This is a reflection on the Mass readings of the day.
There is a reason rich people think of themselves as gods:
“Oh yes, you are wiser than Daniel,
there is no secret that is beyond you.
By your wisdom and your intelligence
you have made riches for yourself”
A person who has become wealthy in his/her own lifetime, the so-called “self-made man/woman,” has achieved something indeed. By means of their “wisdom” and their “intelligence,” self-made wealthy persons have successfully cajoled others–many, or a few–to part with the very means of existence itself to a highly disproportionate degree, and hand it over to them willingly. Perhaps they have added a little bit of value to a great many people’s lives. Perhaps they have invented something momentous. Perhaps there are shady dealings involved, but for the sake of argument, let’s say not. They have succeeded in what literally every other person on the planet is striving to accomplish, to a degree that they possess many multiples of the average person’s wealth. They are “wiser than Daniel.” They are smarter. They are shrewder. They are like gods.
Even those who inherit wealth can enjoy this illusion. They can carelessly use their wealth to command respect and service from everyone with whom they surround themselves. Their money allows them to command. They are like gods.
They may not be happy, but they possess something that is a seemingly acceptable–nay, covetable–substitute for happiness, and if it is threatened, they will cling to it till the end. And, as the first reading illustrates, it will be their utter and total destruction.
The economy of salvation and true happiness could not be more distantly removed from this paradigm. It is an economy where one gives not only “houses or brothers or sisters” to God, but where one gives oneself and all one is and has completely to the service of God and others. It is this willing and total gift that draws happiness into one’s bank account, not one’s street smarts and shrewdness.
So how does one change from the former into the latter? How does one stop clinging to the ersatz-happiness and take the leap of faith into total gift of self?
“For men this is impossible,
but for God all things are possible.”
God’s raw grace alone, directly infused into the rich man for his conversion, is the only power that can work this miracle. It alone can introduce a drop, a hint, even an effusion of what happiness can be into the reluctant, glutted, jaded soul of the rich. It is for this reason that prayer and sacrifice for others is the fulcrum of God for the conversion of sinners.
But we are foolish if we think that the rich woman to be converted is “she,” “her,” “that one over there.” Every single one of us has attachments, desires, covetousness that make us no different from the rich. If we are not rich in fact, we are so by desire. We long to use our superior knowledge, shrewdness, intelligence, talents to drive us to a status superior to others–to become like gods. We may wish to do so in order to have greater power to do good. Whatever the reason, it is an illusion.
Only complete commitment to the economy of salvation, whereby we leave our welfare and status in God’s hands and give of ourselves every day to God and to the service of others, can bring us the happiness that we think we are chasing when we chase riches. There is no other way.
Ideas for conversation with the Lord: Ask Him and examine with Him what part of you still longs for the sense of security, power, and superiority that wealth brings. With Him, dig tenaciously to find those hidden parts of your heart that believe that good can only be achieved by the rich and the powerful. Then, renounce those lies and desires and give Him yourself forever; let the world control the world; lay your head on His heart, and know that there you find not only your peace and happiness, but also the power to bring others through your gift to their happiness as well. Turn your heart fully to Him and to the economy of salvation.
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