There is a popular Zen story about a senior monk and a junior monk traveling together. At one point, they came to a river with a strong current. A beautiful young woman was finding it difficult to cross the river and asked the monks for help. The two monks exchanged a quick look as they remembered their vow not to touch a woman. Then, without saying anything, the older monk bent down, picked up the woman on his shoulders, carried her across the river to the other side, and continued his journey.
The younger monk joined the senior one after crossing on his own. An hour passed, during which neither of them said anything. After two and then three hours had gone, the junior monk took a deep breath, clenched his fists, looked away from the senior monk, and said, “How could you carry that woman on your shoulders when, as monks, we are not permitted to touch a woman?” The older monk looked at him, shook his head, and replied, “Brother, I set her down on the other side of the river; why are you still carrying her in your heart?”
Today’s readings have very strong words for us. In the Gospel passage, I heard Jesus say, “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were put around his neck and he were thrown into the sea.” I then reacted, “Ouch, that stings! I continued to read in search of a softer message, and then Jesus said, “If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off,” and I responded, “Ouch, that stings!”
I then decided to check the second reading, hoping I would find something less harsh, and James said, “Come now, you rich, weep and wail over your impending miseries. Your wealth has rotted away.” At this point, I wondered why James spoke so harshly to the rich. Then I began to wonder, “Who are the rich? Where do they live? How much money do they have? Thank God I am not one of those rich people.”
While I was still thinking about how much money I needed to be considered rich, how many mansions, cars, companies, etc., I then remembered the Zen story of the two monks. The senior monk carried the beautiful lady on his shoulders across the river and dropped her at the river bank, he was not attached to her. But the junior monk who had no physical contact with the lady was attached to her and carried her beyond the river in his heart. Similarly, there are people who may have physical wealth with no attachment to the wealth; rather than serve the wealth, they make the wealth serve God and humanity. While some may not have much material wealth, their lives revolve around the little they have; they make gods out of what they have, oppress those they have little power over, and value people based on their material wealth. So, we recognize the rich James addresses in today’s second reading not by what they have but by how they relate with what they have.
In this passage, James opens the eyes of his audience to the worthlessness of earthly wealth. It is not a call to laziness; it is a call to know the true value of material wealth. It is praiseworthy to work hard and enjoy the fruit of your labor; however, seeing material wealth as the ultimate in life is the most unfortunate thing that can happen to a person. We must not place all our hope on material wealth because nothing in this life lasts forever. In driving home this point, James focusses on the three sources of wealth in his culture and none of them lasts forever. 1) The corn and grain. He observes that they grow and rotten away eventually. 2) Garments. James observes how attractive garments can be when new, but they become food for moths, after a while. 3) Gold and Silver. They also cannot last forever, no matter how durable they may seem.
James moves on to condemn those who use their influence to oppress others. Employers who delay the wages of their employees or underpay them must remember that nothing lasts forever. Take a moment to think of great empires and civilizations of the past. Where are they now? How many more great warriors need to die before we realize nothing lasts forever? How many influential people need to fall out of relevance before we realize that nothing lasts forever? My dearly beloved in Christ, this is not an invitation to live a life devoid of ambition, it is a way to remind us that if we place all our hope on things that are perishable, when they perish, we perish with them; but if we invest in what is permanent, then we will have no cause to fear the passing nature of this life. Let us use time to purchase eternity, use perishable things to gain that which lasts forever, and we must not make any permanent decision based on any temporary emotion. And remember the words of Jesus himself, “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and its righteousness and all other things will be added unto you.” (Matthew 6:33).
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