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When we come upon a passage from the Gospel proposed in the liturgical calendar, such as the one from today, which speaks about concrete things, we’re all eager to understand what the teaching can mean. Especially in a time like this one, when all eyes are focused on the economic crisis. In fact, all of Europe is asking, “What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?” And for a good reason, too. The State doesn’t have enough money to satisfy the commitments which have already been made. No one wants to lend money to the State because it’s unlikely the debts will be repaid. Politicians don’t want to curtail the enormous social assistance network for fear that citizens would rebel, as was witnessed in Greece, France, and England. Everyone is nervous. Everyone is scared.
At this point, we begin to ask ourselves what Christ’s teaching means. On the one hand, he seems to caution against being rich; on the other hand, he affirms not being anxious or worried. But isn’t something here wrong? People feel anxious, they are worried, because they don’t have money. If they had more money, they wouldn’t be asking what they would eat or drink. Therefore, having more money seems not to be the problem, but the solution to their worries.
Here one sees the great weakness in many attempts over the past century to consider the economy in communistic terms. Saying that there exists a class of ultra-rich who seem not to have any worries about money, and seeing that there is a class of quite poor people who don’t have anything to eat, can lead one to the idea that it would be good to take money from the rich and give it to the poor, to create a society where everyone is equal. No one would ask what one will eat or drink because everyone would have enough to live. Communism seemed like the answer to Jesus’ warning against adoring mammon.
In reality, when a State decides to assume the responsibility of guaranteeing its citizens equal financial conditions and an absolutely egalitarian lifestyle, it risks becoming itself the very mammon of which today’s Gospel speaks. The problem of course is that the class of ultra-rich is simply substituted by politicians in the ruling class, who become themselves the new authorities on apparent social justice. The situation remains the same and we return to the question with which we began: what will we eat, what will we drink? The State cannot answer these questions any more definitively than we can. The results of the attempt to solve a spiritual problem with an economic solution should have been predictable. If we ask the ultra-rich if they’re happy or if they’re satisfied, many will respond saying “No”. In reality, if they have three houses, they must worry about taking care of those three houses, which require time and causes anxiety and worries. It’s true: they don’t worry about what they’re going to eat, but they have to make enough money to pay all of their employees and hired hands.
Honestly considering these two possibilities, one can see that whether you have much money or whether the money gets equally distributed to all, it is a cause of anxiety and worry. Poverty is not a magic answer for the risk of serving mammon instead of God. On the contrary, often one sees envy towards the rich which teems with bitterness and wrath, an actual enslavement to riches. Is this what Christ suggests? I don’t think so. Christ does not say to not have money, but to not serve money. The Psalms say: “Men of low estate are but a breath, men of high estate are a delusion; in the balances they go up; they are together lighter than a breath” (Ps 62:9) and then, “if riches increase, set not your heart on them” (Ps 62:10).
The meaning of Christ’s warning is that both the poor and the rich must be detached from the search for money. Money cannot guarantee a secure tomorrow. Neither the poor nor the rich are able to control everything. Sooner or later the moment of death will arrive. Everyone will have to face it. How can we arrive at this detachment of money? Both for the rich and the poor, Christ has shown us a way:
And he sat down opposite the treasury, and watched the multitude putting money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. And a poor widow came, and put in two copper coins, which make a penny. And he called his disciples to him, and said to them, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. For they all contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, her whole living” (Mk 12:41-44).
This short passage offers us profound points for reflection. Certainly, the widow is praised more than the rich because she offers all that she has. In this sense, it appears to be a condemnation of the rich. But how many people today, who aren’t rich, follow her example? In this climate of economic crisis, we must be careful of defaming rich people. At the heart of all the warnings that Christ makes against wealth, there is an awareness of how easy it is to be attached to money. This attachment is possible for rich and poor alike. Let’s not forget that Judas the traitor was a poor man who fell for thirty pieces of silver. But, the rich tax collector, Matthew, left everything to follow Christ. Certainly, Christ says: “it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God” (Mt 19:24). But this needs to be considered in the context of the Gospels. The Gospels are full of things which seem impossible. The city of Sodom will be treated better than the city of Capernaum because of its unbelief. A little bit of faith can move mountains. Water can become wine. “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” (Mt 19:26).
Everyone has his own battles; both the rich and the poor in the same way. But for both it is possible to serve mammon instead of God. To consider Christ’s teaching as applicable exclusively or even primarily to the rich is to overestimate man’s propensity for vice. The radical, but simple, solution comes from Christ: “Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well” (Mt 6:33).