Parable of the Rich Fool
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Lk 12:13-21
13Someone in the crowd said to [Jesus], “Teacher, tell my brother to share the inheritance with me.” 14He replied to him, “Friend, who appointed me as your judge and arbitrator?” 15Then
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.”
16Then he told them a parable. “There was a rich man whose land produced a bountiful harvest. 17He asked himself, ‘What shall I do, for I do not have space to store my harvest?’ 18And
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 19and
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!” ’
20But
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?’ 21Thus will it be for the one who stores up treasure for himself but is not rich in what matters to God.”
Reflection:
Greed.
The Greek word used for “greed” here literally means “a desire to have
more.” Jesus identifies greed as the evil motive behind the request of a
man seeking arbitration in an inheritance dispute. And Jesus presents a
parable to teach the crowd about greed.
The
rich farmer has a bumper crop at harvest time. He does not recognize
God as the ultimate source of the blessing or the help of other people.
Instead of selling his grain to help bring the price of the commodity
down, he hoards the grain for the future when he can command higher
prices and get more profits.
With
a secure future in sight, he plans an early retirement to enjoy his
wealth in the classical pagan way—“eat, drink, and be merry.” Making a
god out of money and possessions, the rich man is guilty of idolatry,
and God makes him account for it. With all his wealth, the rich man
cannot buy his lifespan or real life for that matter. The true treasure
is to have eternal life.
How many of us aspire
to win the grand lotto jackpot
and dream to take life easy and live in luxury?
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