Readings: Ephesians 2: 1-10; Psalm 100; Luke 12: 13-21
The Gospel parable describes the man whose security consist in the accumulation of goods. Christ and his disciples place their security in the love of the Father. Their life is not about goods, but in God who gives them. The goods of this world must not be adored or demonized: they must be used according to the will of the Giver.
With the accumulation of goods, man believes he has secured happiness and a long life. But in doing so he turns out to be foolish, because he has not taken into account the unknown factor of death. He reasoned as if he were the master of his own life, in the same way that he feels himself the master of his harvest. The drama of the situation lies precisely in the extreme insecurity of life. Next to the granaries you can put all the other goods: health, power, money. They count for nothing to live well, to live long, because life span does not depend on these things.
The problem raised by this man becomes an opportunity for teaching for all, because we are all victims of the same evil. What divides the brothers is the sharing of what in itself should unite them: the goods of the earth, which are gifts of God for fraternity and sharing in love. This is the cause of all wars, all trade union and social struggles and all family enmities that arise in connection with the divisions of the inheritance. Love for things to be appropriated replaces love for the Father and for brothers. This quarrel over the inheritance is the emblem of the human situation: forgetting the Father, men fight to grab stuff. The greed for life, born from the fear of death, transforms what is in reality a gift of love into a cause of hatred and death. In this way the whole meaning of creation is upset.
The counter-proposal that Jesus makes is equally centered on accumulating treasures, but not for oneself, but to enrich before God (v.21). The wealth that counts is that accumulated in heaven and is constituted by the goods of the spirit, righteousness, justice, charity. In chapter 16 of this Gospel, Jesus teaches us: "Make friends with dishonest wealth, so that when it fails, they will welcome you into eternal abodes" (v.9). Ultimately one is only rich in what one gives.
The destiny of man depends on the correct use of creatures: either they are means to love God and neighbor or they become the end and substitute for God. The project of man who does not know the love of the Father is to enlarge his own granary to have more and more. The more one has, the more the desire to have increases. Foolishness then reaches its peak when we take pleasure in goods, making them our life and safety. From the use of material things comes the realization or failure of man. The goods of the world cause death when they are accumulated for fear of death; they give life when shared with their brothers for love of the Father,
Lord, help us always to keep the proper priorities in life and to be purified in all of our desires.