Gospel

Luke 12:13-21

Someone in the crowd said to Jesus,

“Teacher, tell my brother to share the inheritance with me.”

He replied to him,

“Friend, who appointed me as your judge and arbitrator?”

Then he said to the crowd,

“Take care to guard against all greed,

for though one may be rich,

one’s life does not consist of possessions.”

Then he told them a parable.

“There was a rich man whose land produced a bountiful harvest.

He asked himself, ‘What shall I do,

for I do not have space to store my harvest?’

And he said, ‘This is what I shall do:

I shall tear down my barns and build larger ones.

There I shall store all my grain and other goods

and I shall say to myself, “Now as for you,

you have so many good things stored up for many years,

rest, eat, drink, be merry!”’

But God said to him,

‘You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you;

and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?’

Thus will it be for the one who stores up treasure for himself

but is not rich in what matters to God.”

Reflection

The rich man had a decision to make. What do I do with all that I have? Jesus’ great concern is what we do with who we are, not so much what we have. And this is a clear indication that what Jesus wants us to do is to use what we have, meaning our gifts, our talents, and give them to people, not to use it for our own gain.

Closing Prayer

Father, we often identify our words with what we have. But the gift of who we are is the greatest gift we can share with one another. Help us to be generous in that work. Help us not to be focused too much on self, but on one another. And we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.

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