Reasonable Greed?
Father Phil Paxton, CP
In our Gospel reading for Sunday (Luke 12:13-21), Jesus says: “Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one’s life does not consist of possessions.” If we look at the request that prompted that statement, and the parable Jesus tells after it, these words become more challenging, I think, because the greed Jesus is talking about is not the greed that we would necessarily find repulsive.
Let me explain. The request that leads to Jesus’ statement comes from someone in the crowd that has gathered to listen to Jesus: “Teacher, tell my brother to share the inheritance with me.” This kind of dispute, unfortunately, happens in families that are not rich at all. And maybe we can even sympathize with the person. After all, is there a good reason why he shouldn’t have a share in the inheritance? Could this even be a matter of justice? But Jesus replies, ‘Friend, who appointed me as your judge and arbiter?” And then He says those words about greed.
And then, there is the parable about a rich man whose land produces such an abundant harvest that he doesn’t have room to store it all. He eventually decides to build bigger silos so he can store it all, and say to himself: “Now, as for you, you have so many good things stored up for many years, rest, eat, drink, be merry!” Wouldn’t we all want so much that we wouldn’t have to worry ever again about having enough? But, again, Jesus ends the parable with God saying to the man, “You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you; and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?” And then Jesus says, “Thus will it be for all who store up treasure for themselves but are not rich in what matters to God.”
You see, Jesus is not talking about the kind of greed that is pictured as some old miser counting his money alone in some mansion, utterly absorbed by how much money there is, and how much more he wants. Jesus is talking about being caught up in what seems to be a reasonable desire for wealth. And that is what makes His words so challenging! Jesus calls us to focus on what is important to God, and be willing to have that be important to us.
In some ways, Jesus’ words link greed to complacency (“rest, eat, drink, be merry!) – that temptation to think, “As long as I got mine, everything’s all right.” If the economy works for me, but there are still people left out, or there is still injustice, is that okay with me, with us?
There are two quotes I would like to share with you:
“Jesus wasn’t telling us to become poor. He was warning us about how we who are not poor can construct a life that cuts us off from the poor. We can insulate ourselves from two-thirds of the world.” – Bishop Ken Untener
“A hundred years from now it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove… but the world may be different because I was important in the life of a child.” – Forest Witcraft
Again, Jesus is calling us beyond what is reasonable, and to work for what is important to God.
I welcome any comments or questions. Thanks for your time.
In Christ,
Phil, CP