Nearly every Christmas season growing up, my family would watch Frank Capra’s famous film “It’s a Wonderful Life,” starring Jimmy Stewart.
Stewart plays the character George Bailey, a gregarious dreamer who spends a lot of time wishing for more glorious circumstances in his life but tries to peacefully and generously accept the circumstances that have been given to him. At the climax of the film, Bailey is facing prison due to misplaced funds, and he is at risk of losing everything. Through the miraculous circumstances that the film lays out, all of the people who were blessed by Bailey’s generosity and faithfulness in the small matters are able to come together and provide him with more than enough funds, and his brother Harry ends the night with the memorable toast: “to George Bailey, the richest man in town.”
This movie always comes to mind when I hear this Gospel passage. The rich young man could be equated to Bailey if he had gotten the things that he spent so much time dreaming about but is still plagued by that desire for something more. Christ proposes to the young man that there are different riches entirely that all our souls long for; riches in the kingdom of heaven, which worldly riches not only cannot compare with, but actively hinder us from receiving these heavenly riches.
There’s absolutely nothing wrong with Bailey’s dreams; even the rich young man had been presumably faithful in keeping the commandments of the Lord. But we are made for more, just like the rich young man recognized that simply keeping the commandments felt insufficient. Brothers and sisters, it’s so much easier to face that dissatisfaction now. We’re certainly called to obedience to the Lord: you never “graduate” from being a disciple whose first concern is to hear the word of the Lord and do it. But God invites us deeper, especially into service and mission and generosity of spirit. We’re never meant to rest on our proverbial laurels. When asked by a rich aristocrat what she should do for the poor, a saintly man replied, simply, “more.”
We’re meant to be dissatisfied with treasure here on Earth. That very dissatisfaction is a sign of our heavenly calling. The way that the Lord proposes is one of generosity of spirit, letting go of anything that would prevent us from following Christ more closely, even if it means giving of our finances to the point that it hurts.
Two final things: the first is a book recommendation on this topic, “Happy are You Poor” by Father Thomas Dubay. This book is an excellent reflection on the call given to all disciples to embrace poverty. The second is this: it’s hard to live generously. It’s hard to receive and live this teaching. But as Bede the Venerable states about this passage, Christ is instructing us “to prefer the glory of God to the things of this world.” As we let the teaching of Christ sink deeper and deeper, we know that it is holding to the true glory of God to let these things go and follow Christ more closely. Then, like George Bailey, we will be the “richest in town” as we enter the heavenly city and see the true treasure that we have been actually longing for all along.
Father Vance is parochial vicar of Our Lady of Grace in Edina.
Sunday, Oct. 13
Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time
