Readings Between the Lines

Reflections

Does your desire for material goods compete with the spiritual goods God offers?

Readings Between the Lines

Father Glenn LeCompte

Come now, rich ones! Weep as you howl over your miseries which are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted and your garments have become moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have corroded and their rust will serve as testimony against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure for the last days. Behold, the wages of the workers who mowed your fields, those out of which you cheated them cry out; and the cries of the harvesters to the ears of the Lord of hosts have come. You have lived luxuriously upon the earth and indulged yourselves. You have fattened your hearts for the day of slaughter. You condemned, you murdered the righteous one. He has not opposed you (James 5:1-6, translation by Father Glenn LeCompte).

In style of 8th century B.C. Old Testament prophets (e.g. Amos, Isaiah and Micah), James delivers a judgment oracle (speech) citing the behavior of the wealthy as inappropriate for a follower of Jesus who is anticipating his second coming. James 5:1-6 will be read on the 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Sept. 26) this year. The folly of those who are consumed with the material things they possess is that they have focused their lives on things that will be meaningless at Christ’s coming.

James is not so much addressing wealthy people in his community as attempting to demonstrate to his readers the folly of those who are taken up with wealth. After calling the readers to focus on what he is about to say regarding the wealthy, he warns that the materially-endowed are inviting misery upon themselves. The miseries of which James speaks refer to the unstable nature of wealth to give comfort to people. When he says that the wealthy’s riches “have rotted,” James is using the Greek perfect tense, which indicates a current state consequent upon a past action. While this statement underscores the instability of the benefits wealth brings, the author’s allusion to gold and silver corroding or rusting asserts that in consideration of what truly matters they are worthless, although gold and silver do not actually rust. He points out that the same quality of unreliability applies to fine garments, which in the first century also indicated a person’s wealth (e.g. Matthew 11:8). James’ teaching that material wealth is only of transitory value reflects that of Jesus in Luke 12:33, “Sell your belongings and give alms. Provide money bags for yourselves that do not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven that no thief can reach nor moth destroy.”

James suggests that the stockpiling of material comforts represents a gathering of evidence against oneself, evidence that will render one subject to an unfavorable judgment. When he speaks of material things eating (consuming) their flesh like fire, he is using a common biblical image of judgment (Isaiah 33:10-14; Matthew 5:22). The phrase “stored up treasures” has a double meaning. On the one hand, the wealthy have literally stored up treasures with the intent of comforting themselves. On the other hand, and ironically, the treasures they stored up will be the evidence against them at the judgment (see above). Why is this? The hoarding of precious material things can endanger one’s faith in and dependence upon God. An abundance of material possessions can make people comfortable and self-sufficient and cause them to adopt a mentality that there is no need for God in their lives.

The desire to accumulate items of wealth can also lead to deceitful practices, such as withholding just wages from workers, an action which is specifically condemned by Deuteronomy 24:14-15. James exposes this crime by quoting Isaiah 5:9, which asserts that the Lord of Hosts hears the cries of those who have been cheated out of houses and property. When James a little later accuses the wealthy of murdering the righteous one, he may be referring to the defrauded workers mentioned earlier. His teaching here may reflect Sirach 34:26-27, “To take away a neighbor’s living is to commit murder; to deny a laborer wages is to shed blood.”

James’ indictment of the wealthy for living luxuriously upon the earth and indulging themselves a

Reflections

echoes Amos’ judgment oracle against complacent rich people in Zion (6:1-7). By emphasizing that it is “on earth” that these people have engaged in this indulgent lifestyle James stresses again that such opulence is only beneficial to life in this passing world.

As I mentioned earlier, James is probably warning his community members to avoid the pitfalls of materialism. While it is true that passages such as Luke 12:33 (which I quoted above) indicate that those blessed with material wealth can use their abundance justly by giving alms, still we cannot ignore James’ warning about the dangers posed by dependence on material things. Of the seven capital sins (see Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 1866) avarice (greed) is probably the most overlooked in U.S. society. As economic upward mobility increases for many people, even those at a relatively young age can live a very comfortable lifestyle. We as a society are ever more equating success in life with financial success. Over and above this is the proliferation of the “Gospel of Prosperity” which is circulating in our society. A Washington Post article (Cathleen Falsani, https://www.washingtonpost. com/wp-srv/special/opinions/outlook/ worst-ideas/prosperity-gospel.html) defines it as follows: “God blesses those God favors most with material wealth.” This is contrary to a number of New Testament passages, especially James 5:1-6 (see also Luke 1:52-53). James gives us a reality check. We should take inventory of the material comforts we have and how they affect our lives. If we have more than we need to sustain us, we must ask ourselves how that abundance affects our spiritual lives, especially prayer and dependence upon God. We also have to ask if our attachment to and desire for material things impedes our ability to turn outward toward others, especially to reach out to the poor in their need and to refrain from holding them in contempt. We pray each day that God’s kingdom will come. As we await that day we must procure what is appropriate and necessary for life in it, and jettison what is not. BC

Reflection Questions

v Do you possess just what you need to sustain life or more than that? If more, how does your dependence upon and need for material possessions affect your spiritual life? v How does the desire for material goods compete with the desire for the spiritual goods God offers? v How does your attachment to material possessions or wealth affect your ability to reach out to others, especially those in need?

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