Greetings!

There is foolishness and then there is absolute foolishness. The Rich Fool in today's Gospel can be ranked with absolute fools, not because of his greed but on account of his heartlessness. In biblical times, it was customary for landowners to leave a portion of their harvest for the destitute; on no account were they to harvest the corners or edges of their fields (Law of Pe'ah), or the gleanings (Leket) or forgotten sheaves (Shikhechah). Leaving a portion of the harvest for the poor was mandatory, and was a matter of justice rather than charity. The Rich Fool's neglect of these commandments meant that he was violating the agricultural laws defined in Leviticus and Deuteronomy. He was not obliged to give anything away, but was forbidden to obstruct the poor's access to harvest leftovers, whether in grain fields, vineyards or olive groves. The land, after all, belonged to God.

As I reflect upon the images of starvation surfacing from Gaza, I wonder if the Rich Fool would have been capable of feeling pity. Seeing the tiny bodies of emaciated children awaiting burial, would he have wept? Noting the desperation of parents waiting for life-saving supplies, would he have left behind a few sheaves or widened the non-tilled borders of his fields? Or would he have picked up the very last ears of grain to store in his bigger and better barns, locking the doors against mercy and compassion? Today, the world is witnessing absolute folly -- cruelty beyond all comprehension. What will it take to puncture the consciences of those who have weaponized food? What might we do to make a difference?

Many Blessings!

Elizabeth

SCRIPTURE READINGS

Then Jesus told them a parable.

“There was a rich man whose land produced an abundant harvest.

‘What shall I do?' he asked himself,

'for I do not have room to store my harvest.’

Then he said, ‘This is what I'll do:

I'll 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 to last many years,

so rest, eat, drink, be merry!'

But God said to him,

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

As for the things you have accumulated, to whom will they belong?’

So will it be for all who store up treasure for themselves

but are not rich in what matters to God.”

Luke 12:13-21

The Parable of the Rich Fool pits human wisdom against Divine Wisdom, or rather, it demonstrates that the "wise" of this world are really fools. Like so many of Jesus' teachings, the parable forces us to see that what the world deems as wisdom is really stupidity, while God's ways are beyond human understanding (cf. Is 55:9). From a human perspective, the Rich Fool acts in a purely rational way. In the first place, he is a skilled landowner and, according to human thinking, is deserving of his good fortune. No doubt he hired the right laborers, supervising them carefully enough to make sure that the land yielded a bountiful crop. Secondly, rather than allowing the harvest to rot, he devises a plan to store it, calculating that it will fund a life of pleasure for years to come-- perhaps for the rest of his life! The idea of sharing his abundance with others never crosses his mind; rather than reduce his assets, he will hoard them for himself! From a worldly perspective, all this makes sense.

But the Rich Fool leaves God out of the equation. Instead of expressing gratitude for his good fortune, he feels entitled to his wealth; instead of sharing what he has received, he intends to stockpile the harvest. Not once does he consider throwing a party for his neighbors, serving as a benefactor to the poor, or even tithing. No, everything is for him and him alone. Not once does he ask what God might want him to do with his wealth, or whether he is being called to more than resting and merry-making. On the contrary, he imagines that he is in full control of his future.

The Rich Fool is not merely a symbol of greed but also of a life lived without God. He sees himself as the center of the universe, answerable to no one; moreover, he lives entirely on a materialistic plane, paying no attention to his spiritual needs and obligations. Far from surrendering to God, he has deified himself.

Most of us aren't into barn building, but the Rich Fool's dilemma --"How shall I store my earthly goods?"-- is one that we all have to face. Do we own our "goods" or do they own us? Do we share or do we hoard? Do we depend upon "things" for our happiness, or is God our greatest treasure, the pearl of great price that is worth nothing less than everything?

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QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION



• If you were to build a barn to safeguard your possessions, what would you put in it?
• Why is greed a block to growing closer to God?
• Our first reading (Ecclesiastes 1:2; 2:21-23) focuses on Vanity. What do you understand by this?
• In what ways does the second reading (Colossians 3:1-5, 9-11) provide an antidote to human folly?