Eighteenth Sunday In Ordinary Time
LUKE 12:13-21
In the Old Testament there are two historical books known as 1 & 2 Chronicles. Historical is in italics because they are a theological and heavily slanted revision of the Books of Kings which were already a theological presentation of the history of the kings of Israel and Judah. Neither Kings nor Chronicles is history in the sense in which history is generally understood today, a report of what actually happened. In older Bibles the Books of Chronicles are still called Paralipomenon, a Greek word meaning “leftovers.” This would also be an appropriate name for chapter twelve of Luke’s gospel. He gathered into this chapter catechetical topics which up to this point didn’t quite fit in.
Among the leftover topics on which Luke’s Christians needed instruction was a sensitive issue which strikes and divides many families — the division of property and other possessions after the death of one or both parents. Luke approaches the subject as usual with a story. A man approaches Jesus and says, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” Jesus prefers to remain detached from family disputes over possessions, as he says, “Man, (The translation ‘Friend’ cannot be justified by Luke’s Greek), who appointed me as a judge or a divider over you?” Jesus is well aware of the failure of Moses in Exodus 2:13-14 to mediate between two fighting Israelites. One of them says to Moses, “Who made you a prince and a judge over us?”
A warning against greed, addressed not just to the petitioner but to all Christians, now follows, “Take care to guard against all greed, for although one may be rich, one’s life does not consist in possessions.” The First Letter to Timothy 6:10 warns, “Money is the root of all evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered from the faith and pierced their hearts with many pains.” Luke adds a parable or story about greed. It is an application of the principle Jesus spoke about greed. By this parable Luke warns his Christian people against hoarding for oneself while neglecting to share with the needy.
A rich man’s land produced a bountiful harvest. He did not have the space to store it. He demolishes his barns and builds bigger barns. He says to himself, “As for you, you have so many good things stored up for many years. Rest! Eat! Drink! Party!” Up to this time the rich man ignored God, but God gets a chance to speak while the man is asleep and dreams. God says to him, “You fool! This very night your life will be demanded of you, and the things you have prepared (for yourself), who will get them?” This parable finds echoes in the instructions of Sirach 11:17-19, "A man grows rich by his sharpness and grabbing, and here is the reward he receives for it. He says, 'I have found rest, and now I can enjoy my possessions,’ but he does not know how long this will last. He will have to leave his possessions for others and die.”
But what is wrong with storing up resources to be used in retirement and old age? The Old Testament generally considers wealth a gift from God. Abraham, whom God calls “My Friend” in Isaiah 41:8, was a very rich man. Then again, we have Jeremiah 17:11, “Like the partridge that gathers a brood which she did not hatch, so is he who gets riches but not by right. In the midst of his days they will leave him, and at his end he will be a fool.” The ending of Luke’s parable on greed explains what was wrong with the gathering of wealth, “Thus will it be for all who store up treasure for themselves but are not rich in what matters to God.” The storing up of treasure is not wrong in itself, but what is the meaning of being rich in what matters to God? Job 31:16-22 answers, “If I withheld anything needed by the poor, or caused a widow’s eyes to grow dim with tears, or ate my food alone without sharing it with the orphan . . ., then let my arm fall from my shoulder and let my elbow be broken.”
ECCLESIASTES 1:2, 2:21-23
The author of this book is a delightfully cynical skeptic whose favorite word is “vanity,” that is, emptiness. The Hebrew name of the book is Qoheleth. Possible definition of the word , “preacher, haranguer, lecturer in the assembly.” The book is not recommended for those suffering depression. Today’s first reading shares themes with Luke’s gospel. Acquiring wealth and the inescapable necessity of leaving it behind at death is vanity, says the author. Qoheleth 2:18-19 is gloomy enough to be amusing and might lighten the burden of our gospel reading, “I hated all my toil under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to the man who will come after me, and who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will be master of all for which I toiled . . . . This too is vanity!”
COLOSSIANS 3:1-5, 9-11
In the context, Paul had been speaking of Jesus’ resurrection being also our resurrection through our baptism. What to do about it? Put to death immorality, impurity, evil desire, lying, and greed which is idolatry. That word "greed" connects this reading with today’s gospel. Putting away these “parts of you that are earthly” creates a new self in the image of God in which we were created. Paul calls also for abolishing racial distinctions, because “Christ is all in all.”
