True Wealth
“Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly,
and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.”2 Corinthians 9:6
If I were to ask you what is true wealth, what would you say? Some might differentiate spiritual wealth from material wealth. Perhaps the definition of wealth is very subjective. For me true wealth is something that really cannot be measured quantitatively. It’s a feeling that cannot be put into words. Although it may be a feeling, is it real. Wealth involves family and friends. And so I guess for me to have true wealth is to have true joy and peace, and ironically to have true wealth then really is to not have it at all. For it is in giving that we receive. If I were to have a ten dollar bill in my pocket and I see a homeless father and daughter on the street corner, some would say I am wealthy because I have money in my pocket. But to me, true wealth would be giving away those ten dollars to the father and daughter and watching them enjoy a nice ice-cream snack together laughing and smiling. The joy and peace that arises in the heart — that is true wealth.
Today we celebrate St. Lawrence who was a deacon in the persecuted Church who eventually gave up his life for Christ. He taught us what the the true wealth of the Church is. When the Pope Sixtus II was taken away to be martyred, he charged Lawrence with distributing the wealth of the Church to the poor. Lawrence was the one in charge of the properties and assets, if you will. So when the authorities asked Lawrence to gather up all of the gold and treasures of the Church and surrender them, he said “Okay, but I need two days.” In two days the authorities came back to collect the treasures. Lawrence presented to them the sick and the poor, saying “Here are the treasures of the Church!” For all that the Church had, Lawrence gave to the sick and the poor, and so they are the true treasures of the Church. Needless to say, the authorities did not find this amusing. Lawrence was tortured and grilled to death.
Brothers and sisters, wealth, true wealth, true treasure is not in material things. True treasure is in the people around us. The poor, St. Lawrence taught us is the treasure of the Church. Where is your treasure? We are told that where our treasure is there also is our heart. What is true wealth to you? May we today pray for the poor and perhaps if we encounter someone on the street today, may be smile at them, say “hello,” and ask how their day is going. You never know what will unfold. May they encounter Christ in you. But also, may you encounter Christ in them.
