Weekly HOMILY for August 5,2007: Sayings on Money and Material Possessions

18th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Cycle C
Our Lady of Grace
August 5, 2007

Sayings on Money and Material Possessions
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato


Some Sayings

This past week, I came across a number of sayings dealing with our attitudes toward money and material possessions.

These sayings relate to the Scripture passages that we just heard, so I decided to group my thoughts for today around these sayings.

Taken together, they convey a lot of insight and wisdom. There are two sayings of our culture and two sayings of our faith.

As I share them see which of the four you have personally made your own.


Saying of Culture: I Am What I Have

The first saying of our culture is: “I am what I have.” The significant thing here is the word “I.”

“I am what I have.” We see this emphasis on the word “I” in the Parable of the Rich Man in today’s Gospel.

The rich man says: “What shall I do? I have no place to store my harvest. I know. I will pull down my grain bins and have larger ones. Then I will say to myself: you have blessings in reserve. Enjoy yourself.”

The entire focus in this saying – “I am what I have” – and in the Parable of the Rich Man is on the word “I”.

If this is a saying we resonate with or which we have made our own then we need to be aware that being self-absorbed in things – any things – does not make us who we are as persons.

I simply am not my car, my job, my spouse.


Saying of Culture: More Is Better

A second saying of our culture is: “More is better.”

Our consumerist economy leads us to think that more money, more clothes, more furniture, more toys, or a bigger house is better.

This mentality has contributed to the fact that we will never have enough storage space as we build and use more and more storage facilities everywhere. This saying deceives us into thinking that things can satisfy us.

“More is better” gives us no norm for deciding what we should and should not have other, than having more.

If this saying rings true for us, we need to be aware of it and recognize that whatever latest new thing we have amassed does not give us lasting satisfaction.


Saying of Faith: Hearse Pulling a U-Hall

In contrast to these sayings of our culture, there are also two sayings of our faith. Try these on for size, as well.

The first is humorously stated as: “Have you ever seen a hearse pulling a U-Haul?” Think about it…of course you haven’t, the dead can’t take anything with them.

Now of course, that saying is not in the Bible, but in truth, it is another way of making the same point that Jesus does in today’s Parable of the Rich Man. He asks: “To whom will all this piled-up wealth of yours go?”

Being so focused on what we have keeps us from being aware of our long-term destiny.

To those of us who really think we can take it with us in a U-Haul, the Wisdom writer in our first reading rather cynically says: “Vanity of vanities! All these things are vanity!”


Saying of Culture: It Will Never Be Enough Until You Are Enough

Finally, the last saying actually comes from Chinese spirituality, but it is very Christian in nature. The saying is: “It [out there] will never be enough until you [in here] are enough.”

The underlying point here is clear: who we are and who we become as persons is what counts in life. This is what Jesus means in today’s Gospel when he tells us to “become rich in the sight of God.”

It is what St. Paul means in our second reading when he calls us “to set our hearts on what pertains to higher realms.”

To those of us who resonate with this final saying, we must focus on two things to become “rich in the sight of God” and to “set our hearts on higher realms.”

First, we need to look beyond ourselves to include caring for family, friends or those at work in our everyday awareness.

So we need to make some room in our schedule or our budget for caring for those who lack the very basics. Looking beyond ourselves is what it takes.

And second, we need to look beyond this world, thinking about God and Jesus Christ each day.

So we let prayer punctuate our day. We reflect on Scripture. We receive the Eucharist each Sunday.

Looking beyond ourselves and beyond our world helps us become like Jesus.

And we come to understand this last saying, “It [out there] will never be enough until you [in here] are enough.”


Conclusion

Our attitudes toward money and possessions tell us a great deal about what is lacking in our lives as followers of Jesus and what needs to be done about those lacks.