“What profit comes to a man from all the toil and anxiety of heart with which he has la- bored under the sun? All his days, sorrow and grief are his occupation; even at night his mind is not at rest.” Our reflection this week begins with these words of wisdom from the Book of Ecclesiastes.
A friend shared a family fact with me re- cently. He said that for many years his rela- tives, who lived in Spain, would come to the United States to visit during the summer. How- ever, a few years ago they stopped. The reason for their decision was quite interesting. They found our driven pace of life exhausting. They said that their relatives’ inability to stop and rest was off-putting to them. They didn’t enjoy vacationing in a place where people didn’t know how to stop to smell the roses. I understand exactly what they were saying because I’m the perfect example of the work-driven American.
Jesus addressed this very topic in the Gospel passage we read today. The pas- sage begins with someone in the crowd shouting out to Jesus, “Teacher, tell my brother to share the inheritance with me.” Jesus’ answer must have been very jarring to him. “Take care to guard against all
greed, for though one may be rich, one’s life does not consist of possessions.” Jesus seemed to have looked into the person’s heart but, instead of seeing a genuine de- sire for justice, saw greed.
It’s no secret to any of us that the distri- bution of an estate can become a family trauma. I knew a person who died in 2013. The estate still hasn’t been settled because of family squabbling. Everyone in the family is well-off financially, but everyone feels they deserve a larger piece of the pie.
Jesus was trying to redirect that man in the crowd. He saw that he was drowning in his desire for wealth and possessions. Je- sus was throwing him a life-jacket. By tell- ing him the story of the wealthy farmer, he was telling the man that he couldn’t take his wealth with him, and that true inner life could not be replaced by possessions.
I marvel at the super rich who so often act as if they need more money and possessions to be happy. They may have ten million, a hundred million, a billion, fifty billion dollars in assets, but it’s never enough. Would a few hundred homes make them happy? Would owning a thousand cars eventually make them happy? Jesus is teaching that wealth, though it can make us famous, and though it even has the potential to give us great power over the human family, isn’t permanent. The day will come when our wealth and power fades away with our last breath.
At the moment of our death we will free- fall into God’s hands without our wealth and fame, without our possessions. Will God look into his hands and ask, “What happened to you? What happened to the magnificent child I created? Where is the love I planted in your heart? Where is your glory? On that day God will look into his hands and weep for a life unlived.
Rich and poor and everyone in between, let’s end this reflection with Jesus’ greatest teaching.
“How happy are the poor in spirit – the kingdom of heaven is theirs. And how happy are the meek and the pure of heart, and those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. And how happy are those who mourn for others and are merciful to others. And oh, how happy are the peacemakers – the children closest to my heart. Rejoice and be glade, your reward will be great in heaven.”
