Gospel LK 12:13-21
Someone in the crowd said to Jesus,
“Teacher, tell my brother to share the inheritance with me.”
He replied to him,
“Friend, who appointed me as your judge and arbitrator?”
Then he said to the crowd,
“Take care to guard against all greed,
for though one may be rich,
one’s life does not consist of possessions.”
Then he told them a parable.
“There was a rich man whose land produced a bountiful harvest.
He asked himself, ‘What shall I do,
for I do not have space to store my harvest?’
And he said, ‘This is what I shall do:
I shall tear down my barns and build larger ones.
There I shall store all my grain and other goods
and I shall say to myself, “Now as for you,
you have so many good things stored up for many years,
rest, eat, drink, be merry!”‘
But God said to him,
‘You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you;
and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?’
Thus will it be for the one who stores up treasure for himself
but is not rich in what matters to God.”
Reflection:
Someone in the crowd said to Jesus,
“Teacher, tell my brother to share the inheritance with me.”
The man in the story referred to Jesus as “Teacher” or Rabbi.
In the religious culture of the the time, Rabbis often issued judgements to resolve disputes between people.
Jesus, however, was a wandering preacher. Traveling from town to town, His mission was to share the good news of God’s love, forgiveness and generosity with all who would listen.
He replied to him,
“Friend, who appointed me as your judge and arbitrator?”
Then he told them a parable.
“There was a rich man whose land produced a bountiful harvest.
He asked himself, ‘What shall I do,
for I do not have space to store my harvest?””
What makes this tale sad is that it never occurred to the rich man to share some of his harvest with others rather than storing it all for himself.
The definition of greed is, “Intense and selfish desire for something, especially wealth, power, or food.”
But God said to him,
“You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you;
and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?’
Thus will it be for the one who stores up treasure for himself
but is not rich in what matters to God.”
Greed is an extreme form of selfishness that traps it’s victim in a constant state of never being content or satisfied. As the proverb states: “Greedy eaters dig their graves with their teeth.”
The rich man was a “fool” because he thought that if he could only accumulate enough wealth he would be secure. He had no sense that what was important to God was not how much he possessed, but rather what he gave away. Instead of sharing his possessions, his first inclination was to “store” things away.
I am reminded of a poor family with 13 children who I deliver food to once a month. Every so often, the dad or mom will give me back a large box of unopened canned goods saying, “These are things my children don’t care for…please give them to another family who may be able to use them.”
“Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s need, but not every man’s greed.” Mahatma Gandhi