Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Let’s talk life. What does human life need to flourish? If we are realistic, we need food for each day, shelter from the natural elements, clothing to protect our delicate bodies, safety and security from dangers and illnesses, the contentment of knowing that our tomorrow is as secure as today, and because we are spiritual beings, that our souls are in peace with God, with one another, and nature. Life is a delicate balance of these realities.
As Christians, on the one hand, we know the importance of taking care of ourselves, and on the other hand, we worship a God who chose poverty, lived simply, and gave up everything and himself for the common good. Moreover, he asked those who sought to follow him to give it all away and then come and follow him. In today’s gospel, wealth became the subject of a domestic dispute (Lk 12:13-21). Luke does not tell us whether Jesus intervened in the dispute. But Jesus made it into a teaching moment on wealth, riches and possessions. Today, I would like to focus on three sayings from Jesus’ teachings that need our attention.
“Take care against all greed”
“Take care against all greed” (Lk 12:15). There are two problems with greed. On a very purely human level, greed is not knowing how much is enough. Greed removes the boundary between what is enough and what is more than enough. Wasn’t that the problem with the rich man in the parable, who wanted to tear down his barns and build larger ones? We are all capable for forgetting this boundary.
On a spiritual level, greed is symptomatic of deeper issues. Greed is an evil because, as Paul says in today’s second reading, “greed is idolatry” (Col 3:5). Succumbing to greed means that we have both lost control of ourselves and lost our faith in God’s providential care. Instead, we set up the false gods of wealth, possessions, and ego.
The reason Jesus says, “take care against all greed” is because greed dehumanizes us and it dehumanizes others. Greed robs us of our dignity and alienates us from God and one another. Hence Jesus’ caution “Take care against all greed.”
“Life does not consist of possessions”
“Life does not consist of possessions” (Lk 12:15) is yet another simple commentary on life by Jesus. Perhaps an illustration will help. I remember the I was walking the streets in my hometown in India. An elderly homeless woman stopped me and asked for help. Generally, I do not give cash, but I offered to take her to the nearest restaurant and set her up to have one meal each day for a month. This woman looked straight into my eyes, but I felt she was looking into my soul. Then she raised out her decrepit, filthy hands, put them on my head and to bless me. I bowed my head to receive the blessing. People around me were shocked. In my part of the country a priest does not bow before other. Others bow before the priest. As I folded my hands and bowed my head to receive the blessing, everybody around stopped. They thought I was crazy. I have to say, though, that Besides my parents who blessed me each time I l leave home, this was the most profound blessing I have ever received. She had nothing but what she had was indescribable. She was not rich but she is one of the richest people I have met. This is one way to explain Jesus’ commentary, “Life does not consist of possessions.”
Jesus himself was not rich, but he is richest of them all. His richness did not lie in possessions but in who he was. Besides being the Son of God, he was most loving, kind, gentle, humble, self-giving, yet righteous, strong, unwavering, and just person that walked the face of the earth. Whether we are rich or poor is not about what we possess but the kind of people we are.
But then, there evolves in human beings a desire to possess. Some of it is necessary for healthy, safe, and meaningful living. But sometimes we possess more than we need. We begin to amass and to hoard. This is greed. It can get worse. Some people who have more than they need even live without caring about those need help. This is selfishness. Some people possess and amass more than they need by denying other people their rightful share. This is injustice and oppression. There are also those who live unjustly and selflessly and consider it to be a virtue. This is narcissism. Hence Jesus says, “Life does not consist of possessions.”
“Rich in what matters to God”
Jesus ends the parable of the rich fool by saying, “Thus will it be for all who store up treasure for themselves but are not rich in what matters to God” (Lk 12:21). What matters to God? Let me answer this question in this way: The opposite of what matters to God is greed and selfishness. The reason Paul calls greed, “idolatry” is because greed reverses the order in which we prioritize things. Our priority, like Jesus’, should be God, others, and then, self. Greed reverses this order and makes the priority self, God, and others.
Once again, to understand how to be rich in what matters to God is to look at the life Jesus. He had nothing but gave offered it all for the common good. And then, there is Mary. “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord…, “she said.” She gave herself to God, for the sake of humanity, and kept nothing for herself. She too gave it all for the common good. Francis of Assisi, Dorothy Day, Mother Teresa, and Pope Francis… these people are rich in a way than the rich of the world are not.
Jesus says to us today… we must strive to be rich in the eyes of God more than being rich in the world. Everything else is, as today’s first reading says, “vanity.” Vanity of vanities. Everything thing else is vanity” (Eccl 1:2).
- Fr. Satish Joseph