SUNDAY, AUGUST 3, 2025 – EIGHTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

Posted on Posted in US Daily Meditations


THE RICH FOOL (LK 12:16-20)

Prayer:

O Lord, do not allow my material possessions to ruin my faith.

Imagination:

Picture Jesus with His disciples.

Context:

A person asks Jesus to gain his rightful inheritance. Jesus says that owning property is irrelevant in the Kingdom. He then gives this parable of the rich farmer to show that earthly wealth is unimportant.
Because of the gigantic harvest, the farmer need not fear if future years bring bad crops. His security makes him into a fool (in the biblical sense). He does not need God and does not realize God’s impending judgment.

Gospel text: (Read slowly, possibly aloud)

Someone asked Jesus, “Teacher, tell my brother to give me my share of the inheritance.” He replied, “Friend, who has set me as judge and arbiter?” Then he said to the crowds, “Avoid greed in all its forms. A man may be wealthy, but his possessions do not guarantee him life.” He told them a parable.
A rich man had land which produced a gigantic harvest. He thought within himself, “What shall I do? I have no room for this harvest. This is what I will do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones. I will store all my grain and all my goods. I will say to myself, I have enough grain for many years to come. I will eat, drink and make merry.”
But God said to him, “You fool. This night your soul is required of you. Who will inherit all that you have stored up?” Thus it will be for one who stores up treasures for himself but is not rich in what matters to God.

Thoughts: (Read all. Ponder the ones that attract you.)

  1. This parable is not about riches, but about the farmer’s thinking.
  2. He is the “biblical fool”, forgetting God because he is so secure.
  3. Because of his barns of grain, he forgets the reality of God’s final judgment.
  4. His vision is false.  His soul will be judged.
  5. Surprisingly, this will happen quite soon!  “This night your soul is required of you.”
  6. As the bible frequently remarks, his barns will belong to someone else.
  7. How foolish to store up earthly treasures!

Affections. (When one touches your heart, use your own words.)

  • O Jesus, someday you will judge me.
  • My earthly riches cannot postpone that moment.
  • Your judgments are inevitable.  Nothing can remove them.
  • Give me a repentant heart.  In this way, I am prepared.
  • Remove all my foolish reasoning.  Destroy all my illusions.
  • Come close to me, O Lord.  You alone are my security.
  • Soon, so very soon, the whole cosmos will fold up.  History will be over. Jesus, may I be with you in that moment.

Resolutions: (Possibly you might want to make your own.)

+ I will live today as if I will come before God this night.
+ I will honestly face my own “foolishness”, how I push God to the background.

Thought for the Day: (To recall your meditation.)

You fool! Tonight your soul is required of you.