JANUARY 26, 2009: MARK 10:24-30

Already in the time of the disciples of Jesus this state of affairs was prominent in society. Then as now Scripture itself can supply arguments that justify such an attitude. In the book of Proverbs do we not read of wisdom that “in her right hand is length of days, in her left hand are riches and honor.” (3:15) And again in that same inspired work, we read: “With me (Wisdom) are riches and honor, lasting wealth and justice.” (8:18) That there is a stronger tradition in the same Hebrew Scriptures that warns against complacency in wealth is all too often overlooked. In the same book of Proverbs we are warned that “He who trust in riches will have his fall, the virtuous will flourish like the leaves.”(8:18) Jeremiah the prophet added his voice to this warning also in the context of the nature of true wisdom: “Let the wise man boast no more of his wisdom, not the valiant of his valor, nor the rich man of his riches! But if anyone wants to boast, let him boast of that: of understanding and knowing me.” (9:22- 23)

The ambiguity of wealth and prosperity is clearly, even forcibly set forth in the ancient writings, but the lure of material security is such that we humans find it all too congenial to consider only the advantages offered by wealth, and fail to consider the evil consequences that inevitably follow upon too strong an emphasis on their usefulness. Riches would not be such a strong temptation for us were they not a form of blessing and a sign of God’ generous Providence. But wealth is not only a blessing; it is a challenge to accept responsibility for the use to which we put them. In today’s Gospel Jesus stresses how daunting a challenge riches pose to their owner. He does not say the rich cannot enter the kingdom of God, but rather that it is especially hard for them to devote themselves to attaining to the kingdom.

If this teaching confronts us today as we commemorate the founders of our Order it is because Saints Robert, Alberic, and Stephen were prominently influenced by this doctrine. They understood through lived experience that wealth is ambiguous and all too readily leads to compromise with the world. They appreciated the connection between poverty and solitude on the one hand and, a life devoted to the kingdom through service to the brothers in community and to the whole Church through dedication to prayer. The poor solitude they worked at establishing and maintaining was to be lived as an expression of love not only for the poor whom came to them for assistance, but for all persons of good will. The founders of our Order were not narrow-minded fanatics who criticized the society they renounced, but men of vision who succeeded in establishing a  way of life that served to make present in their time a community whose whole life made the kingdom of God more accessible to their whole society as well as to its own members.

As Cistercian monks we have inherited both the values and as well the essential practices that our founders and their successors after them gave their lives to realizing and to passing on to us living in these times. Certainly the need of such dedicated witness is no less great today than it was in the twelfth century when worldliness, the pride of riches, and the Muslim threat to Christian society were both so aggressively active.