Homily on the 12th Sunday after Pentecost Matthew 19: 16-26.
In today's Gospel, we have recounted for us the story of the young man who come to our Lord and Saviour and asks of Him what he must do to be saved. Now, it is clear that this young man must have followed the totality of the Mosaic Law his whole life – meaning in the eyes of Judaism he would have been seen as a righteous man. However, one thing that stands out in this account is that the young man does not like what he hears, for Christ tells him that he needs to sell all that he owns and give the proceeds to the poor. Now, this was difficult for the young man to hear, for he was a wealthy man who lacked nothing. Moreover, this young man was attached to all that he owned and resultantly his wealth had become an obstacle between him and his relationship with the All-Holy Trinity! Therefore, the only way that he could be saved was for him to relinquish his control over his affairs and trust to the All-Holy Trinity. The result was then that the only way he could be saved, would be to do as our Lord and Saviour commanded – sell all his worldly goods and give the proceeds to the poor.
One thing to be clear on is that our Lord and Saviour does not make the giving away of all of one's wealth a general rule for every Christian. Moreover, it is clear that we are to use whatever talents we have been gifted with for the good of God's kingdom (Luke 19:11-27). Now what this implies is that no matter our talents – natural or financial- we must ensure that we use them for good. We as Christians have certain responsibilities, and as such, we are called to be stewards of the love of the All-Holy Trinity, sharing this love to those who are in need of it most. Thus, we must look for ways to serve in this world like our Lord and Saviour – the ultimate servant.
Many people I talk to have unfortunately swallowed the bitter doctrines of socialism. Socialism and its variants being the one political system in the 20th century that has killed billions of poor innocent people. One thing socialists often try to say is that our Lord and Saviour was advocating that all be communists when he told the rich man to sell all his possessions and give the proceeds to the poor. However, one thing needs to be clarified here is that communism/socialism/fascism were all founded from the same deadly tree of jealously – a form of the ancient rebellion of Satan. Indeed, many will try and argue the Christ told us to give all our possessions to the poor as a sign of His desire for a socialist system. Nonetheless, they fail to see that this command was given to the young man in a specific context because his wealth controlled him.
Indeed, if the setting up of a socialist state had been Christ's motive would He not have preached rebellion (revolution) against the Romans? Why then did He say, 'Give unto Caesar what is Caesar's and give unto God what is God's (Mark 12:17)? Would he not have encouraged his followers to form bands of thugs to kill any person in opposition if truly He had wanted a 'socialist revolution'? If He had done this, He would have been more in accord with what the Jewish people of His time had expected of Him – a warlord! Thus it is clear that Christ did not desire a socialist state for He did or said nothing in support of such an idea! Was it not jealous men bent on destruction who through their own conceit and love for self, who came up with this political system of death and destruction? After all, murderous thuggery has been the modus operandi of every socialist/communist /Fascist government since Marx and Engels first made popular socialism's fetid doctrines of jealousy and destruction.
This is also the reason why any form of 'liberation theology' that has been practiced by the various Western sects of Christianity is a heresy. To claim that our Lord and Saviour was a Marxist is to miss his very message – Christ preaches life and hope not jealousy and destruction! This is why any supposed Church that preaches such doctrines cannot be part of Christ's Body the Church – for life cannot come from doctrines that come from the source of all destruction (Satan)! Therefore, a Church that preaches the truth of Christ will steer clear of the heresies of 'liberation theology' for they do not lead to life but rather to eternal damnation.
What then does Christ mean when He states that, 'It is hard for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven?' Well, like the rich man in today's Gospel, to be saved requires that we have a reliance on the All-Holy Trinity. Now the biggest problem for many wealthy people is that their wealth becomes a stumbling block in their relationship to the All-Holy Trinity. For some, money can become a god that needs to be served – this is why some gather fortunes greater than they need to survive and this greed will be their downfall in the afterlife. Can a person still be wealthy and be saved? The answer to this question is yes – if one's trust and reliance is on the All-Holy Trinity, and one does good with the talents that one has been given. However, Christ makes it clear that it will be hard for the rich to inherit the afterlife for He states that, "It will be easier to push thread through the eye of a needle than it will be for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven." Unfortunately, Protestant translators of the Bible mistranslated the Greek word Kamelos because they missed an important accent which changes the meaning of this word kamelos from camel to the verb 'to toil.' What this means is that with things like wealth come a responsibility to help where it is necessary. Therefore, if one has faith in the All-Holy Trinity and one does good deeds to build up His Kingdom here on Earth, then one can be saved.
Finally, as the Church, it is vital that we help where possible the poor in our local communities. However, this help that we give must be to their benefit. For instance, if someone needs assistance with getting a job, then we must help them do so. However, we must always make sure that the help that we give is directed towards helping them grow not only in their daily life but also in their spiritual life. This old saying is apt here, "Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime." There is much wisdom in this saying showing us that any outreach we do should be focused on giving people independence, rather than making them dependent on handouts. It is by doing this, we can not only show them the truth of Christ's Gospel of Love, but also, we can help them learn self-sufficiency – the first key to building positive self-esteem.
Let us pray that we the Church, can genuinely be of service to this world and bring many to Christ through our faith and deeds.
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