farmer

This Gospel sets us pondering about what is important in our lives. The man in the incident Luke describes holds a world view that is fairly exclusive, doesn’t he? It’s just him and HIS things. Now he’s shocked to learn that he is about to lose his life. What good are his possessions going to be to him now? Jesus makes his opinion quite plain. “You fool! This very night your life will be taken away. To whom will everything belong then?!”

Surprise! Jesus refuses to take the case. Instead, Jesus gives the squabbling brothers a parable to “mull over”. And, what’s the point of Jesus’ story? It’s not even remotely related to the problem that the two brothers are having. It features a wealthy landowner that doesn’t describe either of the siblings. Then Jesus lumps the boys in the same pot as the landowner. He calls than all “fools”.

Better take fair warning! There is danger in thinking this parable applies only to “those rich people.” To put the matter more pointedly, thinking of those rich fools enables me NOT to think of myself as a “rich fool.”

In this little parable Jesus probes our hearts. “Where is your treasure?” he asks. Don’t make the mistake that this farmer made. Examine my story. The farmer wasn’t wicked. He didn’t gain his wealth illegally or by taking advantage of others. He’s not particularly greedy. So, what’s wrong with building larger barns, renting a storage unit to store away some of today’s bounty for a leaner tomorrow? This kind of thinking can lead us to ask: Is there anything wrong with hanging on to clothing we’ve outgrown but might wear again someday? Or stockpiling furniture that serves only as a “catch all” because it’s just too nice to give away? What’s wrong with requesting more allowance than we actually need saying it’s so we can do charity? But somehow, we never find a charity other than our own pockets. What’s the matter with setting up a little enterprise to supplement our allowance? Why can’t we accept or ask for money gifts or gift cards from personal friends giving them the impression that our community does not take care of our needs?

Notice what the farmer’s consistent focus is. “What should I do? I have no place to store my crops.” “I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.” It’s his relentless use of “I” and “my” that betray a preoccupation with self. He’s fallen prey to worshiping the most popular of gods: the Unholy Trinity of “me, myself, and I.” He gives no thought to using the abundance to help others. This most likely is what leads to a second mistake: foolishness in thinking that making provision for the future; will secure one’s future.

Jesus used the opportunity as a “teachable moment.” Life, he impresses upon us, does not consist in things; not even in having MANY things. The farmer in the parable is a rich man, who fears he is not rich enough. Jesus didn’t judge him; He did teach. He was teaching all of us how to live. After all: “Teaching is not what Jesus did; it’s who he was.”

~Reflection by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB

First Reading: Ecclesiastes 1:2; 2:21-23 Second Reading: Colossians 3:1-5,9-11Gospel: Luke12:13-21

If tonight God came in your dream and told you to ask for one thing and one thing only, what would it be?

Once upon a time there was a farmer who owned a small parcel of land. The land was stony, but the farmer worked hard, and for a while he was blessed with a certain happiness and contentment. But then he began to feel that there was something missing in his life, and he felt empty as a result. One evening a stranger passed that way and asked for a night’s lodgings. The farmer was grateful for the distraction.

Around the fire that night the stranger began to talk about diamonds. He told the farmer that if he could find a diamond, even one no bigger than the nail of his little finger, he would never have to do another type of work. The farmer was very impressed. He didn’t get a wink of sleep all that night thinking about diamonds.

Next day the stranger departed leaving the farmer more than a little unhappy. As the days went by he got more and more restless. He began to neglect his farm. Finally, he sold it cheaply, and went off roaming the world in search of diamonds. He travelled far and wide but never found any. Meanwhile, the man who bought his farm was out ploughing. One day the plough turned up a stone which shone in the sunlight. It turned out to be a very valuable diamond. When he went back to the spot, he found lots more. It turned out to be one of the richest diamond mines ever found.

Come to think about it, our story is much like that. Many years ago, perhaps over a hundred or so, our predecessors recognized a treasure across the street from their home. There was this piece of land with a stunning view and a perpetual breeze, awesome sunrises and sunsets. They buried it with a citrus grove and went out with joy to serve the people of God in many places. And, when the time was right, our time, we sold what we had and came back with joy to reclaim our treasured “pearl.”

When Jesus told his story He asked the disciples: “Do you understand all these things?” Like the disciples we answer without hesitation, “Yes.” But, maybe our voices quiver and there’s a question mark in our expression. But, there is also the conviction in our hearts that we will extend God’s kingdom wherever we live, whatever the restrictions we struggle with, whatever the types of resources we have at hand or are missing.

The Kingdom of God was always clear to Jesus but to us it will always be somewhat mysterious. As we are formed in the mind of Jesus – and identify with His mindset, His vision becomes ever more clear to us. In everyday terms, we who live here in east Pasco County Florida, have not changed our mission or our vision and likely will not change. The words of a Quaker hymn come to mind: “We bend and we bow and shan’t be ashamed”. Our mission remains the same; it just takes on a new shape. Why did our Sisters come from Pennsylvania to settle in this area? Was it not to feed the education hungers of the local children? Long before we wrote formalized philosophy statements and directional goals, our Sisters “fed hungers” in a variety of roles in Texas and Louisiana and from the top to the bottom of Florida. They worked in internal ministries and as nurses and home caretakers, seamstresses, coif makers, packing house workers, gardeners, … you name it, someone probably tried it. Our aim is, and has always been, to foster life in community – to BE community for each other: to pray and work; to interact with the care and respect St. Benedict describes in his Rule, particularly in RB Chapter 72. “Be the first to show respect to the other”. Or in our own words: to be the first “to respond with the compassion of Christ to the hungers of the other.”

Jesus presents to us a variety of examples to help us conceptualize His Kingdom: a hidden treasure, a box filled with gold coins buried somewhere in a field; the Kingdom as a precious pearl, a jewel found by a businessman who astutely sold everything he owned in order to buy it; a fishing net filled with fish both good and bad, wheat and weeds growing together. The illustrations abound: leaven in dough, light, salt, a seed, a ripe harvest, a pearl, a royal feast and a wedding banquet. These parables all have to do with a person finding something of such tremendous value that they are willing to give up everything they have to possess it. The Gospel reading concludes with a curious statement about the scribe who understands the kingdom of heaven. How do we identify God’s Kingdom here on earth?

~Reflection by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB

Teaching is not what Jesus did; it’s who he was.

If God came to you in a dream…

First Reading: 1 Kings 3:5,7-12 Second Reading: Romans 8:28-30
Gospel: Matthew 13:44-52

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