Economic equality

Year B – Sunday 28

Readings: Wisdom 7: 7-11; Hebrews 4: 12-13; Mark 10: 17-30 

Economic imbalance, both amongst individuals in first and second world countries and amongst entire nations, seems to have become for many people a reality as natural as the air we breathe. Some think of it as necessary and unavoidable. This might indeed not be so. The Book of Wisdom reminds us that, to imagine another type of economic structure which does not breed disparity, a new mentality must be adopted, one which values good-sense higher than material or financial wealth or political muscle.

One way of acquiring such an understanding is by allowing the Word of God work in our hearts and minds. The writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews makes this clear. The Word is capable of cleansing our mentalities as much as our thoughts and intentions. It will always be difficult, if not impossible, to behold the world with new eyes if our hearts and minds are captive of attitudes, outlooks and mindsets which put up with injustices and inequalities.

Jesus encourages his disciples to relinquish the obsession with money, wealth and personal prosperity. Riches cannot be deemed higher than people without corrupting the human spirit. To behold a world of fraternity, peace and justice one must necessarily surrender one’s obsession with personal hoarding and accumulation and embrace a policy of communal enrichment. We are either improved together or, despite our individual wealth, personally impoverished.