"These things . . . to whom will they belong?"
Luke 12: 13-21
The Word: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/073122.cfm
Draw near to your servants, O Lord
and answer their prayers with unceasing kindness,
that,for those who glory in you as their Creator and guide,
you may restore what you have created
and keep safe what you have restored.
(Collect of Mass)
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As we hear the wonderful and thought provoking parables of Jesus we certainly will often get the point of what he says. This Sunday’s story of the wealthy land owner is one obvious example. The lesson we see is, as we often say, you can’t take it with you. How true that is. But if you can’t take it with you, you can pass it on. The blessings received can move forward to another generation.
So, that lesson may be obvious. But often the deeper lesson of the parable is
what Jesus does NOT say. For example,
while the land owner was very proud of the fruits of his labor. He refers to
“my harvest” and “my grain.” While that may be true to a certain extent, the
story begins as Jesus states: “. . . a rich man whose land produced a bountiful
harvest.” God created the land as he did
all that may be planted with the power of generation and to produce life. Therefore, the real harvest is what God has
given and what God has done. The farmer
had nothing to do with producing the land but rather benefitted what God gave
to him. Rather than greed, the proper perspective of the rich man should have
been gratitude for what God has done.
The true owner of the land is God not the rich man as such. Jesus does not condemn the man for being rich
but for having the wrong perspective. For losing sight of where true wealth can
be found.
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 perspective in
how we use the things of this life for the common good. St. Paul in our second
reading from Colossians speaks of the “greed that is idolatry.”
The man worked hard to produce an abundant harvest but his whole perspective was misguided. Like the story about a conversation between a young and ambitious man and an older man who understood life:
The young man said:
“I will learn my trade.”
“And then?”said the older
man
“I will set up in business.”
“And then?”
“I will make my fortune.”
“And then?”
“I suppose that I shall grow
old and retire and live on my money.”
“And then?”
“Well, I suppose that some
day I will die.?
“And then?” silence . . .
This wealthy man’s 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.
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 so it begs the question, is
that all there is?
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. While there is no fault in reaping an
abundant harvest and enjoying the success of one’s labor, we must realize that
an abundance is not given for one alone but in order to be shared for the
common good. While we may all hope to win a multi-million dollar lottery and
live a luxurious life style, just imagine all the good for others that such a
large harvest of funds could also accomplish.
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. With all this piled up wealth, the man was so blinded
by his dream of an easy life and complete security that he forgot that all
things will pass away. 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. Without Christ as food for our journey, we
might well become the most selfish of all people. Our Christian faith should
naturally lead us to recognize the advantages we may have and the opportunities
given to us to share that no one will be without want.
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 of Chicago 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 when he observed: “The only things you take with you in the life to come are those you’ve given away on earth.”
Since you can’t take it with you, one can at least pass it on.
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