“Watch, and be on your guard against avarice of any kind . . .”

There is a sense in which the first original sin – that of Adam and Eve – was as much a sin of avarice, as of pride/lack of trust in God.  We have a saying in T&T: “dey eye long!” Genesis 3:6 says “the woman saw that the tree was good to eat and pleasing to the eye, and that it was desirable for the knowledge that it could give.”

The wisdom of God, as contained in the Tenth Commandment, expressly forbids covetousness. Jesus admonishes us against avarice “of any kind” and so widens the scope of the commandment. The book of Job gives some insight into the dilemma which the Tenth Commandment presented to the Jews.

Wealth and health are perceived to be blessings from God – poverty and sickness seen as a sign of lack of righteousness. To expect blessings is to expect material wealth.

But the author of Ecclesiastes is not so much concerned with avarice as a sin, as with the ultimate futility of avarice itself, and the ultimate futility of “possessing.” After having worked so hard to acquire one’s possessions, one has to leave them to others!  “Vanity of vanities!”

Laughter, pleasure, wine, women/men, hard work, wealth – of themselves – do not fulfill our deepest needs (CCC #2541).  Even death itself seems futile because it does not distinguish between the righteous and the sinner.  We will all eventually die!  St Augustine says, “Lord, our hearts are restless until they rest in you.”

The Catechism of the Catholic Church (#356) says of the human person: “He is the only creature of God on earth that God willed for His own sake. He alone is called to share, by knowledge and love, in God’s own life. It is for this end that he was created and this is the fundamental reason for his dignity.”

Fr Henry Charles, (CN March 28, 2004) defines avarice as “a love of possessing which is reflected in a hardening of the heart against thepoor.” The psalmist says today: “O that today you would listen to His voice, harden not your hearts.”

The call of God is always the call of the cross – in the vertical dimension, to the Trinity; and in the horizontal dimension, to one’s neighbours – to community.  Avarice is thus an abrogation of communion/compassion and thus an abrogation of God. To hear God is to hear our neighbour. 

If avarice is sin, then what is the related “virtue”? Paul’s recommendation is that we “put on a new self ... look for the things that are in the heavens ... kill everything in you that belongs only to the earthly life...”

And here the prescription is not an abdication of earthly life, but a call to holiness which is characterised by an attraction to that which is of eternal significance.  Eve was attracted to the tree “for the knowledge that it could give.” Paul advocates “a new self which will progress towards true knowledge.”  Clearly a call to detachment. 

Archbishop Gilbert (CN March 22, 2007) defines detachment as “...rooted in the love of God being primary in our lives  ... being indifferent to everything that is not necessary or useful for one’s own vocation in life ... using all one’s time, energy, resources to love God and neighbour ... self-liberation for service...”

As presented by the Archbishop, detachment is not some nebulous dream state nor is it a rejection of life/disengagement from self, community and culture. On the contrary, the concept is one of a dynamic, active commitment within one’s vocation, to the love of God, God’s people and God’s kingdom.

The end result must clearly be the discovery of one’s deepest self, and the conversion without which, no one will see God.  For some vocations, detachment includes radical reduction of personal needs and/or geographic relocation – all with a view towards greater engagement with God and community.

For most of us however, the “hermitage” is in the community, in our homes, at work, at school, on the playing field, in the neighbourhood.  In these places we seek “self-liberation for service.” 

In the world community, the reality that “the poor will always be with you” is becoming increasingly clearer; and this in spite of our various socio-economic engineering programmes.

This should not deter the myriad individuals, groups, charities and NGOs that address the needs of the less fortunate among us. Generously sharing one’s resources with others truly defines the human person at his/her best – he/she thus “stores up treasures in heaven.”

It is critical that we remember that the greatest hunger today is the hunger for the word of God (In the land there is a hunger!) And so the call today is to WATCH. Be attentive to the smallest stirrings of anything which seeks to distract us from our primary mission – communion with God and neighbour. 

Let us pray
Forgive us Lord, for our attachment to the things of this world and for so often getting our priorities wrong. 
Help us to guard our hearts from avarice of any kind so that we could hear you clearly as you speak to us in the cries of the needy and the poor. 
Make us generous in sharing our gifts of time, talent and treasure in our communities, and help us to grow into a people after your own heart. Amen.  

Gospel Meditations for August are by Kenneth and Bernadette Phillips, catechists of St Joseph’s parish, Scarborough.