Woe to you who are rich; Woe to me

Last updated on: March 7, 2019 at 10:47 am by David Cruz-Uribe

Woe to you who are rich; Woe to me 2019-03-07T10:47:31-05:00 David Cruz-Uribe

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

I have been spending a lot of time thinking about the mass readings from two weeks ago, February 17 (the sixth Sunday in ordinary time). I actually got the idea for this post at mass. This happens a lot–I get an idea, I chew on it for a few hours, but it doesn’t get written down and fades away. This one, however, has stuck with me. Part of it is that the Gospel of St. Luke has always been my favorite among the four gospels. I have always found it to be the most Franciscan of the gospels, so much so that during one stint as minister of my Franciscan fraternity I used to recommend a close reading of it to candidates preparing for profession. I am not going to argue that Franciscan spirituality is specifically grounded in this gospel, but it does resonate in a particular way with my vocation “to observe the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ by following the example of St. Francis of Assisi who made Christ the inspiration and the center of his life with God and people.” (OFS Rule, 4a)

In the reading in question, St. Luke records the “Sermon on the Plain”, which is his parallel to the more famous “Sermon on the Mount” in St. Matthew. In particular, this reading gives four blessings which parallel the longer beatitudes in Matthew. What is different is that Luke goes on to list four imprecations:

But woe to you who are rich,
for you have received your consolation.
Woe to you who are filled now,
for you will be hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now,
for you will grieve and weep.
Woe to you when all speak well of you,
for their ancestors treated the false
prophets in this way.” (Lk 6:24-26)

Unlike Matthew, who spiritualizes the associated beatitude in his text (“blessed are the poor in spirit”) Luke has Jesus makes it concrete: “blessed are you who are poor”, and to drive this point home, “woe to you who are rich.” There really does not seem to be any escape here, unless you either read it in light of Matthew or if you can convince yourself you are not rich, and so not implicated. Such a via media exists, at least in theory: many years ago a fellow Franciscan found for me this passage in the book of Proverbs:

Two things I ask of you,
    do not deny them to me before I die:
Put falsehood and lying far from me,
    give me neither poverty nor riches;
    provide me only with the food I need;
Lest, being full, I deny you,
    saying, “Who is the Lord?”
Or, being in want, I steal,
    and profane the name of my God. (Proverbs, 30:7-9)

Nevertheless, this time around I have concentrated on the word rich, and have really been asking if this imprecation is specifically addressed to me. This arises from personal circumstance: four years ago I took a new position as Chair of the math department at the University of Alabama (Roll Tide!); one of the economic benefits was a substantial raise. This when combined with moving to an area with a much lower cost of living, changed our material circumstances considerably. What had been carefully rationed luxuries (e.g., going to a movie), now are routine; what had required careful planning and saviing (e.g. European travel) now merely require a bit of budgeting. So am I rich now? It does feel that way.

But I have also tried to quantify this, if only because “rich”, in secular discourse (and as a consequence, in our discussions in the Church or in the Franciscan family) is a particularly taboo word. More precisely the rich exist as some small “other”, to be vilified or admired but never a group one admits to belonging to. This tendency is well-illustrated, I think, in the slogan of the Occupy Wall Street movement, whose members identified as the “99%” in opposition to the “1%”.

Rather, people prefer to identify themselves as being “middle class”, a term which has almost ceased to have meaning except as some special group that politicians want to protect. More rarely I will hear someone identify as “working class”, though usually only in historical terms: “my parents were working class”, or “I grew up working class.” (Part of this is almost certainly selection bias–I tend to have these sorts of conversations with academics or similarly situation folks.) But the term middle class is sprawling, both in economic and social terms: an elementary school teacher in Alabama and a professional couple in the suburbs of New York or Boston both claim to be middle class.

A more refined analysis of the socio-economic class structure in the US is possible–this has been done, for instance, by people working in the field of Labor Studies. But instead of trying to unpack this, however, I want to go back to the thrust of Luke’s gospel: the rich. Am I rich now? The answer is, I think, yes. Median household income in 2017 was just under $62,000. Mine places me within the top 10%. I am not in the stratospheric reaches of the 0.1% (where millionaires and billionaire reside) but I am so far above the median that calling myself “middle class” seems a stretch, without a great of of further analysis of social structures, and even then a fair analysis shows that I occupy a privileged class. (See for instance, this discussion of the 9.9%.)

Now economic status is a relative thing: who should I compare myself to? An extreme example comes from a student I had who, with only a touch of irony, said that he lived in the “poor” part of his town, where houses cost “only” $1 million. In the “rich” part of town, houses started at $10 million. However, in my case if I zoom in or zoom out geographically, my position only improves. Alabama is a poor state–the acerbic state motto when it comes to rankings is “Thank God for Mississippi!”. The median household income in Alabama is approximately $48,000, and my income places me comfortably in the top 5%, and perhaps the top 3%. (This data set appears to be somewhat older than the set quoted above, but the differences are not significant for my purposes.)

