floor boards were coming loose and there was no indoor bathroom. The husband worked in Kingston during the week, where he stayed from Monday to Friday because the cost of commuting was too high for the family to afford. The volunteers told me that he was a hard worker.

We were greeted by the mother of these children, whom I will call “Mary.” Mary was busy with household chores and tending to the two youngest children, but she welcomed us with great warmth. The volunteers talked with Mary and the children about various activities in the mission church and school, in which this family was very involved. Mary is an excellent cook, and she kept offering us something to eat. The gracious hospitality and the generosity of this poor woman were very striking to me. The visit concluded with the mother and the volunteers engaged in some planning about upcoming activities in the school. As we left, Mary warmly told me that I was always welcome at her home and that she hoped that I would have the opportunity to taste her chicken, which apparently was her culinary specialty. She made the best fried chicken in the area. As we left, two of the small children ran along with us playfully, occasionally jumping on the back of one of the volunteers.

I reflected on that visit in subsequent days and have often thought about it since. This family had the barest of economic means. They lived at a subsistence level in a house that we would consider unfit for any family, especially one this size. Reflecting on Jesus’ words about bringing good news to the poor, I knew that God does not want people to live in such conditions. Jesus never condoned, much less glorified, economic poverty. Our rich Catholic social justice teaching summons us to do all that we can to alleviate such poverty. At the same time, this family was very rich in other ways. It was obvious that Mary loved her children and that they loved her. There was a sense of joy in that home. And Mary’s warm, generous hospitality was a gift to all of us. This family seemed to have the kind of wealth that is really important in life.

The rich man in the parable found in this Sunday’s Gospel is a somewhat intriguing character. He is a successful landowner and businessman who has a year with great earnings. As an ingenious entrepreneur, he decides to build larger storage bins for his overflow harvest. On the face of it, he might appear to be a biblical example of sound financial planning. Perhaps he should be featured among the Bible’s “Fortune 500.” But, as with most of his stories, Jesus overturns our standard perceptions of things. He presents this successful businessman in a negative light. For one thing, he evidently ignored the demands of the Jewish Law to leave the gleanings of the harvest for the poor, the widow, the orphan and the immigrant. He takes it all for himself. He seems to have little concern for others. He has located the security of his life in the abundance of his carefully stored-away possessions. Thus he has missed out on what is really important, and he is actually quite poor in the sight of God.

As Jesus says at the end of this story, you and I are called to become people who grow rich in what matters to God. We do that by consciously orienting our lives to God and to the justice and compassion revealed by Christ in the Gospel. This invitation to become wealthy in the eyes of God means recognizing our real treasures in life. Sometimes that only becomes clear to us at specific moments, as in my visit to that very poor family in Jamaica. Receiving their hospitality and watching them interact made me feel that they were wealthier than I was. This insight into what is really important for us comes at other moments too, like times of sickness or loss, and in moments of celebration like a wedding, a baptism or an anniversary. At moments like these the things that have enduring value are illumined: our relationship with God in Christ and the priceless gift of our faith; our commitments to our vocation, to spouses, children, family members and important friendships; the exercise of justice and compassion toward others, particularly those in need around us. It is in these things that we are called to locate our security, not in how much money, prestige, or career advancement we manage to accumulate.

In our prayer during the coming week, we might ask ourselves a couple of questions: What are the treasures in my life? Do I recognize those treasures and give them the time and the energy they should have in my life? Do I have my priorities in the right order?

The Opening Prayer for this Sunday’s liturgy is simple but beautiful. It says, “Our life is your gift. Guide our life’s journey, for only our love makes us whole. Keep us strong in your love.” This Sunday we will come to the table of the Lord to experience the outpouring of God’s love in the gift of Christ to us. The gift of the Eucharist is a great treasure which nourishes us in our life of faith. May this priceless gift lead us to grow rich in the sight of God by deepening our relationship with Him and others, and through active concern for those in need.

Fr. Robin Ryan, cp