The following commentary may help to get a deeper understanding of the text.

In order to fully appreciate its significance, today’s gospel should be understood as a small portion of the lengthy instruction Jesus imparted to his followers en route to Jerusalem (Luke 9.51-19.28). Just prior to this lesson on greed and undue attachment to material wealth, Jesus had counseled his disciples against all anxiety, telling then that the God who knew their needs and wants would never forget them. Therefore, they need not live in fear of anything or anyone; the presence of the Holy Spirit would sustain them in every circumstance (12.1-12). In today’s gospel, and in response to the question of “someone in the crowd” (v. 13), Jesus challenges those who seek to alley their fears by making an abundance of material goods their base of security and their insurance against the future. As Luke Timothy Johnson (The Gospel of Luke, The Liturgical Press, Collegeville” 1991) has pointed out, “Jesus’ teaching to this point (in the gospel) has stressed a lack of fear before the immediate threat of life, how much less should fear generate an obsessive concern with possessions.

Jesus’ lesson about greed and wealth was prompted by a request that he act as arbiter in a dispute over an inheritance. Certainly, Jesus had wisdom and intelligence sufficient to settle the issue, however he chose not to become embroiled in matters material, particularly since he was directing the attention of his disciples toward the more enduring treasure of the kingdom. As his followers, they would become heirs of an eternal inheritance; therefore all their other needs and wants were to be subordinated and ordered accordingly. Because earthly possessions do not guarantee life (v. 15), Jesus taught his own that their energies should not be spent in having more but in becoming more and more like him.

Whereas the rich man in the parable, regarded his riches as blessings and found peace and contentment in the fact that his grain bins were full, the disciples of Jesus are to find blessedness in divesting themselves of their surpluses and even of and even of their substance so as to see to the needs of the hungry, thirsty, sick, lonely and poor. By calling the rich man a fool, Jesus referenced the Hebrew scriptures (see Psalm 13.1) which described a fool as someone who had denied or forgotten God. Charles H. Talbot (Reading Luke, Crossroad Pub. Co., New York” 1984) has explained that the foolish, rich man’s striving for additional wealth, when he already had enough, did not guarantee his security but, rather, his status as an idolater. He had chosen reliance on things rather than on God; his allegiance was misplaced and his untimely and unexpected death would prove to be a rude awakening.

No doubt, most would prefer to experience their “awakening” before death, while there is still time to respond to it appropriately. A recent television, documentary featured several people who claimed to have had such an awakening; each had had experienced some trauma or calamity which had resulted in severe losses. One woman looked on helplessly as her home was swallowed up by a mudslide and the tumbled down the cliff into the bay below. An elderly couple had survived the tornado that ripped the roof off their home and flung all of its contents into the air. Another person had returned from a trip to find his home and business in ashes. Yet another told of losing all he owned in a faulty investment. When asked how they had coped with their losses and what they had learned, every person interviewed shared a similar insight. “Yes, we’ve lost everything,” one responded, “but that’s precisely the point. . . we lost things. What matters is that we are alive!” Each person emerged from their experience of loss having learned the same life lesson Jesus wished to impart to his disciples. Each had gained a keener appreciation of their authentic needs and a newfound freedom from useless and transitory wants. Each resolved to live life more carefully and wisely, aware that this day is God’s gift and that tomorrow may never come.