EIGHTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (Ecclesiastes 1:2.2:21-23; Colossians 2:12-14; Luke 12:13-21)
People with
a radical interpretation of how to live as Christians can bother us. They will claim that Christians must share
everything as if they were communists.
It is true that members of the primitive Church community of the Acts of
the Apostles pooled resources. They put all
their money at the disposal of the apostles for distribution according to
individual needs. However, Acts reports
how there were problems almost from the beginning. St. Paul does not recommend this type of sharing. Nor does St. James call for it even though he
is strong on helping the poor.
Jesus’
disciples were very conscious of the problems money can cause. In the second
reading today Paul condemns greed, which is the love of money. In fact, he calls greed “idolatry” which
makes money an idol. This is to say that
people make it the priority of priorities.
Because of greed millionaires want to become billionaires. ¡Because of greed human traffickers caused
the death of fifty-three immigrants in Texas last month! In today’s gospel
Jesus gives a lesson on the subject.
A man asks
Jesus’ help with his inheritance. He
recognizes in Jesus someone who is both fair and wise. In fact, Jesus is so wise that he does not
want to get involved in family affairs, which are always full of
complexities. However, he takes
advantage of the request to warn the crowd about greed, a vice that draws many away
from the Lord.
Jesus tells
the story of the rich farmer who builds new barns to warehouse his great
harvest. Jesus does not say that the man
is evil. He does not describe him as a
murderer, thief, or swindler. For the
most part he paints him as a hard worker planning and directing farm operations. But the man has a fatal flaw. Jesus says that he is a “’fool’” in that he
never thinks of others. The man sows and
reaps, stores his produce, and plans everything only for himself! There is not even a whisper about
others. In fact, the man speaks to
himself about himself! For this reason,
God abolishes his future.
Then Jesus
exhorts his listeners to be “’rich in what matters to God.’” Pope St. John Paul
II would describe this virtue as “the quest for truth, beauty, goodness and
communion with others for the sake of common growth.”
The saint does not condemn neither consumption nor saving one’s goods as
long as the welfare of others, particularly the poor, is not neglected. He would not deprive people of opportunities
for education, travel, and recreation if they are undertaken with moderation.
Today we
hear of campus ministry programs that combine service and international travel. These projects seem a good example of
spending money for constructive experiences while shunning greed. The youth who participate in the programs
travel to faraway places like Kenya in Africa or Honduras in Latin America to
aid the poor. Meanwhile they experience
a new environment and are introduced to a different culture. They return to their homes enriched by the
experience and conscious of other kinds of people. There is really no necessity to go to a
foreign country for these types of edifying experiences. But yes, one has to think about “what matters
to God.”
