(Wis 18:6–9; Heb 11:1–2.8–19; Luke 12:32–48)
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law” (Gal 5:22–23).
Introductory Words
After presenting his convincing and theologically founded argument in defence of his stand that life’s worth does not consist in the abundance of a person’s material possession, Jesus invites his disciples not to preoccupy themselves with the things of the world. They should neither worry for life, for what to eat, for what to drink, what to wear nor for life itself because God, the absolute proprietor of life knows how to provide these things and how to take proper care of life too. Attention! This is not a call to laziness. It is disheartening how some people especially in Nigeria lock their shops, teachers who abandon their pupil in the classrooms and workers who absent from their duties all in the name of prayer. More worrisome is the fact that these things happen on normal workdays. When Jesus in Matthew 6:34 says we should not think or worry about tomorrow since tomorrow will take care of itself, it does not mean we should not have plans for tomorrow. Jesus made such statement due to the last phrase of that same verse. Jesus advises people not to begin today to worry about tomorrow because today’s troubles are enough for today. This is a serious psychological advice. People should learn to limit their worries to each day. If to today’s worries you add that of tomorrow, you know the consequence. Both Luke 12:22–30, Matthew 6:34 and even Psalm 23 are not invitations to idleness and laziness. They are calls to seek first the kingdom of God so that every other thing will be easier to obtain (cf. Luke 12:31). Therefore, if we should worry, our worry should be how to gain God’s kingdom and not how to gain material wealth. This Sunday readings (especially the Gospel) are built on these words. It is about being faithful. Hence, the faithful servant.
God disposes His kingdom
After the psychological preparations, Jesus draws his disciples’ attention to the theme of last Sunday Gospel reading – the ephemerality of material riches. As if frightened, alarmed and threatened (cf. do not fear in Luke 12:32) by the fate of the rich farmer in Luke 12:13–21, Jesus assured his disciples that it is not God’s intention to hide or withhold His kingdom from them. Such assurance is expressed in these words “do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father is well pleased to give you the kingdom” (Luke 12:32). Yes, God is always ready to open the kingdom but that is not without condition. The conclusion of the episode of the rich farmer that what happened to him is the same fate that awaits those who enrich themselves with material things, but who do not enrich themselves towards God (cf. Luke 12:21), shows the kingdom was not opened for him. For God to open his kingdom to anyone, there are terms and conditions that must be studied attentively, and must as well be accepted and respected. It is not the responsibility of anyone to set such conditions. They are contained in the invitation to “sell your possessions and give alms” (Luke 12:33). Whoever wishes to inherit the kingdom should not store his or her wealth. Rather, he or she should sell them and distribute the proceeds to the needy. This is the sense of sell your belongings and give alms. Alms implies the needy, the less privileged of the society and of every family, group and community. The command to give alms should not be limited to material assistance alone. It is a general instruction with various branches. Again, it should be linked to the rest of the passage. Sell your possessions and give alms means, share with others whatever you have, material, spiritual and otherwise.
The key to God’s kingdom
As I explained above, the kingdom of God has terms and conditions. To the lawyer who wanted to find out from Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life, Jesus presented the example of the man who became victim of brigands who left him almost dead. At the conclusion of that story, Jesus invited the lawyer to go and follow the example of the Samaritan who proved a good neighbour to the wounded man (cf. Luke 10:25–37). In Luke 10:38–42, Jesus reminded Martha that her worry for too many things especially, the worry for material satisfaction is a serious obstacle to eternal life. With the story of the rich farmer in Luke 12:13–21, Jesus shows how greed in its diverse forms could deprive people of eternal happiness. Greed in fact, does not allow people to be rich towards God. Again, in Luke 18:18–30, we find the episode of a young man who wanted to find out from Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life. After everything and especially, after his confidence in proving his observance of the Torah since his youth, Jesus asked him to go, sell all his possessions, distribute the proceeds to the poor, then come and become his disciples, this way, he will inherit eternal life. The conclusion of that story is that this young man went away sorrowful because he was very rich. Like Pilate, he preferred his worldly pleasure and glory to eternal life. Many Christians are still victims of this defect. Make your choice and bear the consequence!
To save the disciples and Christians from the danger of excessive attention and uncontrollable attachment to material possession, Jesus invites his disciples and all believers to dispose of their material belongings. In contrast to the world’s preoccupation with material possessions, the disciples and believers are to be characterized by exceedingly great generosity, especially in giving to those in need (literally, to give alms). The invitation to give alms should attract our attention. It is an indication of negligence, lack of love and care, abuse, oppression and injustice. Take for instance Nigeria, where only 20–25 percent of the entire population enjoy the wealth of the nation. In such circumstance, it is clear that the poor or the needy masses will have to depend on these super rich for survival, a situation that breeds corruption, oppression and injustice. In such context, Jesus’ invitation to sell all and give alms should be interpreted as restitution. Yes, the rich should return the common good, which they have arrogantly usurped, making themselves gods to be worshipped by the ignorant and needy masses. Similarly, those who have denied others justice, truth, what is due to them, must give alms by returning what they have stolen.
By selling all and giving alms, the disciples will provide themselves purses that do not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never decrease, where they can neither be stolen, nor destroyed (cf. Luke 12:33b). This is the meaning of the metaphor “moneybags that do not grow old” in Luke 12:33. Since a person’s heart is naturally attracted by his or her possessions (spiritual or material), inclined and resides where his or her treasures are, the disciples must ensure they possess spiritual treasures and store them in the heavenly barn so that their hearts will also be there (cf. Luke 12:34). This way, they would have corrected the errors of the young man who wanted to share his treasures with his brother, and that of the rich farmer who wanted to store his wealth in earthly barn (cf. Luke 12:13–21), and the young man who preferred his material wealth to eternal life (cf. Luke 18:18–30). This is the key to the kingdom, which it has pleased God to give them. The nature of a person’s heart is reflected in the things that one values most. Furthermore, by storing their treasures in heaven, they would have succeeded in seeking first the kingdom of God, the foundation to gain every other thing.