And if I look on a world scale, I am, without question, extremely rich. The data here are straightforward. My income places me in the top 0.05% of all people world-wide. (This is based on 2008 World Bank data, and it is not clear if this data is per capita or household income. Again, any uncertainty this causes in the data is insignificant given the scale we are talking about.) This site also lets me do an analysis based on accumulated wealth (net assets such as my house, car, personal possessions and savings, less any debt), and again I am extremely rich. In the distinction drawn by Chris Rock, I am not be wealthy, but I am rich:

http://www.cc.com/video-clips/zao85l/rich-vs–wealthy

So what does this mean for me, personally? I am not completely sure. But the rule of the OFS commands that I should make a “careful reading of the gospel, going from gospel to life and life to gospel” (OFS Rule 4b). And a careful reading, if anything, means being honest with myself about whether it applies to me. And if I am rich, then I need to acknowledge that truth, no matter how uncomfortable. In some small way this is like the tenet of Alcoholics Anonymous, which insists that the first step in recovery is admitting that you are an addict. I cannot go from from gospel to life until I accept that this passage is addressed specifically to me, and not to some vague other. This does not prevent me from calling out the faults of the 0.1%, whose actions can have a disproportionate impact on the lives of millions. But it also says that I must look within as well as out.

Doing so is terrifying. Jesus made it clear: “I say to you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God” (Mt 19.24, Mk 10:25, Lk 18:25). And it is precisely the Gospel of Luke which records the story of the rich young man (Lk 18:18-23) who failed the test pressed upon him by Jesus. But the same Gospel gives me hope, in the story of Zaccheus (Luke 19:1-10). When I look within, I do not only find who I am now, I also hear the Lord calling me to be who I truly am supposed to be. I need to listen, and respond, as Zaccheus did. I suspect my response will not be as dramatic as his, or as St. Francis who embraced Lady Poverty by stripping naked in the town square. But our God is a God of small steps and second chances: almost all of us are saved by little and by little, to paraphrase Dorothy Day.

To all of you, but especially my brothers and sisters in St. Francis, I wish you all the best of Lenten seasons. May you find the courage to truly listen to the word of God and see how it really applies to you. May you find the courage to see your riches in this world and trade them for the riches of the world to come.

Secular Franciscan Order

Sermon on the Plain

Previous Post

February 3, 2019

Four Episodes from a Consistent Life Ethic, Part III

Next Post

March 23, 2019 The Victims Are Us, and The Violent Are Too: Lessons from New Zealand

