BE RICH IN GOD
By Rev. Fr. Samuel Odeh
(Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C) - (31/07/2022)
Ecclesiastes 1:2; 2:21-23
Psalm 90:3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 14 and 17
Colossians 3:1-5, 9-11
Luke 12:13-21
What does it mean to be rich? Normally we think of rich people as person's with numerous possessions. Rich people own a number of beautiful houses, fleets of cars, lots of servants, they have more money than they need, can buy anything they want and can travel anywhere in the world. In today's Gospel Jesus tells us it is unwise to be rich in this sense without being rich in God also. While Jesus was teaching, someone in the crowd shouted out to him, “Teacher, bid my brother divide the inheritance with me.” To which Jesus replies, "Man, who made me a judge or divider over you?" He then uses this as an opportunity to teach a lesson on greed or avarice. "Take heed," he says, "and beware of all covetousness; for a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."
Greed is defined as an excessive and selfish desire for more of something than is needed. In response to the person who asks that Jesus settle a family dispute over inheritance, he crafts a story we know as The Parable of the Rich Fool. This story addresses greed, something deeper and more dangerous. A certain man had a bumper harvest that year, so the story goes. He asks himself, "What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops." Unfortunately, he decided to build larger storage for his fortune in order to guarantee his security for a long time. Sadly, he failed to consider the other options available to him. He never considered sharing his good fortune with someone who did not have such a good harvest. It never occurred to him to give thanks to God and to focus on God's goodness to him. He ought to have considered his wealth an opportunity to grow rich in what matters to God. This is why our second reading tells us that greed or covetousness is a form of idolatry or the worship of a false God.
In the parable that Jesus shared, as soon as the rich man settles down saying "Take your ease, eat, drink, be merry," God says to him, "Fool! This night your soul is required of you; and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?" This same thought is contained in our first reading today from the book of Ecclesiastes: "Sometimes a man who has toiled with wisdom and knowledge and skill must leave all to be enjoyed by a man who did not toil for it. This also is vanity and a great evil." Amassing wealth and security without focusing on our relationship with God, and the needs of our brothers and sisters will never make us happy. Greed is self-destructive.
This Sunday we can ask ourselves a number of questions. Do I hold on to material possessions and my security in a selfish and excessive manner? Do I go about wrongfully claiming what belongs to others as my own? We can also pray, "Lord Jesus, make me rich in what matters to God. Help me to share what is mine with others freely. Amen."
