18th Sunday: ". . . those you've given away . . ."

"Take care to guard against all greed."

Luke 12: 13-21

The Word for Sunday: http://usccb.org/bible/readings/080419.cfm

Close to the time I learned I was coming to this parish as your Pastor I was naturally asking those who would know something about the parish.  One priest, now retired, said to me with a straight face: “That parish has more money than God!” 

I wondered well, how much is that?  Obviously, his impression was that this parish was swimming in money.  Now if that was true, we’d be happy to pass on to God all the bills for our present new construction! But, a beautiful new Church had been recently built, it was paid off, money was in the bank and there was no debt.  What more could any Pastor hope for? 

Well after coming here I realized the parish had been well run and careful about its resources, which I believe we still are, that people are generous and it was true.  We do have more money than God.  He doesn’t have any money; he doesn’t need it for anything because spiritual wealth, placing Christ as the center of our lives and building up heavenly treasure is far more valuable than anything material in this life.  And that leads us to the fundamental lesson of our readings this weekend. That life is essentially not about the value of what possessions, fame, wealth or power can bring us but rather about balance and perspective in how we use the things of this life for the common good.

Our first reading from the wisdom book of Ecclesiastes speaks to this reality.  Essentially saying that one may work hard with wisdom and care for what he has but in the end he leaves the result of all that hard work to someone who didn’t do anything to earn it.  All things are “vanity” we read from this passage.  In other words, the stuff of this life passes away and as cliché as it sounds, “you can’t take it with you.”  So it begs the question, is that all there is?

The Gospel story this Sunday (Lk 12: 13-21) offers a fundamental lesson on how we

must live according to Jesus’ own vision about life. He states: “Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one’s life does not consist of possessions.” So, this is a very sensitive topic because we all know that we do need money to make things happen and to live and for the benefit of our families. So, where does the sin lie, in being wealthy or in simply wanting to have a comfortable retirement for example?

Jesus’ parable about the rich man in the Gospel and our first reading from Ecclesiastes seem to imply more in what really matters, our treasure, than it does in how much money we have. What is our perspective on the things of this world and what about the power of wealth to distort its true purpose? Is it all for me?

Jesus refers to the man in the parable who recognized his sudden abundance and piled it all up for a rainy day, oblivious to the needs to others, as a “fool.” Why was he foolish? Because he was blind to recognize that all he has is gift.  It was the land that produced his abundance and that land was not his possession – it came from God but with strings attached. 

So, rather than seeing this as “my crops” he forgot that it was given not for him but for the benefit of the community around him.  His misperception about the purpose of wealth as for the common good and not for one’s own greed or selfishness is legendary.  This is humorously emphasized by Jesus relating that the man carried on this inner dialogue. “He said to himself – “Self . . . “Standing there talking to himself, contemplating where to hide and store everything for his own security conveys I think a very lonely person.  By his life of greed he has cut himself off from God and others. As strong as it does sound, he was a fool who was blinded by his own fortune.

This is similar to the parable about Lazarus the beggar and the rich man who stood begging at his door or the wonderful character of Ebenezer Scrooge from Charles Dickens Christmas story whose own greed forced them into isolation.

The greatest surprise then is God coming unexpectedly for the soul of the rich man.  Since he had missed the point of everything dealing with all as gift and what really makes life meaningful and purposeful he was completely closed to God’s grace.  ?” By centering his life on greed he had broken all the relationships he had with others and with God. 

Our gathering for the Holy Eucharist is a sign of God's overwhelming abundance: the gift of Christ poured out for us and then we in turn for each other.  Without Christ as food for our journey, we might well become the most selfish of all people.

The point of all this may be to ask, “Does life consist of what I have or what I give away?” The only true life lived as a Christian is a life of service towards others after Jesus own example. 

Making the same point beautifully, I heard the other day of a wise and inspired perspective made by Cardinal Francis George in 2015 shortly before he died.  I think if we remember anything about our readings this Sunday in our walk with the Lord as true disciples it would be the inspired wisdom of Cardinal George:

“The only things you take with you in the life to come are those you’ve given away on earth.”