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.”
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Reflection:
A rich woman unexpectedly died without
leaving behind a last will and testament. Her children were bickering since
each one of them wanted to have the biggest share of the wealth. Therefore the
once strong and loving sibling relationship became divided and distant and the
reason behind was their greed for material wealth.
There are people who feel secure with
material wealth as if it could save them from the certainty of death. There are
people who think that because they have material wealth they can now buy even
the soul and honor of their fellowmen. These are all false notions for the
reason that material wealth is temporary and it is not the be all and end all
of life.
Material wealth by itself is not bad
because this can sustain our life in this world. This can also be our
instrument in spreading the love and mercy of God. For example, we help
somebody in need using our material wealth which is surely not bad. Material
wealth becomes evil when we become greedy that we allow it to possess and
dictate upon us.
In the gospel Jesus tells us that life is
not about material possession. If life is not about material possession what is
life all about? Life is about God! If we have all the material wealth in this
world yet we don’t have God in our life our life is still empty and barren.
This is for the simple reason that
material wealth can be swiftly taken from us anytime. And it surely cannot
bring us to heaven when our time of departure in this world comes. On the other
hand if we choose to have God, God will be with us until eternity.
What is your priority in this world: To
have material wealth or to have Jesus in your life? – Marino J.
Dasmarinas