Catholic lectionary for 14 October 2018

The Jerusalem Bible (fr)

Sagesse, Chapitre 7, vers 7-11

⁷ C'est pourquoi j'ai prié, et l'intelligence m'a été donnée, j'ai invoqué, et l'esprit de Sagesse m'est venu.

⁸ Je l'ai préférée aux sceptres et aux trônes et j'ai tenu pour rien la richesse en comparaison d'elle.

⁹ Je ne lui ai pas égalé la pierre la plus précieuse; car tout l'or, au regard d'elle, n'est qu'un peu de sable, à côté d'elle, l'argent compte pour de la boue.

¹⁰ Plus que santé et beauté je l'ai aimée et j'ai préféré l'avoir plutôt que la lumière, car son éclat ne connaît point de repos.

¹¹ Mais avec elle me sont venus tous les biens et, par ses mains, une incalculable richesse.

Hébreux, Chapitre 4, vers 12-13

¹²Vivante, en effet, est la parole de Dieu, efficace et plus incisive qu'aucun glaive à deux tranchants, elle pénètre jusqu'au point de division de l'âme et de l'esprit, des articulations et des moelles, elle peut juger les sentiments et les pensées du cœur.

¹³Aussi n'y a-t-il pas de créature qui reste invisible devant elle, mais tout est nu et découvert aux yeux de Celui à qui nous devons rendre compte.

Marc, Chapitre 10, vers 17-30

¹⁷Il se mettait en route quand un homme accourut et, s'agenouillant devant lui, il l'interrogeait : " Bon maître, que dois-je faire pour avoir en héritage la vie éternelle ? "

¹⁸Jésus lui dit : " Pourquoi m'appelles-tu bon ? Nul n'est bon que Dieu seul.

¹⁹Tu connais les commandements : Ne tue pas, ne commets pas d'adultère, ne vole pas, ne porte pas de faux témoignage, ne fait pas de tort, honore ton père et ta mère. "

²⁰- " Maître, lui dit-il, tout cela, je l'ai observé dès ma jeunesse. "

²¹Alors Jésus fixa sur lui son regard et l'aima. Et il lui dit : " Une seule chose te manque : va, ce que tu as, vends-le et donne-le aux pauvres, et tu auras un trésor dans le ciel ; puis, viens, suis-moi. "

²²Mais lui, à ces mots, s'assombrit et il s'en alla contristé, car il avait de grands biens.

²³Alors Jésus, regardant autour de lui, dit à ses disciples : " Comme il sera difficile à ceux qui ont des richesses d'entrer dans le Royaume de Dieu ! "

²⁴Les disciples étaient stupéfaits de ces paroles. Mais Jésus reprit et leur dit : " Mes enfants, comme il est difficile d'entrer dans le Royaume de Dieu !

²⁵Il est plus facile à un chameau de passer par le trou de l'aiguille qu'à un riche d'entrer dans le Royaume de Dieu ! "

²⁶Ils restèrent interdits à l'excès et se disaient les uns aux autres : " Et qui peut être sauvé ? "

²⁷Fixant sur eux son regard, Jésus dit : " Pour les hommes, impossible, mais non pour Dieu : car tout est possible pour Dieu. "

²⁸Pierre se mit à lui dire : " Voici que nous, nous avons tout laissé et nous t'avons suivi. "

²⁹Jésus déclara : " En vérité, je vous le dis, nul n'aura laissé maison, frères, sœurs, mère, père, enfants ou champs à cause de moi et à cause de l'Évangile,

³⁰qui ne reçoive le centuple dès maintenant, au temps présent, en maisons, frères, sœurs, mères, enfants et champs, avec des persécutions, et, dans le monde à venir, la vie éternelle.

NOTES

The question of possessions has periodically become central in Christian history, if not for all, then for many Christians. People appeared who asserted that a Christian not only...

The question of possessions has periodically become central in Christian history, if not for all, then for many Christians. People appeared who asserted that a Christian not only can, but absolutely must, be poor, completely and absolutely poor; otherwise he will have to forget about salvation and the Kingdom.

Some of the stories told by the evangelists can indeed lead to such thoughts, especially at first glance. Meanwhile, Jesus Himself was not completely destitute: in the community of disciples that He headed there was a common purse, which is mentioned in one way or another in all four Gospels. That purse, admittedly, was managed by Judas Iscariot, which has undoubtedly served at all times as an additional argument for supporters of complete and absolute poverty. Yet the apostles themselves reacted to the Savior's words about the difficulty of salvation for the rich, and in such a way as if all of them were rich men. If the matter were material wealth, money, or possessions in general, they would have had nothing to worry about; but, as is clear, the disciples understood that the Teacher meant something more.

The young man who was speaking with Jesus was indeed materially rich, but the matter was not material wealth as such. Jesus simply answers the question asked: what do I lack for the Kingdom? This is precisely the question the young man asks Jesus, expecting an answer like the one learned rabbis and teachers of the Torah often gave then. He thought that, like them, Jesus would offer him some special means: a prayer, for example, or a special ascetic exercise, or some secret connected with observing the norms and rules of ritual purity - in short, something that would allow him to enter the Kingdom. He did not expect the simple answer about the commandments: "All these I have kept from my youth." There was nothing special in that; most observant Jews could say the same about themselves. The young man, however, is seeking something precisely special; he wants to receive the key to the Kingdom, and he is looking for it as he goes from one spiritual teacher to another.

Jesus can offer him only one thing: complete poverty. Not poverty in the literal sense, but poverty as readiness to give up what one considers one's own. In the Kingdom no one has anything of their own. Each person uses everything he needs, but does not appropriate what he uses. He does not cling to it with his heart, which remains free. This task is harder than completely renouncing possessions, and this time the disciples understood their Teacher very well. Such poverty is not so much a human matter as God's, as Jesus tells them.

