Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

August 3, 2025

Luke 12: 13-21

All three readings today remind us that what is important is invisible to the eye. The reading from Ecclesiates reminds us that when we get so involved with making our way in the world, we miss the point of life, especially a life based on God. Therefore, the author says, “All is vanity.” When we are vain, what happens to us? We are centered only on ourselves and forget anyone or anything outside us. We become narrow, focused inward, and self-absorbed. Nothing is important as that which makes us powerful, wealthy, and very comfortable; we are the center of our universe. Ecclesiates warns us about focusing on ourselves.

The second reading from St. Paul’s Letter to the Colossians points us in the right direction: “If you were raised with Christ, seek what is above...put to death, then, the parts of you that are earthly:..the greed that is idolatry...put on the new self, which is being renewed...in the image of [our] creator.” This is the opposite of being ‘narrow, focused inward, and self-absorbed.’ It calls us to put on the attitude that was Christ’s, that is, to look out of ourselves toward God and the needs of your neighbor. And remember a few Sundays ago in the parable of the Good Samaritan, we found out who our neighbor was: anyone who was in need of our love and concern. This attitude is the opposite of vanity.

In today's Gospel from Luke, Jesus helps us to get our focus. He draws our attention to what is important by highlighting what is not. In the first part of the gospel, Jesus is talking to a younger brother whose older brother is apparently not giving him his share of the inheritance. Jesus seems to brush the younger brother off by saying that he is not a judge or arbitrator; this seems like a brush off. In fact, Jesus is pointing to the underlying problem in the dispute of the two brothers. And the underlying problem is their concern with vanity, that is, with what is mine and mine alone. Jesus is hoping to draw them out of themselves to see rightly, to see what is invisible to the eye. And so, Jesus tells them a story.

Jesus speaks of a moderately wealthy man who has hit the jackpot; he has a harvest that is so abundant that he will be set up comfortably for years to come. He can lived comfortably for years to come because he has “so many things stored up for many years, [that he can] eat, drink, and be merry!’ He has nothing to worry about concerning his comfort and future. 

But Jesus speaks to those of us who have abundant possession by telling the parable of the Rich Fool. Two things stand out about this man. First, he never thinks beyond himself. There is no parable which is so full of the words, I, my, and mine. One time a young student was asked what parts of speech my and mine were; he answered, ‘aggressive pronouns.’ The rich fool was aggressively self-centered. When this man had an overabundance of good, the one thing that never entered his mind was to give any away. His whole attitude was the very reverse of Christianity. Instead of denying himself, he aggressively affirmed himself; instead of finding his happiness in giving, he tried to conserve everything by keeping it.

Second, he never saw beyond this world. All his plans were made on the basis of life here. The rich fool gave no thought to what was invisible to the eye; he did not think of those in need or of God and life with him after death. He was only concerned with his comfort and well-being. The Romans had a proverb which said that money was like sea water; the more a person drank, the thirstier that person became. And, as long as our attitude is that of the rich fool, the more our desire will always be to get more -- and that is the reverse of the Christian way, the way of Jesus. When we never see beyond this world, when we see only what is visible to the eye, all our plans and attention is based on life here and now. 

There is an old story about a very wealthy man who died and went to heaven. An angel guided him on a tour of the celestial city. He came to a magnificent home. “Who lives there?” asked the wealthy man. “Oh,” the angel answered, “on earth he was your gardener.” The rich man got excited. If this was the way gardeners lived, just think of the kind of mansion in which he would spend eternity! They came to an even more magnificent abode. “Who’s is this?” asked the rich man almost overwhelmed. The angel answered, “She spent her life as a missionary.” The rich man was really getting excited now. Finally, they came to a tiny eight-by-eight shack with no window and only a piece of cloth for a door. It was the most modest home the rich man had ever seen. “This is your home, ‟ said the angel. The wealthy man was flabbergasted. “I don’t understand. The other homes were so beautiful. Why is my home so tiny?” The angel smiled sadly, “I’m sorry,‟ he said. “We did all we could with what you sent us to work with…” — Out of the abundance we receive, we are to give cheerfully to those in need, whether physical or spiritual or emotional. We respond deeply to what is invisible to the eye. We are to respond joyfully to the extravagant generosity of God. The rich man did not look beyond himself.

Today, while we can still hear the voice of Jesus, we look outward, look beyond ourselves. When we do this, we can see our neighbor, whether he or she is friend or stranger, or even better, an enemy. We look at what is invisible, that is seeing Christ and as Christ sees, and not making us the center of our concern and our only goal in living. There is life that exists beyond what we can see: what is important is invisible to the eye.

Fr. John Tran