God Knows Your Hearts

November 10, 2007

Memorial of Saint Leo the Great, pope and doctor of the Church

Now to him who can strengthen you, according to my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret for long ages but now manifested through the prophetic writings and, according to the command of the eternal God, made known to all nations to bring about the obedience of faith, to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ be glory forever and ever. Romans 16: 25-27

If, therefore, you are not trustworthy with dishonest wealth, who will trust you with true wealth? If you are not trustworthy with what belongs to another, who will give you what is yours? No servant can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. Luke 16: 11-13

Piety

Let me not be tied down to property or praise and I shall be free.

Free from the nagging ache of envy.

Free from the hurts of resentment.

Free to love all and forgive all.

Free to do and say what is right, regardless of unpopularity.

Free to wander everywhere as inspiration. St. Francis of Assisi

Study

http://www.usccb.org/nab/111007.shtml

Paul’s Letter to the Romans teaches us about the vital role for “obedience in faith.” Salvation comes to Christians through faith in Jesus Christ and with all the implications for action in the world that that faith requires.

Luke builds on this theme by singling out one of the primary temptations which diverts us from this those implications -- money. People throughout time have faced the conflict between wealth and faith and we still try to ignore its implications. As Jesuit theologian John Haughey has remarked, “We read the Gospel as if we had no money, and we spend our money as if we know nothing of the Gospel.”

Jesus often addresses how hard it is for a rich man (or woman) to enter into heaven. In fact, early in Luke’s gospel, he recounts an episode in Jesus’ life which might even be considered an economic manifesto that sets the stage for Chapter 16 and the stories about wealth.

He [Jesus] came to Nazareth, where he had grown up, and went according to his custom into the synagogue on the Sabbath day. He stood up to read and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah. He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written:

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord."

Rolling up the scroll, he handed it back to the attendant and sat down, and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him.

He said to them, "Today this scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing." Luke 4:16-21

Messages and episodes abound throughout the Hebrew Bible about the: Jubilee release of slaves, deconstruction of debt, and return of foreclosed land.

Ched Myers (in The Biblical Vision of Sabbath Economics) points out that there is no theme more common in Jesus’ teaching than economic messages. For example, “He promises sharecroppers abundance, but threatens absentee landowners and rich householders with judgment. In order to emphasize the incompatibility of the economy of grace with the dictates of ‘Mammon,’ Jesus spins a parable that portrays a hapless middleman caught in the brutal logic of the debt system who decides to ‘trade’ instead in Jubilee-style debt-release.”

Luke connects these socio-economic themes with the ministry Jesus is starting up. He knows what is in our hearts and seeks to convert our obedience to “true wealth” that flows from God.

Action

Through our actions, we can not only correct situations in which injustice prevails, but also we can prevent such injustice from sprouting up.

Many of us have few saving options for retirement other than those available in an organizational pension fund or 401-K plan. However, we can balance that which we support with our charitable dollars with that we can support with our private investments.

One option is to consider shifting some personal savings into places like Oikocredit (www.oikocredit.org) or socially responsible funds.

Oikocredit believes that poor people can build themselves a better life, if only given the chance. If only given credit.

Started as a pioneer in the field of development financing, Oikocredit is today one of the largest financiers of the microfinance sector worldwide. Oikocredit is one of the few ethical investment funds, which finances development projects in the South benefiting disadvantaged and marginalized people. Privately owned, Oikocredit is a unique cooperative society, which encourages investors to invest their funds in a socially responsible manner. It also will take charitable contributions but has many investment options.