EIGHTEENTH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR
‘Be on your guard against avarice of any kind’
This is the only parable in the New Testament in which words are attributed to God. He calls the young man ‘fool’ for his blind pursuit of wealth and possessions, without making any effort to make himself rich in the sight of God. While he managed his goods wisely, he managed his thoughts foolishly and everything he obsessed with ended up being meaningless. Consequently, while he seemed to have everything he had nothing. Covetousness is the road to slavery. ‘He who is not contented with what he has would not be contented with what he would like to have.’ (Socrates).
In our world today we never had so much wealth and possessions, and yet there was never less contentment and security. We look around to see bigger houses, higher walls, security cameras, guard dogs and electric fences. Our parable today is a stark reminder of the emptiness of life founded solely on material gain. Happiness resides not in possessions, but in the soul. We are spiritual beings on a human journey. In certain parts of Kenya the practice exists of removing the clothes from the dead before burying them to remind the living that we leave the world the same way we came into it. Come to think of it, there is one small but significant difference. We came into the world with fists clenched but we leave it with hands wide open! ‘There is no greater calamity than lavish desires; there is no greater disaster than greed.’ (Lao Tzu)