🙏 SUNDAY INSIGHTS - THE 18TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME 🙏

First Reading - Ecclesiastes 1:2;2:21-23

Second Reading - Colossians 3:1-5,9-11

Gospel - Luke 12:13-21

Henry Ford once asked an associate about his life goals. The man replied that his goal was to make a million dollars. A few days later Ford gave the man a pair of glasses made out of two silver dollar coins. He told the man to put them on and asked what he could see. “Nothing,” the man said. “The dollars are in the way.” — Ford told him that he wanted to teach him a lesson: If his only goal was dollars, he would miss a host of greater opportunities. He should invest himself in serving others not simply in making money. That’s a great secret of life that far too few people discover. Money is important. No question about that. But money is only a means by which we reach higher goals – loving service to others, loving obedience to God.

Today’s readings warn us against the futility of the greedy acquisition of wealth and power because everything and everyone is “here today and gone tomorrow.” Therefore, the meaning of life cannot be found in possessions and “pleonexia” (which literally means “the desire to have more and more”) but in the sharing of time, treasure, and talents with the needy. 

In the first reading, we see that the author claims that he has “seen all things that are done under the sun” and found them to be “a chase after wind” (Eccl 1:14). He expresses a ruthlessly honest pessimism about the prospects for finding true happiness in the greedy acquisition of earthly goods, because the greedy hoarder must leave everything behind at his death, and his heir may squander his hard-earned wealth. Even while he is alive, wealth and power give man worry and sleeplessness. “All his days sorrow and grief are his occupation; even at night his mind is not at rest” (Eccl 2:23). Hence, greed and selfishness are not worth the effort. Thus, the statement, “Vanity of vanities, all things are vanity!” (Eccl 1:2), is a blunt summation of Qoheleth’s disturbingly candid skepticism, underscoring the transitory and fleeting character of life. According to an old legend, Alexander the Great (356-323 BC), commanded that when he died and was carried forth to his grave, his hands should not be wrapped in the burial clothes, as was the custom, but should be left outside so that all might see them, and might see also, that they were empty. In the brief span of his thirty-three years, Alexander had conquered and possessed the riches of an empire that extended from Greece to India. Yet, in death, his hands were empty; none of his wealth could survive the passage through death.

In the second reading, Paul directs our attention to those treasures that endure, warning that greed for wealth and influence is idolatry and that the Faith-life of a believer requires Christ as its first priority. Baptism is our participation in the death and Resurrection of Jesus. Paul reminds us that, since we have been raised with Christ through Baptism and are going in a Heavenly direction, we must “put to death immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and the greed that is idolatry” (Col 3:5). The desires of the human heart cannot be satisfied by what is here today and gone tomorrow because we have been made for “what is above”(Col 3:1). For Paul, the whole process of joining Christ in glory revolves around “taking off our old self with its practices and putting on the new self, which is being renewed…, in the image of its Creator” (Col 3:9-10). Although power, influence, and possessions come and go, our new self will endure because it is grounded in the power of the risen Lord.

The gospel passage reminds us of the practise of the Jewish rabbis who were often asked to settle disputes among their countrymen. They judged cases using the Mosaic Law as given in the Torah – the Jewish book of civil, religious, and liturgical laws. In matters concerning the distribution of property in a family with two children, the Torah (Dt 21:15-17), granted two-thirds of the wealth to the elder son and one-third to the younger. If there were several sons, the first-born would receive double the inheritance of his younger brothers and would serve as the patriarch of the family and executor of his father’s estate. In the case related in today’s Gospel, either the older brother had delayed the partition of property, or the younger brother was greedy. Jesus refused to be an arbitrator in this property dispute between two brothers because he had come to bring people to God by preaching the Good News of God’s forgiving and sharing love. But he used the occasion as a “teachable moment,” instructing the audience on the folly of greed and selfishness, while contradicting the Epicurean motto: “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.”

The parable of the rich man points to the fact that the rich man forgot the truth that God was the real owner of all his possessions and blessings, and he was only God’s steward or manager. Instead, he was focused on himself and was selfish to the core. He liberally used the “aggressively possessive” pronouns “I” (six times) and “my” (five times). He was possessed by his possessions, instead of possessing them. In the process, he evicted God from his heart and never thought to thank God for having blessed him with a rich harvest. He was not thankful to God for His blessings; instead, he considered them as solely the fruit of his own labor. He also failed in his stewardship duties – the returning to God of His portion in paying his tithe. He did not recognize his possessions as on loan from God, given to him to share with others. He was taken up with worries or anxieties about his wealth. He was starving to death spiritually in the midst of God’s abundance. Yet, though he may have prayed the beautiful prayer in the book of Proverbs: “Give me neither poverty nor riches but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’ Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God.” (Prv 30:8-9), he did not change.

The rich man in the parable did not care about others who were suffering. He did not show any regard for the hurting and needy. He did not voice any concern for keeping the community of which he was a part safe from unexpected droughts, famines, or plagues.doing this, he turned his back on his Jewish heritage, for the Torah demands that gleanings from a harvest be left for the poor, the widow, the orphan, and the immigrant (Lv 19:9-10). The richer the man grew, the greedier he became, as suggested by the Roman proverb: “Money is like sea water; the more a man drinks the thirstier he becomes.” The rich man was called a fool because he did not consider sharing his wealth. In other words, he left other people out of his possessions. St. Gregory the Great taught that when we care for the needs of the poor, we are giving them what is theirs, not ours. We are not just performing works of mercy; we are paying a debt of justice. Life does not consist in possessions but in sharing what we possess with others. The goods of the earth have been given to everyone.

Dear friends, the parable of the rich fool gives us a warning as well as an invitation. It reminds us that our possessions are merely lent to us by God, and that we are accountable for their use. We must be generous in sharing our time, our treasure, and our talents, the three elements of Christian stewardship. Every one of us is rich in one thing or another. The parable instructs us to share these gifts. Even if we are poor financially, we may be blessed with intelligence, good will, a sense of humor or the ability to encourage, inspire, and support others. God expects us to give our thanks to Him for all these blessings by sharing them with others for His glory. 

Our greed takes different shapes and forms. For some, it may be the desire for the approval and praise of others. For others, it is the uncontrolled desire for power, control, or fame. For still others, it takes the form of desire for excessive and sinful indulgence in eating, drinking, gambling, drugs, or sexual activities. Greed also turns our life away from God, away from serving and loving other people. As greed directs all our energy and attention to fulfilling the self, its objects become our false gods, and they will consume us unless we become rich in the sight of God.