It would appear that today’s gospel story seems to be a very good illustration of the "vanity" described in the first reading from Ecclesiastes (: Eccl. 1:2; 2:21-23.)
Well, Jesus is definitely warning all of us about the deadly vice of greediness and materialism, which can take many forms. But no matter what the form is, it always does one devastating thing to us: it isolates us from others, sometimes in very subtle ways.
A grasping or greedy person feels that he/she has to "protect" his/her wealth, and thinks to that the best way to prevent its loss is simply to distrust everyone and acquire "more." His protected wealth could be monetary things or their equivalent. But it could also be a muddled desire for more power or control. In a nutshell, the deadly sin of avarice leads him to seek security only in "more" things of this world. Words like mean, stingy and hoarding come to mind.
Our rich man in today's gospel story (Luke 12:13-21) thought his solution to well-being was an easy one: just build bigger buildings to store his wealth! Then he could enjoy that wealth for many years to come;- or so he thought. He had neglected the most important thing in life: the spiritual health of his soul, and his eternal destiny depending upon his ordered or confused ideas about his love for possessions.
God calls him by his inner character, one that explains the condition of his heart: "fool"! That’s fitting in this story, because the man didn’t even once did check on the condition of his spiritual barn. Instead, he was only interested in his worldly barns, and such selfish interests seem to guarantee a one-way trip to an unattractive eternal future.
Furthermore, the Church encourages us to think about the hour of our death. Every action every thought, should be those of one who expects to die before the day is out. Death would have no great terrors for those with a clear conscience. So, why not keep clear of sin rather than running away from death? The person who isn’t fit to face death today, will also be just as unlikely as they will be tomorrow. Anytime we think of the so-called Seven Deadly Sins, we ought to deliberately think also of what all theologians call "the Four Last Things" –, death, judgment, heaven and hell.
Our rich man in today's gospel neglected that important reflection. All of life must be placed within the purpose for our creation: to know, to love and serve God, and to be happy with him in heaven.
Well, Jesus is definitely warning all of us about the deadly vice of greediness and materialism, which can take many forms. But no matter what the form is, it always does one devastating thing to us: it isolates us from others, sometimes in very subtle ways.
A grasping or greedy person feels that he/she has to "protect" his/her wealth, and thinks to that the best way to prevent its loss is simply to distrust everyone and acquire "more." His protected wealth could be monetary things or their equivalent. But it could also be a muddled desire for more power or control. In a nutshell, the deadly sin of avarice leads him to seek security only in "more" things of this world. Words like mean, stingy and hoarding come to mind.
Our rich man in today's gospel story (Luke 12:13-21) thought his solution to well-being was an easy one: just build bigger buildings to store his wealth! Then he could enjoy that wealth for many years to come;- or so he thought. He had neglected the most important thing in life: the spiritual health of his soul, and his eternal destiny depending upon his ordered or confused ideas about his love for possessions.
God calls him by his inner character, one that explains the condition of his heart: "fool"! That’s fitting in this story, because the man didn’t even once did check on the condition of his spiritual barn. Instead, he was only interested in his worldly barns, and such selfish interests seem to guarantee a one-way trip to an unattractive eternal future.
Furthermore, the Church encourages us to think about the hour of our death. Every action every thought, should be those of one who expects to die before the day is out. Death would have no great terrors for those with a clear conscience. So, why not keep clear of sin rather than running away from death? The person who isn’t fit to face death today, will also be just as unlikely as they will be tomorrow. Anytime we think of the so-called Seven Deadly Sins, we ought to deliberately think also of what all theologians call "the Four Last Things" –, death, judgment, heaven and hell.
Our rich man in today's gospel neglected that important reflection. All of life must be placed within the purpose for our creation: to know, to love and serve God, and to be happy with him in heaven.
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