Gospel Reflection: Parable of the rich fool
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James J. Tissot, 'The Man Who Hoards' (1886-94)
In Luke 12:13-21 a man wants Jesus to intervene in a dispute with his brother and asks Jesus to tell his brother to divide the inheritance with him. He may or may not have been right about his request, but Jesus reminds him that those matters are not why he came to earth. He uses this situation to warn them, and us, of the danger of greed. He said “Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.” He then reinforced his teaching with this parable:
“The land of a rich man produced abundantly. And he thought to himself, ‘What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?’ Then he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God.”
“A person who lives as if he were to die every day—given that our life is uncertain by definition—will not sin, for good fear extinguishes most of the disorder of our appetites; whereas he who thinks he has a long life ahead of him will easily let himself be dominated by pleasures” (St Athanasius, Adversus Antigonum).
The rich man probably worked hard and smart during his life to get to the point where his land is producing so abundantly. He also acted prudently in making sure that his crops would not go to waste. What did he do wrong? Is Jesus telling us not create abundance? Not to save for the future in our 401Ks and IRAs? No, it is good to create abundance, always being conscious that our skills and our abundant situation all comes as gifts from God. It appears that the rich man…
Believed the richness of the land was all due to him and not God, never did he thank God for the fruits of God’s bounty
He did not to use his wealth as an instrument of good by helping less fortunate farmers, widows, orphans, and the poor in general. Watch his words “my barns, my grains, my goods”, “my, my, my…”
He made wealth and greed the center of his life and the only source of his safety and well being, without showing any reliance on God’s love, mercy, and divine providence. “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.” He thought that he was set to live a long life on his own, and yet that night his life ended without any warning.
From what we see, it appears he did not make God the center of his life, he did not establish a loving relationship with God and fellow neighbors
“We must strive to bear the fruit of true repentance. Let us love our neighbor as ourselves, be humble, show charity and give alms to those in need: these deeds cleanse the soul of sin. Man must leave everything behind when he leaves this world; but the Lord will repay his charity and almsgiving with a great reward”
This reminds me of paintings of St Francis and others saints showing them holding a skull, to remind them that life is ephemeral and we should strive daily for holiness and perfect union with God.
“Dear heavenly Father, guard us from falling to the temptation of thinking that we don’t need you and that idols, such as wealth, are the center of our lives. Help us to live with gratitude and ever conscious that we don’t know “neither the day nor the hour” when our life will end. Give us the graces to live in a state of union and grace with you, our dear God and we love you and worship you every hour of our life.”
References:
Douglas Mangum, ed., Lexham Context Commentary: New Testament, Lexham Context Commentary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2020), Lk 12:13–21.
R. Ginns, “The Gospel of Jesus Christ according to St Luke,” in A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture, ed. Bernard Orchard and Edmund F. Sutcliffe (Toronto; New York; Edinburgh: Thomas Nelson, 1953), 956.
The Navarre Bible: New Testament (Dublin; New York: Four Courts Press; Scepter Publishers, 2008), 303–304.
