“We were hit to the bone; knocked down but not destroyed.”
Fr. Ellince Martyr, Oblate Provincial of Haiti
How hard it is for a rich man to enter heaven. A massive new leak of documents dubbed ‘The Pandora Papers’ is shedding light on how the rich and famous are hiding their money, and how a world of off-shore tax havens is still thriving. Tax havens are the global black holes designed specifically to hide the wealth of the rich and powerful of the world through tax avoidance (which is legal but immoral), tax evasion (which is illegal and immoral) and escape accountability by ensuring secrecy in their operations.
In our recent scripture of the rich young man, we know the renunciation of wealth is not an end in itself, but only a precondition for following Jesus. This young man must be brought to recognize that his wealth was an impediment, preventing him from responding freely to the invitation, “Follow me.” It is the life of discipleship, not in itself the renunciation of wealth, that leads to eternal life.
“How very difficult it is,” Jesus said, “for a man who has money to enter into the Kingdom of God.” We pursue security but we know we can never become safe. There is no insurance policy or health plan that can prevent the pain of our humanity. A person will always be judged by two standards– how he/she got his/her possessions and how he/she uses them. The more one has, the greater the responsibility that rests upon that individual. Yes, the rich must give a much greater percentage to taxes for the common good, not hide their money in tax shelters.
Rev. William Barber II, a Protestant minister and co-chair of the Poor People’s Campaign spoke Oct. 4 at the Vatican. There are more than 1 billion people living in extreme poverty. During COVID billionaires made nearly $2 trillion. “This is a moral spiral towards death,” he said. “It is morally indefensible, constitutionally inconsistent and economically insane.” G. K. Chesterton once said, “There are two ways to have enough in this world. One is to accumulate more and more. The other is to desire less.”
“You have much”, Christ says, “But you are lacking in one thing. What is that: FREEDOM. Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” He had great possessions but couldn’t be positively and sacrificially generous. Money can offer temporary security, but it is also a tether, holding one back from full and free commitment to love as Jesus loved.
Norwegian playwright, Henrik Ibsen once said, “Money can buy the husk of many things but not the kernel. It brings you food but not appetite, medicine but not health, acquaintances but not friends, servants but not faithfulness, days of joy but not peace and happiness.”
Have you had the experience of witnessing giving that it truly sacrificial and freely offered in joy? It causes one to believe in the goodness of humanity. Haiti experienced another devasting earthquake on August 14th. It claimed 2200 lives, 12,000 injured, and 60,000 homes destroyed. We lost no Oblate lives, but many properties and churches were destroyed. A plea was made by emails and “Oblate Spirit”, to our MAMI members. How proud we were to witness their generous giving. In the two months of August and September, our MAMI collaborators joined the Oblate effort around the world in contributing $43,000 to alleviate this suffering. Thank you!
October and Thanksgiving. Novelist Iris Murdoch has wisely said, “To be a saint is nothing less than to be warmed and vitalized by gratitude.” The more we understand that all is gift from the creator the more generous we share with the poor. Gratitude leads to solidarity.
By Ken Forster, OMI