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category 2019 A Consistent Ethic of Life Aaron Weldon Abortion absurdity Abuse Scandal Academics Adoption Advent Africa agreement/disagreement with Church teaching Alexander Schmemann Alexham Alterity America Amnesty International Anarchism angels Anglicanism Animals Annual Statistics Anthony Anxietas Apocalyptic Apophatic Appalachia Aquinas Art Atheism Atonement Augustine Authority Baptism Beauty Bible biblical criticism biblical scholarship Bioethics Bishops Black Catholics Black Theology Blackadder Blogs Books Breastfeeding Brett Salkeld Buddhism Bush administration Byzantine Catholic Calvinism Canada Canon Law Capital Punishment Capitalism Caryll Houselander Catholic Blog Awards Catholic Blogging Catholic League Catholic Social Teaching Catholic Worker Movement Catholicity CFL Charity Children Chris West Christ and Culture Christian Democracy Christian Unity Christmas Christology Church Church Doctrine Church History Climate Change Cohabitation Colbert Collegiality Communion Communism Comparative Theology Competition Conferences conscience conscience rights Consequentialism Consistent Life Ethics Consumerism Contraception Contrition Conversion Converts Coptic COVID-19 Creation Critical Thinking Cross Cuba Culture Culture of Death Culture of Life Darfur David Cruz-Uribe David Wheeler-Reed Death Death Penalty Democracy Demons Desert Fathers Devil Dialogue dignity Disability Disarmament discernment Discipleship discrimination Dissent Distributism Division Doctrine Domestic Church Dorothy Day Double Effect Doubt Down syndrome Driving Early Church Easter Eastern Churches Ecclesiology Economics Economy Ecumenism Education El Salvador Election Election 2020 Ellul Embryonic Stem Cell Research Empire Energy Enlighenment Environmentalism Ephraim Radner Episcopal Church epistemology Equality Eschatology Ethics Eucharist Europe Euthanasia Evangelization Evil Evolution Excommunication F.X. Durrwell Facism Facts Fair Trade Faith Family Fashion Feddie Feminism Feminist theology Fertility Fetal Rights Fiction Film Finances First Things flags Folk Religion Food Foreign Affairs Forgiveness Frank Sheed Free Speech Freedom gay & lesbian persons Genocide George W. Bush George Weigel Gerald L. Campbell Girard/Mimetic Theory Global Warming Globalization Gnosticism Good Friday Grace Gratitude Greed Grey Cup 2009 Guadalupe Guest Post Guest Posts Gun Control Gustave Martelet Habitat for Humanity Hans Urs von Balthasar Harry Potter Hate Speech Health Health Care Healthcare Heather King Hebrew Bible Henri de Lubac Henry Karlson Herbert McCabe Heresy HHS Mandate Controversy History Holidays Holiness Holy Spirit Homiletics Homily Homosexuality Hope Hospitality How Far Can We Go? How Far Can We Go? Human Person Human Rights Humanae Vitae Humility Humor Hunger Hunting Identity Idolatry Ignacio Ellacuría Imagination Immigration In Memoriam Income Inequality Inculturation Indigenous People Individualism Inklings Intellect Interdependence Internet Interpretation Interviews Introduction Iraq War Islam Israel Jain James Alison James Martin Jazz Jesus Christ Jews Joe Biden Joe Hargrave Johann Baptist Metz John Allen John Henry Newman John Paul II John the Baptist John XXIII Jonathan Josef Pieper Joseph (the husband of Mary) Joseph Bernardin Joseph Ratzinger Josh Brumfield Journals Joy Judgment Just War Justice Kari Lundgren Karl Rahner Katerina Ivanovna Kenya Keynes Kingdom of God Kyle R. Cupp Labor Language Latin America Law Leanne Ogasawara Legion of Christ Leisure Lent Liberalism Liberation Theology Libertarianism Libya Lies Life life & dignity & responsibility of the human person Literature Little Way Liturgical music Liturgical Year Liturgy Living Simply Living Wage Local Church Lombard Lord of the Rings Louis Dupre Love M.Z. Magic Magisterium Mark DeFrancisis Mark Gordon Marriage Martin Luther Martin Luther King Jr. Martyrdom Marxism Mary Masculinity Matt Talbot Matthew Fish Matthew Levering McCain Media Memorial Day Mennonites Mental Illness mercy Michael Iafrate Middle East militarism Miroslav Volf Mitt Romney Modesty Moral Theology Morality Mormonism Morning's Minion Mother Teresa Music Muslims Natalie Nate Wildermuth Nationalism Native Americans Nature Nazis Neuhaus New Evangelization New York City News NFP nihilism Nonviolence Not Abortion Nova's Ordo Nuclear weapons Nuns Obama Occult Old Age Opus Dei Ordination ordination of women original sin Orthodoxy Oscar Romero Other Voices Pacifism Palestine Palin Papacy Papal Peace Messages Papal Social Encyclicals Particular Affections Partisanship Patriotism Paul Paul Ryan Paul VI Peace Pentimento persecution Personalism Phantastes Philosophy PKD Planned Parenthood Pluralism Poetry Policraticus Politcal Apathy Politics Poll Pope Benedict XVI Pope Francis Pope John Paul II Pope Leo XIV Population Postcolonialsim Poverty Power Prayer Preaching Predictions Predictions for 2012 President Barack Obama priestly formation & discernment Pro-Life Progress Prophetic Witness Proportionalism Public Diplomacy Public Policy Question Quotes Rachel Maddow Racism Radical Catholic Mom Radical Catholicism Raymund Schwager Real Catholic TV Real Presence Reconciliation Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange Religion religious freedom Responsibility Ressourcement Resurrection Rick Garnett Ridiculous Crap You Never Thought You'd See Robert Barron Roe v. Wade Roman Curia Rome Russia Sacraments Saints Salvation History Sam Harris Sam Rocha Same-sex Marriage Saskatchewan Roughriders Satire School of the Americas Science Scripture Seamless Garment Second Vatican Council Seeing Sex sexual violence Sexuality Sia Sin social justice Social Security Socialism Society of Jesus Sofia Loves Wisdom Solidarity Sophia soteriology Soutenus Spirituality Sports St. Dismas St. Joseph Stanley Hauerwas Statistics Stimulus Suffering Sunday Reflections Supernatural Supreme Court Symbolism Syria Taxing Technology Terrorism The State The Tea Party The Trump Administration Theological Anthropology Theology Theotokos Thomas Merton Throwaway Culture Tim Muldoon Tim Riley Tim Tebow Time Titian Tolkien Torture Toys Trade Traditionalism Transgender Transportation Transubstantiation Trinity Truth TV U.S. Affairs Uncategorized Unions unity among people who disagree US Catholicism USCCB Usury Utilitarianism Utopia Valentine's Day Vatican Vatican II Veterans Vicarious Suffering Video Violence Virgin Mary Vocations Voluntary Associations Voluntary Poverty Voting Vox Nova vox nova blog war War and Peace War Strategy Wealth Weirdness Welfare state Women Women Priests Work Woundedness Youth

Select a Month June 2026 May 2025 February 2025 January 2025 July 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 July 2023 March 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 November 2021 September 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Whose daughter did Jesus raise from the dead in Capernaum?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Jairus' daughter Mary's daughter Joseph's daughter Nicodemus' daughter