Passions over 'prosperity gospel': Was Jesus wealthy?

[RHC]

Several people I know subscribe to this “prosperity doctrine.” One even goes so far as to claim that, if you are truly following God, you’ll be rich. She refuses to be around those who are not wealthy because she deduces that they must not be following God.

As for Jesus’ wealth, I have a couple of observations:

1. The gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. These were gifts deserving of royalty, denoting His royal status. The wise men, seeing the star, knew that this Child was no ordinary child; they actually inquired after the King who had been born. So naturally they brought gifts worthy of a king. Practically speaking, gold’s use is obvious. Frankincense was used medicinally and as incense burned before God. Myrrh was used in anointing oil and as incense; it was also used postnatally for mother and child as an anesthetic. All three were expensive and rare, so they were fitting gifts. Some scholars I have read also suggest these gifts prefigured His death, as myrrh was used as a burial spice. ** None of these gifts suggest that Jesus’ family was wealthy; rather, it suggests the great esteem the wise men had for Him. **
2. St. Joseph and the Virgin Mary offered doves in the temple after their ritual purification was complete (Luke 2:22-24). This is significant because it denotes their economic status. As observant Jews, the Holy Family offered the burnt offering to the Lord after the birth of their Child. In Leviticus, we read the directions for this offering:

Leviticus 12:
The LORD said to Moses,
1 "Tell the Israelites: When a woman has conceived and gives birth to a boy, she shall be unclean for seven days, with the same uncleanness as at her menstrual period.
3 On the eighth day, the flesh of the boy’s foreskin shall be circumcised,
4 and then she shall spend thirty-three days more in becoming purified of her blood; she shall not touch anything sacred nor enter the sanctuary till the days of her purification are fulfilled.
5 If she gives birth to a girl, for fourteen days she shall be as unclean as at her menstruation, after which she shall spend sixty-six days in becoming purified of her blood.
6 “When the days of her purification for a son or for a daughter are fulfilled, she shall bring to the priest at the entrance of the meeting tent a yearling lamb for a holocaust and a pigeon or a turtledove for a sin offering.
7 The priest shall offer them up before the LORD to make atonement for her, and thus she will be clean again after her flow of blood. Such is the law for the woman who gives birth to a boy or a girl child.
8 ** however, she cannot afford a lamb, she may take two turtledoves or two pigeons, the one for a holocaust and the other for a sin offering. The priest shall make atonement for her, and thus she will again be clean.”**B, my emphasis added)

Note that the Blessed Virgin offered two doves…signifying that she (and St. Joseph, we presume) could not afford a lamb for the burnt offering.

Many saints have been poor, and some have been wealthy. Some of those who were wealthy gave up those riches to be poor in the service of God, and others used their affluence to help others.

This would seem to suggest that the issue is one of the heart: what do you do with what you have been given? Does your wealth rule you, or do you use your wealth to do God’s work? And, if you were called, could you give it all up to follow Him?