Jesus said, “How hard for those trusting riches to enter the kingdom of God.”
In his lifetime, Jesus was an itinerant preacher, who possessed no belongings and owned no home. Jesus sent his disciples out in the same way—with no food, money, bags, or second tunic.
Christians for whom Mark writes in A.D. 70 struggle with issues of wealth and human purpose. This problem persists and worsens in our world. Benedict XVI reviews the Catholic social teaching on economic inequality in the 2009 encyclical Caritas et Veritate.
Economics always involves moral decisions that affect the common good. The holy father challenges a right to excess. Our interpersonal relationships define us, he insists. These relations bind us in love and respect to other people and to God, source of the gift of existence.
What makes investing yourself or money difficult?
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More from this week’s Sunday By Sunday:
Jesus makes a suggestion that proves outrageous in Sunday’s gospel. He invites a rich young man to sell his possessions, give the money to the poor, and follow him. The young man walks away. All three synoptic gospels tell this story.
Sisters are among the followers of Jesus who choose the lifestyle Jesus proposes. To be a sister is to invest one’s life energies and gifts in serving and empowering our neighbors, especially the poor, 85% of whom are women and their children.
Read the full issue (pdf)