Bible Study #5

BIBLE STUDY #5
EIGHTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
AUGUST 1, 2010

Gospel: Luke 12:13-21

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.”

The Gospel of the Lord

Reflection

Today’s gospel speaks about living a specific aspect of the Christian life, namely, our attitude towards material possessions and wealth. One thing to remember when reading the bible is that the gospels were written decades after Jesus death and resurrection. Each gospel was written in a time and place, for a certain audience, and to address issues confronting the community at large. It seems that Luke was addressing this issue because it was a problem in his community. People were fighting over inheritances as much then as they are now.

First of all, I want you to note what Jesus says, and what he doesn’t say. He says, “Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one’s life does not consist of possessions.”

Notice that he doesn’t say that possessions are bad. Possessions are not good or bad; they are neutral. People are good or bad, generous or greedy. Jesus never tells this man to give up his inheritance, just not to be greedy. In fact, in chapter 19 of Luke we hear the story of Zacchaeus the tax collector. He was fabulously wealthy and probably cheated a lot of people to obtain his wealth. In front of Jesus, he promised to give half his wealth away, and repay those he cheated 4 times over. Jesus was happy with that decision. He never asked Zacchaeus to give away all his money. If you take away half a billionaire’s money, he is still a billionaire. Zacchaeus was still wealthy after this, but he had a better handle on the use and (non) importance of wealth and material possessions.

I don’t ever remember anything in scripture or in church teaching that tells the general population to give up everything they have and live in poverty. That is a special calling reserved to those in religious communities who take a vow of poverty. The most the church has ever asked is for us to tithe, that is, donate 10% of our earnings to charity. What we need to think about is our generosity versus our greed – where do we stand on this?

Life does consist of possession, but not only of possessions, and they certainly shouldn’t be on the top of the ladder of importance. We all want financial security – a nice place to live, some money in the bank, a secure retirement, an ability to provide for our children, and a good job. Somehow, though, focusing on the accumulation and retention of wealth can easily become the most important thing in our lives. Greed can be like an addiction – once we have a little wealth, it can over whelm us so that no matter what we have, it isn’t enough. Why do rich people work? The more we have, the more we want. It becomes like an alcohol addiction - the more we have, the more we need to satisfy us craving.

One of my favorite TV shows is called “Pawn Stars” and is on the History Channel. The owner of the pawnshop is always talking about making money, profit margins, and the like. He wants to make as much of a profit on everything as he can, and that surrounds everything he does. Several times I’ve heard him say how much he loves making money. I’d like to write him to inform him of the error of his ways. I want to write to him and say that he is missing out on life if his sole pursuit is money. I want to tell him that life is more than what you own, it is about who you are. Our greed makes our things own us; we become a slave to them because that is the focus of our lives. What a sad way to live. He is going to accumulate all this wealth, and one day he will die. What is he going to say to God when God asks him how he lived his life? How will he respond when God shows him the opportunities he missed to do some good with his wealth? How will he feel when he realizes the shallowness and wastefulness of his life? I strongly believe that God gives some people the ability and the proper circumstances in which to make a lot of money so they have the ability and also the responsibility to aid those in need.

I use the following illustration in my wedding homily: a young man and a young women met, dated, fell in love, and decided to get married. They went through all the usual wedding preparations, and were glad when that great day finally arrived, and more than excited. They had a wonderful ceremony, and enjoyable reception, and a much needed rest on their honeymoon. After their return home, they were opening up their wedding presents, and they saved the gift from the bride’s parents until the end. (I usually stop here and tell the bride’s parents that I don’t want to put any pressure on them, it is just a story). The box was big, heavy, and beautifully wrapped. They didn’t know what it could be, and they were very surprised when they opened it. Inside, was a big beautiful bible! It was fancy, with a highly decorative cover, gold liked pages, and a family section to write in their genealogy. They appreciated the gift and placed it on the mantle over their living room fireplace.

About 10 years go by, and the not so new bride decided to ask her mother why they bought them a bible for a wedding present. The mother said for 2 reasons: 1) your father and I are people of faith, and we wanted you and your husband to be people of faith; and 2) if you ever bothered to open the bible, inside, you would have found a big, fat, check! Shall we pause while you go check your bibles?

I tell the bride and groom that material things are important, but as time goes by, and life brings you kids, bills, jobs, and the like, it is easy to forget why you marry in the first place – because you love one another. And love, as we all know, is an action; it’s how we treat one another. The more we do loving things for each other, the more we love one another, and that bond begun at marriage becomes so strong that no one or no thing can ever break that bond. When we do loving things for each other we feel the emotional bonds of love that is like a reward for being good to one another.

Keeping love first in our lives keeps everything in perspective and allows us not to put the accumulation and retention of wealth first. Keeping love first keeps us from being greedy, except for the things that matter – the love of God and of each other.

What is implied here is our relationship to God and the promise of eternal life. When we die and go to meet God, what do we say when he asks us how we loved one another? The implication is that one cannot be a person of faith and be greedy at the same time. God’s grace and peace come to us when we are generous, not greedy. If we find God distant, prayer dry and uninspiring, and are flagging in our faith, it may be because we are greedy. This sin of greed blocks the channels of God’s grace in our lives and separates us from the love of God. On the other hand, there is hardly anything more inspiring, more faith building, than being generous. If you want to find God, do something for someone.

From the collected sermons of King Duncan, www.Sermons.com,

“The Dollars Are in the Way”

”Henry Ford once asked an associate about his life goals. The man
replied that his goal was to make a million dollars. A few days later
Ford gave the man a pair of glasses made out of two silver dollars. He
told the man to put them on and asked what he could see. "Nothing,"
the man said. "The dollars are in the way." Ford told him that he
wanted to teach him a lesson: If his only goal was dollars, he would
miss a host of greater opportunities. He should invest himself in
serving others, not simply in making money.

That's a great secret of life that far too few people discover. Money
is important. No question about that. But money is only a means by
which we reach higher goals. Service to others. Obedience to God. God
comes to the rich man and says, "You fool! This very night your life
will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared
for yourself?" The answer was clear. The rich man had put his trust
in things. Now he was leaving these things behind.”

I pray that we all watch out for greed, and work for things that never perish.

Fr. Phil