Lk 12:13-21
Dear Friends,
Jesus’ message in today’s gospel passage is straightforward. Nothing is more destructive in life than care about acquiring and holding onto wealth that is ultimately transient. The man of the bigger barns forgot that life itself is a temporary gift in this world. It is a loan that God can recall at any moment, regardless if we own the expanded wealth of newly filled barns or hefty bank accounts.
Hebrew Scriptures have a clear understanding of what constitutes a fool. This is a person who has denied or forgotten God. In this story, the neglect of God is manifested in the greedy farmer with the very productive land. He was rich because he had many crops. He was a fool because he thought that they made him secure. He failed to realize that you cannot bring the well-stocked barns through the pearly gates leading to heaven. “You have so many good things stored up for many years, rest, eat, drink and be merry” (Lk 12:19).
In choosing God, we do not drop out of life. We continue to use things and possessions. In fact, we would be irresponsible if we did not. Jesus’ message for us today is to clear up our priorities. We need to avoid the blinding and crippling power of greed. The constant pursuit for more is not the gateway to security. Discovering what is truly sufficient has to be the governing principle in dealing with our possessions. Our task has to be rooted in true wisdom if we are going to allow our wealth and belongings, large or small, lead us to God.
The owner of the new barns is clearly a person who is self-absorbed. The idea of sharing never entered into his planning. He placed his bet down on his crop. Material possessions were his gateway to happiness. He became a fool simply by not being real. Life is a passing venture. In spite of all the guarantees of the advertising world, there is no lasting happiness as long as the funeral directors continue to have a lucrative business and even if they go out of business. Death is universal and inevitable for all of us. The choice is between things and God. The fool choses things.
Jesus is pointing out that our possessions can be destructive. In life, concern about acquiring and holding onto wealth is a bottleneck to the gospel call. The irony is that the wealth, most often, leads to feeling more insecurity.
Chase or Bank of America or whatever bank is simply a means to an end. Jesus clearly shows us that we cannot store up our treasures in the banks or barns of this world. Greed and avarice always blind our heart to reality. Possessions create gross deceptions along life’s journey. We need to get our values clear. We need to free the heart so our wealth, no matter how small or grand, is a stepping stone into the Kingdom. All things either free us or constrict us in our effort to walk with Jesus.
All of Jesus’ teachings are a guide to free the heart from all that is not God. Just prior to todays’ passage, (Lk 12:1-12) Jesus counseled his disciples against all anxiety, telling them God knows their needs and wants. They will never be beyond God’s providential care.
Left to its own, the heart is an idol-making machine. Jeus is calling us away from the idols in whatever fashion they may come. He tells us to trust in God’s loving care for our security. Jesus was very clear in teaching his disciples and us this simple truth. Our efforts should not be directed to having more but to become more like him. We need to keep our eyes on the prize that is Jesus.
God’s tender presence will be the only sure ticket on the final, inevitable passage through death which is the most non-negotiable part of life. We should fill our barns with the only true and lasting grain of this life: trust, service, compassion, humility and love. “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” (Lk 12:15).
