In this regard, an indicator might direct our thoughts on today’s Gospel. Firstly, wealth and blessing go together. Many still subscribe to this Jewish notion that wealth is a blessing from God. Fortunately, in this scenario, it is a young man blessedly wealthy eagerly searching for the more. In his own estimation, he has led a virtuous life by keeping the commandments. In the ensuing discussion, an in answer to the young man’s pursuit, Jesus proposes a move beyond the comfort of his status quo. If one adopts the Ignatian pædagogy, this movement follows the “magis” of the “ad maiorem Dei gloriam”—for the “greater” glory of God. The choices we make must always be for the greater glory of God. And, if we interpret the invitation to the young man through the lens of the Augustinian interiority, then Jesus is merely pointing out the “restlessness” that we all experience as matter of fact. The “restlessness” of dissatisfaction symbolises our search for the eternal.
This restlessness can help to contextualised and situate the securities that we all easily accumulate and hoard without realising it. Firstly, we should note that, in itself, wealth is a “bonum” and as St Teresa de Jesus wisely reminded us that even though, “Money may be the devil’s excreta, it is definitely a good fertiliser”. Wealth can definitely be used to further God’s kingdom. Historically, the Church has never been shy about the judicious use of wealth. However, she must remain vigilant as exemplified in the case of the rich young man. He naïvely thought that wealth could be of assistance in the service of God. Instead, it became an obstacle to radical discipleship.
This experience of the young man can easily lend itself to the demonisation of riches and possessions. The uneasy relationship between possessions and discipleship is made clearer if we consider the “higher calling”. The general Catholic sensibility still continues to display a deference for the priestly/religious vocation as a superior and pre-eminent path to heaven. Of course, presently, we stress on the universal call to holiness. However, the eremitical life is interesting because the desert is not desertion but rather engagement. The early Christians ran into the desert not to escape life but rather to actively combat the proclivities of the human heart. It is true that wealth can obscure our vision but it is not only wealth that prevents us from whole heartedly following the Lord. The early Desert Fathers went into the wilderness in order to face the beasts within that hampered their desire to follow the Lord more perfectly, more faithfully. Material possession is symbolic of the many securities we have and they come in different forms.
To wit, very simply, beauty is also type of security. Imagine a young woman giving that up in order to follow the Lord as a cloistered religious. Conventional wisdom would deem such a sacrifice as a waste of beauty. Where the metrics of relevance is media exposure, beauty should be seen and admired. Against this media-obsessed environment, radical discipleship will be a struggle against the multi-faceted industries of vanity—clothing and fashion, cosmetics and perfumes, hair and health services and etc.
Wealth is not merely material. It could be anything which we form a disordered attachment to. Take the case of personal autonomy. We are fiercely attached to our individual freedom and choice that obedience to another becomes next to impossible. Some of us are addicted to power when it is taken away, how quickly we descend into depression. Ask some prime ministers or even bishops or parish priests. Another area of our struggle is pleasure. We are insatiable to the point of forgetting that pleasure has a purpose. Today, there is barely any difference between a gourmand and a gourmet. Traditionally, one is greedy and the other is an aficionado. The difference is dissolved when a glutton is elevated to a connoisseur. St Luke reminds us that anything can be a millstone. “Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one’s life does not consist of possessions.” (Lk 12:15).
Christ has never advocated detachment for its own sake. He invites each person to the conversion, that is, the letting go, which is necessary for one’s salvation. The struggle of the wealthy young man is a reminder that salvation is found in God alone and not want we own. If anything, our securities tend to insinuate themselves so as to become the basis for our salvation.
But the beauty of this account is how much the Lord loves us. In the conversation today, the Lord looked at the young man and loved him. It is within this context that the young man was asked to go beyond the good he has to the better he can become. We are used to systematic guilt-tripping that we think that God’s love is a result of our obedience. Such is the psychology of reward and punishment. But God’s love is not a reward for our “compliance”. Instead His love is an invitation which explains why Jesus did not reject the man’s rejection. This is an important difference. If we do not love God, He is not going to sulk and scheme His revenge.
When we demonise wealth and possessions, we may miss the point that God continually waits for our response in love. While discipleship is demanding, the basis for has never been a demand but a loving invitation. For this we need to look to the saints for their examples. Their so-called higher calling was never about them being better than others but an indication of their desire to follow Him more closely and more perfectly. It is not an honour but rather a privilege. In numerous instances this privilege extended by the Lord has led many to lay down their lives.
What is impossible humanly, the saints have proven that renunciation is possible because it comes from a freedom touched by the love of God. Otherwise, the “restlessness” described by St Augustine makes no sense. Anything that is short of God will always fail to satisfy us fully. No matter the accomplishment, no matter how much we have, we will always be longing for the more. The “magis” suggested by St Ignatius is possible because it is a response of a heart graced by love, touched by God and freed from the shackles of disorderly attachments. So, as the 1st Reading suggests, pray for the wisdom to differentiate between what is good and what is better and the courage and the determination to embrace the better.
