"Take care to guard against all greed"

Over the next several weeks the readings we will hear, particularly from the Gospel of Luke, will be inviting us to consider our relationship with money and possessions. And make no mistake... Jesus does not take a soft approach to this topic.

In the Gospel reading for this coming Sunday, Jesus says, “Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one’s life does not consist of possessions.” He goes on to tell a parable about a man who, having more grain than he has barns to store it, decides to build bigger barns instead of sharing it. He tells us that the man's thought process is "Now as for you, you have so many good things stored up for many years, rest, eat, drink, be merry!"

Is this idea, of saving not with purpose but in order to have "the easy life," something that we are guilty of? Certainly in our modern American capitalist culture there are so many reasons to save up: new home, better car, retirement, buying a summer cottage. And yet... the story goes that, on the day the barn is completed, God says to him: "You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you." All of that saving and planning for nothing.

Jesus ends the parable by saying, "Thus will it be for all who store up treasure for themselves but are not rich in what matters to God." So, perhaps what Jesus is trying to tell us in our modern age is this: saving and planning isn't a bad thing. But, there are more important things, for "one's life does not consist of possessions." Let us pray today that our hearts may not be wrapped up in the things of this world, but that they may seek to be rich in what matters to God. And what matters to God, more than anything else, is love.

Want to prepare your heart and mind for Mass this weekend? Click here to find the readings this Sunday's Mass.