Gospel Lectio Divina for Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time - July 31, 2022
Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created. And You shall renew the face of the earth.
O, God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit, did instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever enjoy His consolations, Through Christ Our Lord, Amen.
Someone in the crowd said to Jesus,
“Teacher, tell my brother to share the inheritance with me.”
He replied to him,
“Friend, who appointed me as your judge and arbitrator?”
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.”
Then he told them a parable.
“There was a rich man whose land produced a bountiful harvest.
He asked himself, ‘What shall I do,
for I do not have space to store my harvest?’
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
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!”’
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 all who store up treasure for themselves
but are not rich in what matters to God.”
MEDITATE
Tell my brother to share the inheritance with me
A few weeks ago, Martha told Jesus to tell her sister Mary to help her. This week we see a clear parallel when this “someone” tells Jesus to order his brother to do something; this time, to share his inheritance. A few things: First, there is an apparent respect for Jesus as an authority in his community, since people are telling him to tell people to do things, hoping that if their influence isn’t strong enough maybe Jesus’ will be. Second, Jesus uses each occasion as a teaching opportunity. The lessons are similar. Both are about getting our priorities straight. Martha put earthly tasks before spending time with Jesus. This “someone” put earthly goods before the treasures of heaven. He put his worldly inheritance before his heavenly inheritance.
Take care to guard against all greed
Jesus speaks extensively about the vice of greed. He says it is difficult for a rich man to get into heaven. He says give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s. He tells another parable about a man who was in debt and was forgiven, but then did not forgive his debtors but demanded they pay him back. It is an ongoing theme in his teaching. Why is that? Is he guarding against an injustice? Many people who exhibit greed satisfy it by taking what rightfully belongs to others. So that is part of it. But Jesus, as always, is more concerned about the soul. He is more concerned about what greed does to the soul of the person who possesses it. Greed makes us focus on the things of this earth rather than matters of heaven. Because of this, it can never be fully satisfied since nothing in this life can satisfy the deep desires of the soul, the desires for heaven and God who is love.
I shall tear down my barns and build larger ones
I’ve often wondered about this parable because it seems to start out well for the rich man. He seems wise, and there’s even a Christian element to his decision to tear down what he has built and start anew with new barns. It reminds me of the man who found a pearl of great price in a field, and sold everything he had to buy that field. It also reminds me of Christ’s admonition to be born again. He says he who loses his life for his sake will find it. In a similar way, the rich man is willing to lose his perfectly good old barns to build new ones to store his abundant harvest. Similarly, I’ve often felt like I need to restructure my life to make room for the abundance of graces God gives. All of these parallels seem great. So what is Jesus getting at here? What’s so bad about the rich man’s decision to build new barns? What else was he supposed to do?
Thus will it be for all who store up treasure for themselves but are not rich in what matters to God.
This kind of answers my question above. This parable is different from many of Jesus’ other parables because the rich harvest is not an analogy for the spiritual life. The spiritual analogy is key to all of Jesus’ parables, but there is no spiritual analogy in this story. Jesus is not drawing a parallel between the harvest and God’s abundant grace. This time when he talks about a rich harvest, he means a rich harvest and nothing more. So the rich man was ignoring his spiritual life and tending only to his earthly needs, his wealth. That is why he is called a fool.
Rich in what matters to God.
More and more I am noticing how Sunday Gospels end with a few powerful words that resonate. This week, we are left with these words, “what matters to God.” What riches matter to God? Virtue, holiness, doing good and avoiding evil. What matters to God is the heart, so I ought to work on having a rich heart. What does this mean? Fill it with the things and people I love, and nourish those people and things like the plants and flowers in a garden. Jesus wants me to be happy. He tells me to store up treasures in heaven, because those are the treasures that have deep, lasting qualities which will sustain my happiness longer and not leave me disappointed.
PRAY
Good teacher,
I ask nothing of you, except for you to teach me more about these treasures of heaven and how to obtain them. I know too little about them, and that’s why the treasures of this world tempt me so much. I know they do not compare to the treasures of heaven, but the treasures of heaven are so hard to notice and appreciate while we are surrounded by things that appeal to the senses. I turn to those things for immediate satisfaction, but they always fall short of completely satisfying. Thank you for reminding me that we are made for something more. Please, show me more of that something more. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
LISTEN
It is difficult to live for a place we know little about. What is heaven like? We know in heaven we will be in God’s presence. But what is his presence like? Many people have shared a wide range of experiences where they claimed they were touched by God, or heard his voice. How do we know when God is touching us, speaking to us, giving us glimpses of heaven? We know by having a pure heart, free of sin and selfish desires. When we quiet all of the false promises we tell ourselves, we then can more clearly hear and see the beauty of the one true promise which is eternal life with Christ in heaven.
Kilby is a freelance writer from New Jersey and managing editor of Catholic World Report.
