Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to share the inheritance with me.” 14 He replied to him, “Friend, who appointed me as your judge and arbitrator?” 15 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.”
16 Then he told them a parable. “There was a rich man whose land produced a bountiful harvest. 17 He asked himself, ‘What shall I do, for I do not have space to store my harvest?’ 18 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 19 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!”’ 20 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?’ 21 Thus will it be for the one who stores up treasure for himself but is not rich in what matters to God.”
A man in the crowd calls out to Jesus: “Teacher, tell my brother to share the inheritance with me” (Lk 12:13). The request seems straightforward—perhaps even just—but Jesus responds not by settling the dispute, but by warning against greed. This redirection moves the conversation from earthly fairness to eternal priorities: “Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one’s life does not consist of possessions” (v. 15).
Jesus then offers a parable that exposes the spiritual blindness that can come from material abundance. A wealthy landowner experiences a prosperous year. Ignoring the needs of his soul, the man speaks to himself with worldly confidence: “You have so many good things stored up for many years; rest, eat, drink, be merry” (v. 19). He does not consult God, nor does he consider how his blessings might serve others. His solution to abundance is not generosity but self-preservation. But God interrupts his self-indulgent monologue with a divine reckoning, revealing the truth he had ignored: the soul does not live by wealth, and life is not our possession to secure. The parable ends with a sobering warning: “Thus will it be for the one who stores up treasure for himself but is not rich in what matters to God” (v. 21).
The parable echoes the Old Testament wisdom tradition, particularly Ecclesiastes, where the Teacher laments the futility of wealth that one must leave behind (Eccl. 2:18-21). Likewise, Psalm 49 reminds us: “Do not fear when a man grows rich... For when he dies he shall take none of it; his wealth shall not follow him down” (Ps. 49:17–18). The consistency between these texts and Jesus’ teaching underscores a timeless truth: the soul’s true wealth lies not in possession but in right relationship with God.
The New Testament builds upon this foundation. St. Paul echoes Jesus' teaching in 1 Timothy 6, writing: “For we brought nothing into the world, just as we shall not be able to take anything out of it” (1 Tim. 6:7). Paul exhorts the wealthy to be “rich in good works” and to “lay hold of eternal life” (vv. 18–19). The goal is not merely to renounce wealth, but to rightly order it—to use it for love, mercy, and worship.
In our age, financial security is often treated as the ultimate measure of success. People meticulously plan retirements, accumulate assets, and promote images of prosperity. None of these things is inherently evil. But when our lives are driven by accumulation and our value defined by what we own or display, we fall into the same illusion as the man in the parable. We begin to feed the soul with things that cannot nourish it.
The Gospel reminds us that possessions are temporary, but the soul is eternal. The deeper poverty is not a lack of resources but a lack of awareness that everything we have is a gift meant to be shared. True security is not built on bigger barns but on trust in God, who alone can satisfy the hunger of the human heart. To be rich in what matters to God is to live generously, love deeply, and remain ever aware that our life is not our own—it is a gift, given for eternity.
Lord Jesus, teach us to number our days and to value what is eternal. Free us from the illusion of security in earthly things, and help us store up treasure in heaven by loving You and serving our neighbor. Make our hearts rich in what matters to You. Amen.
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Sources and References:
- The Holy Bible, New American Bible, Revised Edition (2011).
- A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture, ed. Bernard Orchard et al. (1953).
- The Navarre Bible: St. Luke, Faculty of the University of Navarre (2008).
- The Paulist Biblical Commentary, ed. José Enrique Aguilar Chiu et al. (2018).
- The New Jerome Biblical Commentary, ed. Raymond E. Brown et al. (1990).
- Ecclesiastes 2:18–21; Psalm 49:17–18; 1 Timothy 6:7–19.
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, §§2547–2550 (on detachment from riches and trust in divine providence).
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