The Scandal of Wealth

Gospel: Luke 12: 13-21

How often in the Gospels does Jesus condemn the wealthy and the amassing of riches!  Given the silence of modern preachers on the topic we would hardly know it.  The sin of the amassing of wealth is a great scandal to the world.  It creates and perpetuates poverty; it mocks God, the owner and origin of all things; and it debases the soul of the greedy person who becomes akin to swine in silk pajamas.  

Yet such people are the heroes of the modern Christian.  The needs of the poor are set aside as unimportant, such issues regarded as prudential judgment. The poor who had been abused by clerics are for decades denied justice by the hierarchy who live in lavish mansions.  When forced by courts to finally hand over vast sums in justice, an insincere apology to victims written by lawyers accompanies the check.  Herein are the fruits of the greed of wealth.  

Simplicity of life is the heart of the Christian life.  To set aside riches, giving them to the needs of the poor, is the hallmark of an authentic Christian. To fast regularly and give to the poor what we would have spent that day on food is one way to live this regularly in our lives.  To regularly volunteer at a soup kitchen or nursing home will yield other creative ideas for giving to others and living a simple life in the spirit of Christ.