kind of greed, for even though you have many possessions, it is not that which gives you life.”

And Jesus continued, “There was a rich man, and his land had produced a good harvest. He
thought, ‘What shall I do, for I am short of room to store my harvest? Alright, I know what I
shall do: I will pull down my barns and I will build bigger ones, to store all this grain, which is my
wealth. Then I will say to myself: My friend, you have a lot of good things put by for many years.
Rest, eat, drink and enjoy yourself.’

But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be taken from you. Tell me, who shall
get all you have put aside?’ This is the lot of the one who stores up riches for himself and is not
wealthy in the eyes of God.”

Relflect:

The celebrated novel Diary of a Country Priest by Georges Bernanos tells the story of an idealistic
young priest who suffers in his ministry due to the hostile and dismissive attitude of his parishioners
their shallow faith. Diagnosed with stomach cancer, he visits a former colleague only to collapse in
his house. His friend sends for the parish priest, but expresses fear that the priest might not arrive in
time before the man passes. Then the dying priest, who had suffered through many inner doubts and
external rejections, utters these words haltingly but distinctly: “Does it matter? …. Grace is everywhere.
” With these words, he dies. In today’s first reading, Paul consistently underlines the extraordinary riches
of Grace given to us as gift. Had the rich man seen his abundant harvest as grace and gift, he would
have had the largeness of heart to share it with others. What he needed was not larger barns, but
a larger heart. He would have still died that night; but it would have been a graceful death.

© Copyright Bible Diary 2022