THE MOUNTING DEBT

 A SERMON FOR THE 8TH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

Credit cards can be a good thing or a bad thing.  They allow us to get through those occasional bad times in life when we’re not making ends meet, and of course they give us the opportunity to buy things we can’t afford to pay for all at once.  Whenever we use a credit card though, we put ourselves in danger.  The ridiculous amount of interest the banks charge actually amount to usury, a sin which is condemned by the Church.  But the banks don’t particularly care that the Catholic Church frowns upon their practice and as a result it is we borrowers who run the risk of falling afoul of their greed.  These banks are so disinterested in our wellbeing that when people can’t afford to come up with their minimum monthly payment, they’re slapped with late fees and other penalties that drag them even further into debt.

We should remember, even as we disparage this unfortunate side of capitalism, that there is some small element of justice in the way the banks operate.  After all, when we borrow their money, they’re losing the interest and benefits they would otherwise be making from that money.  They also incur expenses in running their lending business, with many overheads for property, employees, insurance and so on, not to mention the risk they run that we won’t be able to pay them back.  So they are entitled to some compensation in the way of interest, though not, of course, in order to amass the exorbitant profits they make at our expense.

In itself, it is not sinful to lend out money or other goods.  Morally speaking, it might be more charitable if the lending were done without any interest attached, but in justice you are entitled to the repayment of expenses incurred by reason of the loan.  Nor is it sinful to take out a loan, to borrow money, providing we have the sincere intention of paying it back.  That applies whether we’ve borrowed money from a bank or from our grandmother.  We owe it, and we must, in justice, pay it back.  The excessive interest charged by the bank may give us some leeway in how much we are morally obliged to pay back , but at the very least we owe them the original amount we borrowed, plus some interest to cover their costs of doing business.  As for grandmas, they usually don’t charge any interest at all and probably won’t hound you with lawsuits if you can’t afford to pay them back.  But somehow, this just seems to increase the moral obligation of giving Grandma back her money, doesn’t it?

It’s not a nice position to be in, owing people money, or anything else for that matter.  It’s a weight that hangs over our head until the debt is repaid.  We know we have to pay what we owe, but that isn’t always easy.  Nevertheless, the relief we feel when a debt is paid back can make it worth the while.

But what about God?  Do you think, maybe, we owe God anything?  Has God given us anything that he expects to be returned?  If I gave you time to write a list, I’ve a feeling it would take you a very long time to complete it.  It’s a list that goes on and on.  But maybe there are some of you who would object, and tell me that, no, God doesn’t lend us things, he gives us things.  Really?  Are the nice things we have just “free gifts” from God, who expects us to do with them what we want?  Does he nod in approval when we abuse these gifts?  If you give your child a birthday gift, a box of crayons for example, and he then uses those crayons to write graffiti all over your living room wall, would you be happy with that?  No.  You would expect that the child use that gift in the way you intended him to, with the freedom certainly, to choose whatever crayon he wants to color whichever picture in his coloring book he wants, but not to write his name on his baby sister’s face.

All good things come from above.  They are given to us by God to use freely.  Freely in the sense that we may use them wisely and according to the will of God.  But we must repay those gifts by doing just that.  We must never abuse any of these gifts from God, and don’t forget your list—these gifts comprise everything that is good in our lives.  Let each one of us think upon what he has, and evaluate the wisdom with which he uses it, from money to parents, from our home to our jobs to our health, from our mind to our body.  Let us shrink away in horror from the very idea of ever abusing any gift from God.

Unfortunately, temptation rears its ugly head from time to time.  If ever there’s anything that makes us indebted to God, it’s our offenses against him and the abuse of his generosity.  We were born owing God.  From the moment of our conception, even, the stain of original sin of our first parents required us to be washed from that sin in the waters of baptism.  To be baptized into the Catholic Church is the very first debt that a human being repays to God.  There then follows the beautiful part of our life when we owe God nothing.  If we die during these blessed years when we know not sin, we will go directly to heaven because there is nothing to repay.  Not only are we incapable of sinning in these early years, but we are also incapable of abusing God’s gifts—sure, we take everything we’re given, by our doting parents, and let’s not forget Grandma again!  But we don’t abuse what we’re given.  At least, not intentionally.  A child may have his moments, the odd temper tantrum for instance when he throws his dirty spoon on the carpet, but he isn’t necessarily doing so in an immoral way, it’s just human nature developing slowly into rational behavior.  Some of us are still developing, we haven’t quite made it there yet.  But little children live in a special and blessed paradise of their own, always just one step away from entering the actual paradise of heaven.

Imagine though the adult who continually falls into sin.  Sometimes, he falls after fighting temptation, other times, he doesn’t even bother to fight temptation, but simply accepts every wicked thought that comes into his head, seeking pleasure and self-gratification above all else.  No matter what kind of person we are, we all eventually fall into sin.  We plunge ourselves into debt!  So let’s make another list, one we’ll keep to ourselves of course—how much do you think you owe God today?  Think back at all the sins of your life, the bad behavior, the wasted opportunities to do good.  Tell me then that you owe God nothing.

With this in mind, we turn to the problem of paying him back.  How is it even possible?  Strictly speaking, the answer is that it isn’t.  Which is why God gave us us the greatest gift of all, the gift of Redemption.  He has redeemed us by the Precious Blood of his Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.  There is nothing we can do to pay this gift back , but like a good Grandma, God isn’t going to insist that we do anything more than we’re capable of.  And what are we capable of doing?  Well, like Grandma, God loves us.  This love is the free gift par excellence, the gift that sums up and is the source of all the other gifts we listed earlier, including Redemption.  And all that God asks in return for his love is our love.  If we love God with all our heart and mind and soul and strength, we are giving back to God all that we can.  We are repaying him in the best way we know how.  So let’s obey the laws he gives us, let’s use all his other gifts wisely, and let’s commit ourselves to loving God as perfectly as we can.  That’s all the payment he wants.