BEWARE OF GREED

Lectionary Text; Luke 12:13-21 (NRSV) - Someone in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me." 14 But he said to him, "Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?" 15 And he said to them, "Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one's life does not consist in the abundance of possessions." 16 Then he told them a parable: "The land of a rich man produced abundantly. 17 And he thought to himself, 'What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?' 18 Then he said, 'I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, 'Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.' 20 But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?' 21 So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God."

Parable of the Rich Fool, painting by Rembrandt, 1627

Beware of greed,
as it can lead
to dangerous obsessions.
For life does not consist
in the abundance of possessions.
Remember Jesus’ parable
about the wealthy man
who thought,
“I’ll build much larger barns
to store up all I can.
Then I’ll relax
and do the things
I’ve always yearned to do.”
But then God said,
“You fool!”
This night
life will depart from you.
And all these things

that you have stored,
to whom will they belong?”
Those who hoard things
but who are not
rich toward God
are wrong.
Our frantic quest for wealth,
therefore,
we might as well abort,
for life is
too precarious,
our time on earth
too short.