STRAIGHT TALK FROM THE LORD JESUS ABOUT THE POOR AND THE RICH.

SIXTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME. YEAR C.
February 11, 2007.
(First Reading: Jeremiah 17:5-8)
(Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 15:12, 16-20)
(Gospel Reading: Luke 6:17, 20-26)

STRAIGHT TALK FROM THE LORD JESUS
ABOUT THE POOR AND THE RICH.

Today the Lord Jesus speaks directly, with no ambiguities, about the division caused among human beings by the production and use of the goods, and the appropriation of the resources of the world.

1. The Fruits of the Earth (or world's resources) and the Fruits of Man's Labor (or economic goods).
The world's resources and the economic goods are to be used for the benefit of all human beings, without exception. Resources and goods are intended by God to be a source of unity among all human beings, in other words, all human beings share the ability to produce the goods as well as the right to use them to meet their needs. This is the order intended by God: All the resources of the earth and the fruits of human labor are destined to be used to meet the needs of all human beings.

2. The Poor and the Rich.
The Lord Jesus speaks of the poor and the rich because human beings have divided themselves in two groups: The poor and the rich; division which results from the appropriation by the rich of the resources and goods, while the poor are deprived of them.

Let us now take a look at who are the poor and who are the rich:
- The Poor. Are those who have being deprived of the means to meet their human needs either by being dispossessed of what they produce or by being excluded from the production process. The poor, therefore suffer injustice.

-The Rich. Are those who appropriate for themselves the resources of the earth and the fruits of their fellow human beings' labor. By doing so, the rich violate the order intended by God, which is that all resources and goods are to be used for the wellbeing of all human beings(1). The unity among all human beings is thus broken by the rich; the human race is divided in rich on one side, and poor on the other(2).

3. The Blessed and the Cursed.
In the gospel Jesus calls the poor blessed because:
- The poor follow God's plan to preserve the unity of mankind. It is the poor who want all human beings to have their fair share in the resources of the world and the fruits of human labor.

- The poor do not deprive others of what human beings need, do not exploit, do not oppress.

- The poor are the image of the kingdom of God, a kingdom where there is no exploitation of man by man. They have a vision of a kingdom of unity, their kingdom.

- The poor experience in their own life the suffering caused by exploitation, thus they are the ones who want to bring an end to injustice.

In the gospel Jesus announces the impending calamity that will fall upon the rich ("Woe to you who are rich... who are filled now, for you will be hungry... for you will grieve and weep" - Luke 26:24-25) because:
- The rich are against God's plan, they give the resources of the world and the economic goods a use other than the one intended by God. They fail to use them for the well being of all their fellow human beings.

- The rich dispossess and deprive others of what they need for a life in accordance with their human dignity.

- The rich distort the image of God. The God of unity they turn into a god of division(3).

Today is the time for us to listen to the Lord Jesus' call to restore the unity among all human beings.
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Footnotes.
(1) The wealth a person possesses in order to meet his needs a the highest level of human dignity does not render him rich. Rich is the person who meets either one or both of the following conditions:
a) Appropriates for himself the resources and goods other human beings required to meet their needs.
b) possesses wealth while his fellow human beings lack or do not have enough of the means to fully meet their human needs.

(2) Wealth in itself does not cause the division of men in poor and rich. The division of men in poor and rich only appears when the rich take to themselves the wealth, depriving their fellow human beings of it. Only the rich can cause such division among human beings:
- The scarcity and abundance of wealth or the supply and demand of wealth do not cause the division of men in poor and rich. Let us put these two examples:
1. Concerning scarcity (Insufficient quantities or the lack of resources and goods): A community of people of, say,10 individuals have $1,000 dollars - a very small amount - to live on for a month; if 2 of those individuals take for themselves $990 leaving the rest with $10, then there it appears the division between rich and poor. Whereas if each individual takes $100, then there are no rich and poor.
2. Concerning abundance (Great quantities of resources and goods): If the same community as mentioned above have 10 million dollars - a very large amount - to live on for a month, the division of men in poor and rich will appear even if one of their members if deprived of what is necessary for him to meet the fullness of his human needs.
- The utilization of the wealth, in it self, does not cause the division of men in poor and rich. Whereas if the rich does not use the wealth for the well being of all mankind, then the wealth becomes a means in the hands of the rich to keep the poor in poverty.
- The production of wealth does not cause the division of men in rich and poor. The goods produced by able human beings are to be shared with those who are unable to produce them (The sick, the weak, the orphans, etc.). Whereas if some individuals appropriate for themselves the fruits of production, then the division of men in poor and rich appears.

(3) The rich are praised and defended by their societal institutions, as Jesus says of the rich in the gospel: "Woe to you when all speak well of you, for your ancestors treated the false prophets in this way" (Luke 6:26).