This song title is from the hit musical “Mama Mia.” It is very catchy and sticks in your head, like an ear worm. Money! Money! Money! tells us, “It’s a rich man’s world.” But is it? 

Can money buy you anything that you need to make you happy, joyous and free? Can money buy your way out of eternal damnation? There was a time in Church history when that was a belief and practice by many.  

Pre-Reformation, there were two types of priests: seminary educated priests and “Mass” priests. The latter were trained, not educated in the seminary, to say the Mass for the Souls in Purgatory-to save them and get them to heaven. You could find them in the cathedrals and churches saying the Mass around the clock to fulfill the obligation created by those who paid for a mass to get their loved ones freed from afterlife punishment.  

Money and church practices encouraging the purchase of indulgences and masses were among the prime movers in Martin Luther’s writing of the Ninety-five Theses that brought about the Protestant Reformation over 500 years ago. You just cannot buy your way into Heaven, sorry.  

All the money in the world, all the donations for a new church or hospital wing, all the contributions made to feed the hungry and clothe the naked, will not get your eternal reward. You are God’s children, and He loves you unconditionally even if you are wealthy or even if you are poor, or even if you are in-between. 

The gift of grace is freely given to everyone-there are no exceptions. However, there are some expectations of those receiving grace. During this Lenten season, our hearts and minds turn to these expectations. Many want to “give-up” something that they enjoy as a demonstration of their love for Christ.  

A different action is to acknowledge my sinful nature and beg forgiveness of God for offending Him. Sin creates a barrier to my relationship with God. I remember a sermon given by Pastor Wayne where he suggested that we don’t like to talk about sin anymore. It makes us uncomfortable. We don’t sin today, only the really bad people do. 

But we do sin. We are human. Acknowledging my sin and asking for forgiveness-repenting are the first steps to setting my relationship with God back into good stead. This beautiful hymn “Call to Repentance” by Joseph Martin from his cantata The Rose of Calvary reminds us that Christ is always there and ready to forgive us our offences. Money can’t buy that! It’s free! 

Terri