Tag Archive for ‘wealth’
Monday 25 November
Daniel 1:1-6, 8-20; Canticle of Daniel 3: 1-4 or Daniel 3:52-56; Luke 21:1-4 Giving all! The contrast between the rich devotees and the poor widow is striking! It is so easy to give a little from substantial wealth accumulated and saved over time. But the widow offers an amount that is a real sacrifice, truly […]
Sunday 22 September
25th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME Amos 8:4-7; Psalm 113; 1 Timothy 2:1-8; Luke 16:1-13 Dangerous wealth Today Jesus and Amos give us good advice about money. Jesus calls it “that tainted thing” and Amos condemns those who “trample on the poor and practice deceit”. Though seeming to praise the dishonest manager Jesus is really saying […]
Sunday 4 August
18th Sunday in Ordinary Time Ecclesiastes 1:2, 2:21-23; Psalm 95;Colossians 3:1-5, 9-11; Luke 12:13-21 Make Christ your life Solomon ponders life’s meaning. Vanity is ego or trivial self-interest. Another word for vanity might be ‘hollowness’, or ‘vapour’. Perhaps we dream about being rich. Solomon was rich beyond measure, yet warns that he had nothing without […]
Monday 17 June
ELEVENTH WEEK OF ORDINARY TIME 2 Corinthians 6:1-10; Psalm 98; Matthew 5:38-42 The poverty of gospel living Christian poverty is not about a lack of material wealth. Rather, Christian poverty is about the renouncing of one’s self-importance and a readiness to acknowledge the rights and needs of others. Jesus challenges us to serve rather than […]
Sunday 16 December
Third Sunday of Advent Zephaniah 3:14-18; Isaiah 12:2-6; Philippians 4:4-7; Luke 3:10-18 What should we do? John the Baptist gives hand-on, down-to-earth advice to three groups – the crowds, the tax collectors and the soldiers – when they ask him, ‘What should we do?’ A central concern of Luke lies beneath this question: nothing so […]
Wednesday 12 September
1 Corinthians 7:25-31; Psalm 45B; Luke 6:20-26 Room for God Jesus is saying that to be poor is to be blessed. It is typical in Scripture for exaggeration to be used in order to communicate spiritual wisdom. The wisdom here is that with being poor there is more chance of being dependent upon God than […]
Monday 3 September
Pope St Gregory the Great 1 Corinthians 2:1-5; Psalm 119 H; Luke 4:16-30 Relying on God’s power Gregory is a good example of someone who relied on God’s power. He could have had a comfortable, easy life but he felt called to make a difference in the world. He founded monasteries and then became a […]
Tuesday 21 August
Ezekiel 28:1-10; Canticle Deut. 32:1-12; Matthew 19:23-30 How much interest? Jesus is being frighteningly clear. If you are rich, it’s easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than it is for us to get to heaven. Whether the eye of the needle is the wee gate into Jerusalem or a […]
Thursday 24 May
MARY, HELP OF CHRISTIANS James 5:1-6; Psalm 49; Mark 9:41-50 Poor in spirit A recent Oxfam report shows 1% of the NZ population owns 28% of the wealth and the poorest 30% own just 1% – and the inequality is still growing. James reminds us that riches gained unjustly will bring us condemnation. Jesus points […]
The Eye of the Needle
Yes, I tell you again, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven Matthew 19:24. On a recent visit to my home, my ten-year-old grandson Tommy said, “Grandma, your house is so big!” Tommy has often been in […]
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