18TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YR C
Eccl. 1:2,2:21-23; Ps 90;
Col. 3:1-5,9-11; Luke 12:13-21
ESCHEW GREED
In our gospel for today, we read that a man from the crowd asked Jesus to intervene on his behalf in a matter of inheritance. The reply of Jesus, “…who made me a judge or divider over you”, may sound harsh. But what Jesus actually meant was that the issue about inheritance has already been settled (in Deut. 27:17) where the law provides that the eldest son takes a double portion of the inheritance. For the man to demand then that his brother divide the inheritance with him, was unacceptable even in the eyes of the Law.
Jesus identifies the motive and sin of the man’s question as greed. Greed is translated from the Greek word “pleonexia” which means the inordinate desire for material things. One John Ritenbaugh describes it as a ruthless self-seeking and an arrogant assumption that others and things exist for one’s own benefit.
Jesus warns against all kinds of greed. Greed can eat into every aspect of our lives. We can consider at least three spheres of our life;
Material sphere
This involves chasing after money and goods regardless of honesty and honour. This happens when people are ready to do everything and anything for the gain of money and possession. If you ever feel or think to yourself that you are in so much need that you are willing to do anything to get it, you are on the path of greed and that is what Jesus is warning you against.
Ethical Sphere
This refers to the desire to pulverize others to gain something which is not properly meant for you. This bears fruits of blackmail. It is seen in those situations where people keep some helpful information from others hoping to gain some advantage in doing so.
Social Media Sphere
This is seen in the desire to be noticed, to become famous and popular. This leads many people to do silly things on social media.
Jesus warns us to eschew greed and guide ourselves against it. Why?
1. Greed makes us become insensitive and oblivious to the pain we inflict on others in our pursuit of material goods. Other people are seen merely as a means of improving the life of the greedy person.
2. Greed blinds us to our limitations. The rich man in our gospel lost sight of his mortality. He thought his harvest was enough to gain him some kind of eternity. But he was wrong. That is what greed does. It makes you deceive yourself. You cannot prolong your life with your possessions.
3. Greed bloats our appetite. When we are not careful, we do not only desire material possessions, this often grows into immorality and drugs.
4. Greed isolates us. When we have an inordinate desire for goods and we are ready to use people to get it, we soon realize that all that is left to us is our money and possession. We become isolated from others and we will become depressed, unhappy and unfulfilled.
5. Greed can make us disregard God. Often when we amass for ourselves all the money and possession we want, we may lose sight of the source of these things, which is God. In fact the word the rich man used for rest, is the greed “anapauo”. This is used in the decalogue for the sabbath rest. What this man is doing is to declare his own sabbath. This happens often to us too, when we disregard God’s law and become law unto ourselves because we are rich.
Today Jesus invites us to place our hope in him and in God, and recognize the real reason for the blessings we receive. St Thomas Aquinas says, the temporal goods of the Earth are subject to man that he may use them according to his needs, not that he should make them his main purpose, or be overly anxious about them. It is important to note that even though Jesus used a rich man in his parable, greed is not peculiar to rich people alone. Poor people can also become greedy. What we should do is to check our desires and keep our hope in God alone.
May the Lord Strengthen us.
By Fr. Delight Arnold Carbonu