After the rich young man was unable to follow the word of the Lord Jesus, to give everything away and become His disciple, the Lord, addressing the disciples, speaks about how hard it is for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Explaining to the disciples what happened, the Lord says: "How hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the Kingdom of God." A camel trying to enter through the eye of a needle is an image the disciples remembered forever. Usually the readers' attention is drawn to this strange, even somewhat surreal picture. It may be that the translation of this saying into Greek, made by the evangelist Mark from the Aramaic in which Christ spoke, and in which Peter told this story, is not entirely perfect; we do not know. It is obvious that the Lord is speaking about something absolutely impossible, and this is what Peter remembered and Mark translated.

The words about those who trust in riches, however, are found in late versions of the Gospel text. The copyists may have inserted them there by analogy with the accounts of the other evangelists; in the Middle Ages there was such a tendency toward unifying the accounts of the Synoptics. The most ancient manuscripts do not contain these words, and Mark's text in them sounds simply astonishing. The Lord says: "Children! How hard it is to enter the Kingdom of God; 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." Thus the issue is not even wealth: according to Christ's words, it is hard in general to enter the Kingdom of God. Wealth and reliance on it are only a particular, especially vivid example.

This is exactly how the disciples understand Christ's words. That is why they do not speak about wealth, especially since they do not have any. "Who then can be saved?" they ask the Lord. Peter, perplexed, asks an even more specific question: "And we, who have followed You? Is it really hard for us too to enter the Kingdom of God?" The disciples get the impression that entering the Kingdom of God is impossible for absolutely anyone, even for them, who have left everything. It is to this question that the Lord gives us a word of great hope: "With men this is impossible, but not with God, for all things are possible with God." No human merits will help a person enter the Kingdom of God. Only God Himself accomplishes our salvation, and our human ideas are powerless here: many who are last will be first, and the first last; for people this is a mystery. But the main thing is that this is a great hope, open to all.

The evangelists report that Jesus' conversation partner was not only rich, but also young and influential. But this brilliant young man has no peace. One question torments him, and he...

FAQ

I wonder: the Gospel of Luke 18:18-27 says, "How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!" Why? Why must one be poor to enter? In general, what is the Bible's attitude toward commerce and money?

In the Gospels, the words "how hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God" are also repeated in the Gospel of Mark in the form "how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God." This is an important addition that helps us understand the mind of the Lord Jesus Christ. There is nothing inherently bad about money in and of itself; what is bad is that we so easily become slaves to it. We begin to think about how to acquire more and more, which easily becomes a passion, a kind of obsession. And then a person lives only for themselves and their money, which is far too little for a fulfilling life. Furthermore, earning money gradually consumes all of one's time and strength, leaving none for God, for love, for people, or for anything else... Moreover, a person imperceptibly begins to focus entirely on what they can do for themselves with their wealth: I will buy this, and then another... However, you cannot take any of this to the grave. In several places, the Gospel tells us that money is good as a means to do good works, and not only for oneself. In short, having enough money to live a dignified life and to do good for others is not bad at all. But it is important that money does not become the meaning and ultimate goal of life. As a means, however, why not?

It is understandable that if one has very little money, such spiritual problems, if they arise at all, do so on a much smaller scale. We must admit that one can be destitute and yet think only about money (this is often complicated by murmuring: "I am so good, yet I have been deprived of what I deserve"). This, obviously, is no better. Happiness is not found in money (nor in its quantity), but in being generous without murmuring. Perhaps generosity is precisely the key word in defining the Christian attitude toward wealth. Generosity sanctifies the one who has money, while greed defiles even the poor.

Poverty that is not fixated on itself and its meager resources has, perhaps, one significant advantage: one can truly and firmly put their hope in God. In prosperity, this hope gives way to gratitude to God for giving you the strength and ability to earn a living. Gratitude to God ("bundled," so to speak, with generosity) also strips wealth of the taint of sin. And to be grateful in poverty is a mark of true spiritual maturity.

Undoubtedly, poverty is a heavy burden. And every hardship in life can be an opportunity for a person to draw closer to Christ, who voluntarily impoverished Himself for our sake and became a poor man.

Finally, for a Christian, any condition in life is valuable only when God Himself calls them to it. Some (and they are the majority) He calls to be poor and to bear all the burdens of life with gratitude and generosity (even with small means). To others, the Lord directly says: "sell all that you have, and follow Me." And a third group is called to earn much money, and to help the first and the second... It is crucial to find your place and to answer your specific calling. Otherwise, neither poverty nor wealth will bring any spiritual benefit.

As for commerce... The Word of God looks favorably upon any honest human endeavor that is not coupled with sin, that brings benefit to others, and that causes no harm to anyone. Thus, the circle of forbidden occupations is quite limited: banditry, prostitution... Of course, commerce, like politics, can struggle to be entirely honest (especially in certain "exotic" countries, such as ours). But difficult does not mean impossible. I have even encountered honest and believing traffic police officers (admittedly, in the remote provinces and a long time ago, but the roads there were wonderful).

In a non-ecclesiastical book, I read a rather liberal explanation of the parable of the rich man and the Kingdom of God. The book asserts that the "Eye of a Needle" was the name of one of the gates of Jerusalem. From this comes the conclusion: a camel that is not excessively burdened can easily pass through this gate. I appreciate this interpretation, although I have doubts regarding its historical authenticity...

Yes, this is a quite well-known explanation of this parable. We also have some reservations about it, although there are times in personal conversations when it may be useful to mention it, for the very reason you have indicated...

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