The juxtaposition of an enormously large lottery drawing and last Sunday’s Gospel message where Jesus spoke of handling wealth, I find most fascinating. It seems to prompt one to reflect not just on money, but all possessions and our relationship to them. 

Last week as I was creating some test content for a website at work, I found myself typing in, what I thought at the moment, silly sayings. Since the content is merely for testing purposes, it’s not important what the words are, however, I do like to use actual sentences, so that the tests sufficiently measure the functionality of the application. For the headline, I wrote something like, Want to get wealthy fast? Perhaps it was all the talk about the lottery that my subconscious had me write that. However, the short paragraph that followed has haunted me until Sunday’s Gospel. “Give it all away. Seriously. When you give everything away, then you’re left with only what you need. Then you’re as wealthy as you need to be and you are freed from any attachments to possessions.” When I finished typing that into the test system, I was surprised at what I wrote! Where did this come from? Certainly not me!

In my initial ponderings about what I wrote, I knew it to be the message that Scripture conveys. According to Bishop Robert Barron, that is exactly what the first Beatitude is all about: Blessed are the poor in spirit. Poor in this sense is meant to indicate an attachment to things, albeit money, material goods, or a combination of both. As I looked around my office, I realized all the stuff I have. For example, I have two beautifully hard-bound books that I used in my college classes — several decades ago — each encompassing the works of Shakespeare and Chaucer. Do I need these books? No. Do I ever look at these books? I can’t recall the last time I did so. Will I remove these books from the premises? Not unless I have to. They are nice books! I don’t see the purpose of getting rid of perfectly nice books, unless I need to downsize what I have. If something happened to them, would I replace them? Nope. So I don’t have an attachment to them, yet I insist on keeping them, which makes me think there is some sort of connection I have with them. Yet these are just two examples of the superfluous minutiae that I have.

“If you are not trustworthy with what belongs to another, who will give you what is yours?” (Lk 16:12) This line caught my attention during Sunday’s Gospel reading and sent me pondering down a whole different train of thought. What is really ours? What do we have that we have not received through the grace and blessing of God? While we may have worked to receive a paycheck to pay for our home, our furnishings, our clothes, it is the generosity of God that has allowed us to be able to work in whatever job we have. Indeed, it’s not just the items that surround us, but our very being itself that is a gift of God. Each breath and heartbeat is willed by God. Are we trustworthy stewards of all that God has given us?

As children of God, we are called to reflect what the Father does for us. He is lavish with His blessings and we are called to mirror that same generosity towards others. For some it may be spending time with them — a precious gift that we cannot make any more of — to listen and be present in that moment. Others may require a helping hand to complete a task. And still others may require food, clothing, or money to buy the essentials of life. As God blesses us in many ways with many things, there is no singular way that we give of ourselves to others. Rather, it’s looking for ways that we can assist. Some are called to serve food at a shelter, some are called to prepare the food, and some are called to purchase the ingredients. Each gives differently according to their capability and calling.

Wealth, in a pure secular sense, is fleeting. We all know we cannot take it with us when we pass from this life. However, the more we imitate God in the here and now, the better we will be able to recognize Him in heaven, because in serving others, we see in each person the image of God. True wealth, then, is not something we can measure because it is the Infinite God of Love.