August 3, 2025

18^th Sunday in Ordinary Time

The Best Investment Strategy

Msgr. Thomas Gervasio

There were two neighbors, one was rich and the other poor. However, the poor neighbor possessed a magic lamp. Every morning, he wiped the lamp and a genie came out and said, "What is your wish?" And every morning, the poor man asked for a cup of tea. The rich neighbor, envious of the magic lamp, said to the poor man, “I'll give you my Lamborghini and my house in exchange of the lamp." The poor man accepted the deal. The rich man wiped the lamp; the genie came out and said : "What is your wish?” The rich man said, “A huge mansion and an even better car.” The genie replied: “Sorry Sir, I only serve tea and coffee.” 
Such is the allure of money and possessions! Today Our Lord would have us learn something about this attraction. The lesson was prompted when a man asks Jesus to intervene in a family dispute over inheritance. Such disputes happen today and they can be very ugly and estrange families for years. Our Lord refuses to intervene because he probes the motives of the quarrelling brothers with the parable of the foolish rich man. 
At first glance, the rich man is admirable. He is industrious, far-sighted, enterprising, a “self-made” man. But a closer look reveals something else. His thoughts are devoid of any reference to God or others. He is focused solely on himself. Notice his thinking: MY harvest, MY barns, MY grain. The problem is not in having riches. Scripture never condemns wealth in itself because many necessary and good things flow from it But it frequently warns us of its dangers. 
Possessions can become obsessions, setting us on the course to greed or avarice. Riches can change us, cloud our judgment, make us uncharitable, dishonest, anxious, dishonest, and restless. We can be sure that when our life is arranged around “me, myself and I” God and our neighbor go to the bottom of our list for our time and attention.
The self-made man thought he had set himself up very well for the future. He had made all the right moves, the right investments so that he could “eat, drink, and be merry.” But God calls him a fool because all he possessed is fleeting: “This night your life will be demanded of you, and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?”
St. Paul urges us today to “Put to death, the parts of you that are earthly…the greed that is idolatry” and to keep our eyes fixed on heaven. We should become accustomed to viewing material things from the perspective of eternity. 
The day will come for all of us when we shall leave behind everything that we possess. Think of that…everything I own will one day be owned by someone else…and it’s very likely that the someone else will not be the least bit interested in my furniture, my jewelry, my china, and all the rest. In fact, my “treasures” may be destined for the yard sale.
St. Francis of Assisi reminds us: “Remember that when you leave this earth, you can take with you nothing that you have received—only what you have given: a full heart, enriched by honest service, love, sacrifice, and courage.” 
The best investments we make are spiritual ones.