REFLECTION ON THE 18TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME, 2019
We often hear the term “The American Dream”. We will hear this being referenced quite a bit by politicians over the next year and a half, especially during this election cycle (when are we ever not in an election cycle?). Exactly, what is The American Dream? How do others define it? How do we define it? The readings for this Sunday may help us discern, shape, and refine what we mean when we say The American Dream.
The author of Ecclesiastes (Ecc 1:2; 2:21-23) points out a common human situation for us. Many will work multiple hours, use all their experience, knowledge, and economic resources to acquire wealth only to find it all given away to those undeserving. The author states that all this work, all the worry that goes into acquiring great wealth that is easily given away not only folly, but the epitome of human vanity.
Building on this wisdom from the Book of Ecclesiastes, Jesus tells the parable of the rich man who, in having an abundant harvest, tears down his barns and storage bins to build even larger ones in which to store his wealth upon which to party the rest of his life, only to die and not benefit from the wealth he has acquired. Jesus concludes the parable with the words, “You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you; and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?” Then Jesus turns to us and states, “Thus will it be for all who store up treasure for themselves but are not rich in what matters to God.” (Luke 12: 20b-21, NAB) How do these two readings shape our understanding of The American Dream.
For many in our nation, on Wall Street, Main Street, and our government, The American Dream can be summed up in the words of the character Gordon Gekko from Oliver Stone’s movie, “Wall Street.” Gekko in addressing the stockholders of his corporation, Teldar paper, utters these infamous words. “The point is, ladies and gentlemen that greed, for lack of a better word, is good. Greed is right. Greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Greed, in all of its forms, greed for life, for money, for love, knowledge, has marked the upward surge in mankind and greed, you mark my works, will not only save Teldar paper, but that other malfunctioning corporation called the USA. Thank you very much.”*
Gordon Gekko defines The American Dream to mean unbridled and undisciplined greed, that is to acquire great wealth and power at the expense of others and the Common Good. Jesus tells us in the Gospel that living a life of greed is a life that is empty. Jesus instructs us to focus instead on treasures that are of God. So what are these treasures that matter so greatly to God? Paul, in his letter to the Colossians (Col 3:1-5, 9-11), helps us understand this in terms of our behaviors.
Paul first reminds us that having died and been raised with Jesus in baptism, we must seek not the things of this earth, but rather seek the treasures of God. He then goes on to explain to us , that since we are now human, as God meant humanity to be, we must cast away from ourselves behaviors that are subhuman. He writes, “Put to death, then, the parts of you that are earthly: immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and the greed that is idolatry. Because of these the wrath of God is coming upon the disobedient. By these you too once conducted yourselves, when you lived in that way. But now you must put them all away: anger, fury, malice, slander, and obscene language out of your mouths. Stop lying to one another, since you have taken off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed, for knowledge, in the image of its creator. (Col 3: 5-10, NAB)
Paul challenges us to look at our lives, to look at our behaviors. Are we living lives defined in greedily acquiring not only wealth and power, but anything and everything that satisfies our senses: sex, the finest foods and wines, and opulence? If this is our lives, then our lives will not be fulfilled, rather they will be empty and pointless, prone to despair that the author of Ecclesiastes describes so vividly and prone to an eternal life in a void utterly separated from God.
This does not mean that we must live the austere life of a hermit. There is nothing wrong in owning a nice car, and home, being sexually active with our spouse, going on a nice vacation, and earning a good living. However, we must put everything we have in our lives in its proper place so that we do not obsess so much over what we have so that our lives become so unbalanced our things end up owning us. A good balanced life of a disciple of Jesus focuses on giving thanks to God for that which we have and share the excess with those who are in most in need.
There is a story about a man who acquired great wealth during his lifetime and was now on his deathbed. He called his family together and told them to put all his wealth in the attic of his home, so that when he died he would take it with him to heaven. The man died, and his wife instructed the children to go to the attic. There is a vast pile was all his wealth and treasure. When his wife heard this she said to them, “I told the old fool to put in all the basement.”
In light of the scriptural readings for this Sunday, I find The American Dream defined not in terms of satisfying our own greed at the expense of others and the Common Good, but rather advancing our lives, the lives of our family, and the lives of all people in our nation to live in peace, harmony, and wellness.
The author of Ecclesiastes writes, “For what profit comes to man from all the toil and anxiety of heart with which he has labored under the sun? All his days sorrow and grief are his occupation; even at night his mind is not at rest.” (Eccl 2: 22-23b, NAB) Or, as Jesus says in the Gospel of Mark, “What profit is there for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life?” (Mark 8: 36, NAB) The readings leave us with these two questions, “What do we treasure in our lives? What are our treasures?”
*Quote from the 1987 movie, Wall Street, directed and co-written by Oliver Stone.
