Thursday, November 12, 2026: What Do We Do With Money? It’s All a Gift Jesus said to the host who had invited him, “When you hold a lunch or dinner . . . invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; and blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you.” —Luke 14:12– Inspired by the above exchange in the Gospel of Luke, Richard explores the economy of grace in which we can live. I’d like to contrast two economies or worldviews. The first economy is capitalism, which is based on quid pro quo, reward and punishment, and justice as retribution. This much product requires this much payment. It soon becomes the framework for our fundamental relationships, our basic self-image, and actions (“I deserve”; “You owe me”; “I will be generous if it helps me, too”), and constructs a faulty foundation for our relationship with the Divine. We’ve got to admit that this system of exchange seems reasonable to almost everybody today. If we’re honest, it makes sense to us, too...
