Overview:

The Memorial of Saints John de Brébeuf and Isaac Jogues, Priests, and Companions, Martyrs

A Reflection for the Memorial of Saints John de Brébeuf and Isaac Jogues, Priests, and Companions, Martyrs

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?’
Thus will it be for the one who stores up treasure for himself
but is not rich in what matters to God.” (Lk 12:20-21)

Find today’s readings here.

Throughout Luke’s Gospel, Jesus gives many cautions about wealth. Today’s Gospel reading is one of these uniquely Lucan warnings against the accumulation of possessions. In each of these, the correct attitude toward wealth comes from a clear understanding of its source and its purpose. 

Luke is a careful writer. When he describes Jesus saying that it was the rich man’s land that produced a bountiful harvest, he reminds his readers that the source of the abundant harvest was not the rich man himself but the forces of nature. The rich man gives this no heed. He speaks of “my harvest…. my barns…. my grain…. my other goods” as if he himself had produced what only earth, sun and rain could have provided. 

The rich man also does not show any gratitude. Luke depicts the man’s interiority as a monologue of greed and selfish pleasure. It never crosses the man’s mind that an abundant harvest is something for which he ought to give thanks or something that could be shared with others.

God breaks in, abruptly transforming the monologue into a dialogue. “You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you; and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?” Lost in most translations is the nuance of the Greek word behind the phrase “demanded of you.” The verb apaitoûsin appears in many Greek legal texts with the meaning “to foreclose.” Everything the man had, including his very life, had been on loan. God had now determined that loan to be delinquent and was repossessing everything.

Jesus reminds us repeatedly that this earthly life is only temporary and that God is the source of worldly goods. Likewise, the purpose of our goods is to remind us to be grateful to God and to provide for the needs of others. 

Remember too that this parable is a response to a person in the crowd who asked Jesus to adjudicate a disputed inheritance. One could paraphrase Jesus’ response, “Careful! Did this property do any good for the deceased?” In these and many other words, Jesus urges us to remember that our lives are more than a race to accumulate wealth. That gratitude and generosity should characterize all we do.

Michael R. Simone, S.J., is contributing editor at America and pastor of Gesù Parish in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.