18th Sunday of Ordinary Times

What do we think of when we think of the word “rich”? People happy, with a beautiful house, a new car, servants, who can buy what they like, go where they like? In today’s Gospel Jesus tells us that those who hoard wealth are “fools”, people who have got everything wrong. The first reading reflects on riches that must be left to others. The second reading speaks of the new clothes a Christian puts on. What characterizes a disciple of Christ is a new kind of relationship with riches.

           In today’s Gospel parable Jesus called the rich a “fool”, because the farmer thought he was set for life, he had all he needed. Is Jesus saying it is sinful to be rich and successful? No! Jesus seems to be saying it is a sin if that is our main focus in life, if we build our security only on the things this world can give us, if we forget where our blessings come from. And also if our hearts are cold to the sufferings of those not so fortunate as we are. Jesus teaches us that it is one’s attitude toward possessions that matters. The danger is that one becomes possessed by possessions, rather than having God as the center of one’s life.

           There was a story about a monkey who reached his hand into a hole in a tree in order to grab some acorns lying inside it. But his closed fist would not fit back through the hole. He was trapped. In order to remove his hand, he had to let go of his prize. It is funny what images and stories stick in your mind. How do you strike a balance? What is your attitude toward possessions? Loving do and loving our neighbor is part of the balance. St. Thomas Aquinas who was the greatest mind that ever lived said at the end of his life that all he had written seemed to him as so much straw in comparison to a dim vision that he received of heaven.