Lk. 12: 13-21
The fundamental question that we deal with in today’s gospel passage is, are we not rich in what matters to God? If we analyze the life of a person, all the attempts that person has made from his/her childhood days, such as education, career, etc., are meant to earn a better livelihood. We cannot conclude by saying a better livelihood; rather, it is a relentless effort to earn as much as a person can so that he/she can enjoy life to its brim. Is it wrong? Absolutely no. You have worked hard, so you have all the right to enjoy your life… Then what is the problem? The problem comes when a person amasses wealth out of his/her greed and is unwilling to share it, thinking that it is meant only for his/her enjoyment.
In the gospel passage, we see a person approaching Jesus with a request to solve his property dispute with his brother. He might have thought that Jesus was an accepted Rabbi and an outstanding preacher. Therefore, when he says, his brother might obey. Jesus makes him clear that there are higher motives in life than merely accumulating amazing wealth and finding fulfilment out of it. The greatest wealth that we can have with us is the gift of our own life. We take this gift for granted and also the one who gifted this gift to us, God himself. When there is wellbeing naturally, we tend to forget God, especially our dependence on Him. We tend to think that if I have wealth, I can manage my life without depending on God.
In the second part of the gospel passage, we come across the story of a person who amassed wealth, planning his future life by accumulating all his grains in a bigger barn, telling himself to eat, drink, and make merry because he has become self-sufficient, doesn’t need dependence on God. At that moment, he encounters a question from his Creator: that very night, if his life was taken away, what would happen? Jesus tells us that the moment we think we are self-sufficient, even at that moment, we need God to sustain us. The tragedy is that we tend to think that we can buy our life from God with our money. In the first reading taken from the book of Ecclesiasticus, he teaches us about the vanity of all human efforts to achieve wealth, name, and fame. Nothing can satisfy us and we cannot find rest in any of these achievements. In the second taken from St. Paul’s letter to the Colossians, he underlines this fact by exhorting us to think about what is above and not about what is on earth. Our lives should be guided by this dimension of our existence too.
The wealth that we enjoy is a gracious gift from God. It should not make us self-centered. Instead, it should help us to recognize the graciousness of our Lord and also our call to share these gifts with our less privileged brothers and sisters who are in need of our generosity. As we reflect on this passage today, let us realize that everything we enjoy is a gift from God, including our very life. It should make us more dependable on God than self-centered. Let us share our wealth and care with our needy brethren.