What the Rich Young Man teaches Us About Wealth

WHAT THE YOUNG RICH MAN TEACHES US ABOUT WEALTH (Luke 18:18-27 and Matthew 19:16-26)

Copyright © 2002 The Most Rev. John Adel Elya

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"Oh! How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of heaven!" (Luke 18:24)

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The Gospel story recorded by the physician Luke is a remedy for sadness and a medicine that will help us find true happiness! It is one ring of a chain of Sunday Gospels read at this time of the year that help us to understand the role of riches and where true wealth can be found!.

These Gospels have one thing in common: they all point to the responsible use of material goods. They feature for us four different people:

1- The greedy rich young man whose money stopped him from following Christ. His story is told in the Gospel we just read on November 24, 2002.

2- The foolish rich man who thought he would live forever. God warned him: "You, fool, tonight your soul will be asked of you. All that which you have stored, to whom will it belong? That was read in our churches in the Melkite Greek Catholic Church on November 17, 2002 (Luke 12:16-21)

3- The compassionate rich man, the good Samaritan, who used his money to help the one in need. That was read on November 10, 2002; and, finally,

4- The ruthless rich man who refused to help the poor Lazarus. He was sorry for that for all eternity. (Luke 16:19-31) That was read on November 3, 2002.

The story of greedy rich young man is a story of a man who was seeking the secret of happiness, the best way to "inherit eternal life." Jesus answers him: To assure eternal happiness, follow the commandments".

In other words, if you keep the commandments, the commandments will keep you.

That young man, who belonged to the ruling class of his age and culture, was more ambitious than that. He responded to the Lord: "I have kept the commandments from my youth. What do I still lack?" (Matthew 19:20)

Jesus was pleased with his answer. He "looked at him with love" (Mark 10:21) and said: "There is one thing further you must do. Sell all you have and give to the poor. You will have a treasure in heaven. Then come and follow me." (Luke 18:22)

But the man was too greedy to answer the call, to part with his money and to follow the Divine Master. "He went away sad, for his possessions were many," says the Gospel. (Matthew 19:22)

In response to that young man's choice, Jesus exclaims: "How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God." (Luke 18:24-25)

The story is a deep and profound passage. Not surprisingly, it provides the entire framework for our Holy father, John Paul II's extraordinary encyclical letter entitled "The Splendor of Truth" which I commend to all my readers!

However, to simplify the story for the purpose of this article, the "million dollar question" is: "Do we possess money and other material goods, or let money and other material goods possess us? "

Khalil Gibran once wrote: "Luxury enters the house as a guest and ends up being the mistress."

Are we the masters of our house, or the slaves of luxury and easy life? (La dolce vita!) With whom do we identify? "Where is your treasure, there goes your heart also" says the Gospel, the "Good news"

Where is our own "treasure?"

*Or, with the compassionate?

In the beginning of humanity, when God created our first parents, he told them, and he told us through them: "Be fertile and multiply and rule the earth and subdue it." Enjoy the use of the earth, of its plants and of its animals. The earth with its goods is ours to inherit, not as individuals, but together as a family.

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We are, so to speak, the kings and queens of all creation. All created things are given to us to be used by us, to fulfill our needs, to serve us, but not to enslave us. Money and all material goods are a means and not an end.

A rich person is one who has one penny more than he or she needs. A pauper is one who does not have enough. He/she could be a millionaire working hard to accumulate another million. He is more miserable that the poor who is content with what he has.

Prudence is one of the cardinal virtues. It is very important for human survival. By instinct, we are inclined to save money for future needs. "Save your white bread for your black day," says an Arabic proverb.

But if we save our bread and let it rot instead of feeding those who are starving, then we are abusing material goods instead of putting them to good use. If we are so intent to make money and save money, at the expense of our good health or at the expense of the rights of others; then we are being used by material goods, instead of using them.

How true the old adage is: "You cannot take it with you!"

The ruthless rich man, "who dressed in purple garments and fine linen and dined sumptuously each day" died like all humans and left it all behind. The foolish rich man ... will leave it all "tonight!"

I'll never forget the earthquake in my last day in California, at 4:00 a.m., on January 17, 1994, the day I returned to my home in Massachusetts. People ran out of their homes with a minimum of belongings. I also remember well when our Eparchial Residence caught fire in December of 1989. Archbishop Joseph and Fathers Saato and Gallaro left the house in a hurry in their night clothes. We read in the book of Job: "Naked I came forth from my mother's womb, And naked shall I go back again." (Job 1:21)

Have you ever seen a U-haul truck following the hearse in a funeral procession, on the way to the cemetery? Of course not! I heard of a bank built on the opposite side of the street, facing a cemetery. It had a large sign which read: "Trust us with your money. You cannot take it with you; but you can keep it close."

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It is true -you cannot take it with you; but you can send it ahead by helping others. What do people do who have decided to leave their country of origin and are not allowed to carry their money with them. They "smuggle" it in some way, ahead of them.

These two short sentences were inscribed on a grave stone I once visited. They are full of lasting wisdom in our consideration of the role of "treasure":

"What I kept, I lost; What I gave away, I gained."

That is how we as Christians can "smuggle" our treasures ahead of us! We realize they are not ours at all! They are given too us to give away in love! Then we will begin to experience the freedom that comes from a life of love.

We have recently concluded the celebration of Thanksgiving in America. We are already in the "Christmas season." What an appropriate time to show to God and to humanity the way we Christians handle "our goods.

How do we handle our goods? Foolishly...greedily... selfishly... for our own exclusive enjoyment? Or responsibly and generously to help those in need?

This is the time to shrink our camel, that is our selfishness, and to expand the needle's eye to the measure of our generosity.

Then our treasure will be for what is for God and will not be an obstacle to our entrance into the kingdom of heaven.

The exchange of gifts during the Christmas season shows generosity and love; but only if it is unselfish, without expecting something in return. The best Christmas gifts are those given to the poor and the needy, to those from whom we expect no return.

The "season to be jolly" should indeed be the season to be generous, to give where we do not expect any return. Gos gave His all to us: "God so loved the world that He gave (us) His only begotten Son." May we reciprocate by giving Him our heart, our mind and our possessions, so that we will "merit to inherit" eternal life. The other wonderful gift we receive is happiness- true happiness here on earth as happiness can be experienced here and the fullness of happiness in the world to come.

To Him be glory for ever and ever.

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The Most Rev. John Adel Elya, Eparch of the Diocese of Newton, has pastoral responsibility for all Melkite Catholics in the United States. As an Eastern Catholic Bishop (Eparch), in full communion with Rome, he holds a unique position in the ongoing prayer/dialogue between the Orthodox and Catholic Churches. Melkite Catholics, like their brethren, the Antiochian Orthodox, trace their origin to Antioch, "where they were first called Christians." Consequently, Melkites celebrate the Divine Liturgy and preserve the beautiful traditions and treasures of Eastern Christianity within the full communion of the Catholic Church. Bishop John, who holds a licentiate degree in sacred theology from the Gregorian University in Rome, is widely known for his contagious joy, interior life, true heart for Christian unity, his deep loyalty to the Catholic Church and his passionate desire to see the "two lungs" of Christianity, East and West, breathe together again in full communion

Contact

Melkite Greek Catholic Church
http://www.melkite.org MA, US
Bishop John Adel Elya - Eparch, 617 323-9922

Email

Bpjohn3@aol.com

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