Luke 12:13-21 The Rich Man (18th Sunday in Ordinary Time, July 31, 2016)

Gospel:

Someone in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, tell my brother to share the inheritance with me.” He replied to him, “Friend, who appointed me as your judge and arbitrator?” Then he said to the crowd, “Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one’s life does not consist of possessions.” 

Then he told them a parable. “There was a rich man whose land produced a bountiful harvest. He asked himself, ‘What shall I do, for I do not have space to store my harvest?’ And he said, ‘This is what I shall do: I shall tear down my barns and build larger ones. There I shall store all my grain and other goods and I shall say to myself, “Now as for you, you have so many good things stored up for many years, rest, eat, drink, be merry!”’ But God said to him, ‘You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you; and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?’ 

Thus will it be for all who store up treasure for themselves but are not rich in what matters to God.”

Gospel Trivia:

This short gospel has three lessons, all about wealth:

- The first is when a brother asks Jesus to compel his sibling to share the family inheritance.  There is nothing wrong with this, but normally, when the father dies, then the rest of the family is supposed to continue to live together with whatever possessions the father has left.  In this particular case, one sibling is demanding that the inheritance be divided so that each member can go their own way.  Jesus sees through the greed and shares a parable to provide the person a deeper insight on wealth.

- Secondly, the parable is a lesson on the misconception that the length of one's life depends on one's wealth.  In this parable, the rich man has excluded God in his plans.

- Thirdly, the last verse is actually a separate verse from the parable; it is NOT it's ending.  It points to the proper use of wealth -- not for one's self but for sharing with others.


Reference:

- Nil Guillemette, SJ, Parables for Today (Makati: St. Paul Publications, 1987), p. 166-168.