In today’s first reading James has some challenging and even harsh words for the rich: “Come now, you rich, weep and wail over your impending miseries.” The problem is not possessions or riches per se but how they have earned these riches and what they have done with these riches. James accuses the rich of social injustice and exploiting the poor: “Behold, the wages you withheld from the workers…and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord.” James also accuses them of injustice and violence: “You have condemned; you have murdered the righteous one.”
The rich condemned by James have stored up treasures for themselves on earth, not in heaven. They have forgotten the teachings of Jesus:
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and decay destroy, and thieves break in and steal. But store up treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.” (Matthew 6:19-21).
Jesus and James both teach the folly of riches since you cannot take them with you. James challenges the rich to see the folly of their accumulations: “You have stored up treasure for the last day.” These treasures instead of providing comfort testify against them before God: “You have stored up treasure…wages you withheld have reached the ears of the Lord.” Instead of comfort they become the source of their condemnation.
All of us as disciples are called to be poor in spirit as we hear in today’s responsorial psalm: “Blessed are the poor in spirit; the Kingdom of heaven is theirs!” The psalm also brings out the folly of trusting in riches: “Fear not when a man grows rich…For when he dies, he shall take none of it, his wealth shall not follow him down.” This reading from James applies to all of us though we may not be financially rich. If we make possessions our god and put things above people, we are storing up riches that we cannot take with us.
Today’s reading is calling all of us, rich and poor, to put our faith and trust in God. We are called to live out our faith by showing love to God and to our neighbor, that is to anyone in need. We are called to hear the cry of the poor and to deal justly with all we meet. Before Jesus and James, the prophet Micah already taught this lesson:
“You have been told, O mortal, what is good, and what the Lord requires of you: Only to do justice and to love goodness, and to walk humbly with your God.
Image: “Wealthy man gold coins clipart” is marked with CC0 1.0.