The Hatfield Hog

 Learning how our possessions can possess us

08/17/2020

MT 19:16-22 “Teacher, what good must I do to gain eternal life?” He answered him, “Why do you ask me about the good? There is only One who is good. If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.” He asked him, “Which ones?” And Jesus replied, “You shall not kill; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness; honor your father and your mother; and you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” The young man said to him, “All of these I have observed. What do I still lack?” Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” When the young man heard this statement, he went away sad, for he had many possessions.

There’s a dubious dictum in the legal world that states: “possession is 9/10 of the law.” What does that mean? Well, if you happen to be wearing my shirt, then it is presumed to be yours unless I have compelling evidence that it is mine. That is why I never let Fr. Martin wear my clothes. But probably the most famous case of possession being 9/10 of the law was the case of the Hatfield hog. You will recall the famous feud between the Hatfield's and the McCoy’s, two families in the late 1800’s fighting over who possessed what.

In 1878, Floyd Hatfield had a hog in his possession, but Randolf McCoy claimed it was his hog, saying that notches on the pig’s ears were McCoy notches and not Hatfield’s. The judge in the case – who happened to be a Hatfield, by the way – argued that since Randolph Hatfield actually had the hog in his possession and there was insufficient proof to the contrary, then it belonged to him. Possession is 9/10 of the law. Of course, that only threw fuel on the fire of that family feud. Sadly, sooner or later all families feud over who possesses what, whether it’s hogs or it’s the inheritance.

How does possession of property play out in the Bible? In the gospel this morning, a rich young man wants to follow Jesus but his possessions prevent him. Jesus lovingly invites him to closer companionship, saying: “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.” And how did the rich young man react? He felt like Floyd Hatfield holding his hog: “he went away sad for he had many possessions.” Notice Jesus is not against having treasure. He just wants us to prefer heavenly treasure to earthly ones. If possession is 9/10 of the law, then seek to possess heavenly treasure. In other words, let the McCoy’s have the hog.

Let me share some scriptures that shed some additional light on possession of property from a biblical perspective. The Old Testament figure of Job humbly says about his possessions: “Naked I came forth from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21). Sometimes the Lord takes away our Hatfield hog, and we should humble accept it. Paul teaches the Philippians that this was the attitude of Jesus, who sort of had the “whole hog” of being God himself, but he humbly relinquished it. We read: “[Jesus] emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness, and found human in appearance, he humbled himself.”

St. Thomas Aquinas adds in his Summa Theologica that the devil’s attitude was exactly the opposite of Job and Jesus, explaining: “[The devil] sought to have final beatitude of his own power” (Summa, I, Q. 63, Art. 3). The devil, like Hatfield, would not let anyone else have his hog. He wanted to “hog” heavenly glory all for himself. In other words, in heaven, possession is not 9/10 but rather only 1/10 of the law. Why? Well, because the only operative law in heaven is God’s love, and God gives his gifts to those whom he chooses. Our possession of those gifts has little to do with it.

My friends, what is your attitude to your possessions? Do you possess them or do they possess you? Do you hold on too tightly to like the rich young man and how Hatfield held on to his hog? Or are you like Job and Jesus who humbly let God decide how to distribute his gifts as he chooses? It sometimes surprises American Catholics to learn that the fundamental principle of Catholic social justice is not “private property” but rather the “universal destination of goods.” That is, the world and its goods belong to all of us before they belong to any one of us. As a result, we should freely share our hogs and not hog our possessions.

I have a growing tower of Tupperware in the kitchen. Where did they come from? They multiply because of all the many meals that people have brought me during this pandemic. I happily hand those Tupperware containers to anyone who wants them. That tower of Tupperware reminds me to look at all my possessions like Tupperware: everything is a gift (ultimately from God) and I should give everything as a gift to others. St. Paul reminded the Corinthians: “All things belong to you, and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God” (1 Cor. 3:21-23). Possession in paradise is only 1/10 of the law.

Praised be Jesus Christ!