The treasure

18th Sunday Of Ordinary Time, Year C

Today’s parable found only in Luke is the Parable of the Foolish Rich Man. It illustrates the theme of caring for the poor and its main message is a warning against having a greedy heart. Jesus is telling us today that money and possessions do not make us rich in the eyes of God.

One day as Jesus is teaching, someone shouts from the crowd. “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” Jesus offers the man no help, instead he uses the question to teach just what we need to do in this life in preparation for eternal life.

Jesus tells the crowd a parable. A rich man’s lands have produced a bumper crop, much more than expected. His problem is that the barns are not large enough to store all the produce. He has what he thinks is a brilliant idea, he will pull down the barns and build bigger ones. Then he will have many things stored up for years of eating, drinking and celebrating. “You foolish man” is God’s response, because this very night he is going to die. Then to whom will all his things belong? Jesus finishes by stating the moral of the story. This is how it will be for everyone who stores up treasure for themselves but is not rich in what matters to God. The goods of this earth have been given to everyone, the rich fool lacked any sense of social responsibility. This parable is an illustration of how difficult it is for us to set our minds on God, to make Him the centre of our lives, above all worldly goods. Often our culture today measures success in the amount of money we have and the quality of materialistic goods such as the size of our house, expensive car, designer clothes, fancy boat. Jesus is not saying that it is wrong to be rich or to have many possessions but that we need to put them into perspective and not make them the reason for our existence. We should not let materialistic, perishable goods become the goals of our lives.  Rather they should be the means by which we can reach our ultimate goal which is union with God in heaven. Family life helps us learn about the values of solidarity and the common good which are part of the Social Teaching of the Church. As a family, we respect each other and work hard to make decisions which consider the rights of all members and appreciate the need to share what we have, work together and not act selfishly. The rich fool in the parable could have easily made a different decision, he could have shared his excess goods with the poor and needy. The gifts of the earth and work of our hands can be used towards building treasures in heaven. Material goods are obviously necessary but so are values and virtues which help us to focus on our ultimate goal as Christians. A life in heaven with God. To learn more about the Social Teaching of the Church access this video on Catholic Brain.

A reading from the Gospel of Luke (Lk 12:13-21)

Someone in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, tell my brother to share the inheritance with me.” He replied to him, “Friend, who appointed me as your judge and arbitrator?” Then he said to the crowd, “Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one’s life does not consist of possessions.” Then he told them a parable. “There was a rich man whose land produced a bountiful harvest. He asked himself, ‘What shall I do, for I do not have space to store my harvest?’ And he said, ‘this is what I shall do: I shall tear down my barns and build larger ones. There I shall store all my grain and other goods and I shall say to myself, “Now as for you, you have so many good things stored up for many years, rest, eat, drink, be merry!”’

But God said to him, ‘You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you; and the things you have prepared to whom, will they belong?’ Thus will it be for all who store up treasure for themselves but are not rich in what matters to God.”

The Gospel of the Lord
Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ

  1. Read the Gospel story so that you are familiar with it.
  2. Reflect on what the Gospel story is saying to you. Which points would you highlight and why?
  3.  The questions raised for us today in the readings focus on our priorities in life. We can ask ourselves this question, where do I find true fulfilment? Do I commit myself fully to my faith? Material possessions do not last forever but God’s blessing and love will. 
  4.  True riches are eternal and they make us truly wealthy. We need to be careful not to let money, success and riches rule our hearts and harden us against the suffering and needs of others. One-sixth of the world’s population (1.4 billion people) fall under the poverty line, unable to eat one meal a day or have access to healthcare. Today’s parable is as relevant today as ever! 
  5. Together with your family find the right time to read this Gospel. The environment helps, so before you start, prepare;
    i. The Bible reading from St Luke (11, 1-13)
    ii. A candle
    iii. Cover the table with a green cloth
    v. A computer/laptop with the readings and clips
  6. Go through the steps with your children (2 age groups are being suggested).
  7. Feel free to adapt to your situation
  8. Be creative 😊 

Today we are going to hear another parable (a story with a meaning) which Jesus told. It is called the Parable of the Foolish Rich Man. It teaches us the importance of having Jesus in our lives.

  • The things which we own (our possessions) will not make us truly happy as they will not last forever but God’s blessing and love will.
  • Jesus tells us not to be greedy and to share what we have with others
  • Template of a barn
  • Craft card
  • Pencil/colours
  • Scissors/glue
Barn templateDownload

One day a man who was angry, told Jesus that his brother was being unfair to him. He asked Jesus to tell his brother to share with him his inheritance (money or possessions left to the sons by their father). Nonetheless, Jesus knows that the man is just being greedy and so he tells him the parable of the foolish rich man.

One year a rich farmer had such a good harvest that he could not fit all his crops into his barns. He decided to pull down his old barns and build bigger ones so that he could keep all of his crops and store his food for many years. He said to himself that he could then “take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!” But God said to him, “You fool! You are going to die this very night. Then who will get everything that you have worked for?” This is how it will be for anyone who stores their treasures for themselves and does not have the riches of God.

In this parable Jesus is warning us not to be greedy. It’s okay to have material things such as nice clothes, toys, a new bike or scooter but when we think of them more than we think of God, then it’s a problem. We are in danger of loving these things more than we love God. 

Jesus is not saying that we should not save our money. He is just reminding us that one day we are going to die and then everything that we saved will be useless for us. Jesus wants us to use the things we have wisely and not to become too attached to them.

Have you ever desperately wanted a new toy and when you got it, you found that you didn’t really like it anymore? Many times, we see things advertised on television which look really exciting. Yet when we get them they are not as exciting as one had thought they would be. We are not as happy as we thought we would be. Jesus is telling us that we should be happy with all the blessings that God gives us and that we should be ready to share what we have with others. When we do this, we are preparing for our lives in Heaven. We can ask God to help us be content with what we have and thank him for all our blessings. 

Now if you would like to think about what you have learnt from today’s Gospel you can print out the template of a barn. Think of all the treasures and blessings which you have, such as family, friends, toys, pets, money, your home, your room…. Try to think of others and write them anywhere on the outside of the barn. Cut along the centre and top of the door and fold the doors back. Now cut out the barn and stick it onto craft card (leave the doors open… do not glue them). On the card behind the door write down God’s Blessings, such as hope, love, patience, kindness, generosity, sharing and forgiveness. Put your name on the top of the house and keep it in your room where you can see it.

Listen to this song; Priceless Treasure. 

Sign of the Cross.

Generous God, you give us every good gift. Help us to share what we have with others and not to be greedy and selfish. Thank you for all your great goodness and blessings. In the name of Jesus we pray.

Amen.

Today Jesus tells a parable (story with a message) about a very rich man who forgot something. He forgot God and forgot that one day he was going to die. It is called the Parable of the Foolish Rich Man.

  • God wants us to put him first in our lives and when we do this our possessions don’t seem so important
  • God gives us good things (blessings) to share with others
  • Cross template
  • Craft Card
  • Pencils/colours
  • Glue/Scissors
  • Sparkly stickers or glitter glue
Cross templateDownload

The Gospel today stresses what is the most important in our lives. God is most important but sometimes we allow things to get in the way of our relationship with Him. It starts with a warning against being greedy (that means that we always want more and more things not being happy with what we already have). Jesus tells this parable to help us understand that true riches are found in God alone.

One day someone in the crowd asked Jesus to tell his brother to share the inheritance (money and possessions) which their father had left them.  Jesus answers him saying that we should be careful and not be greedy, our lives are not based on all the things that we own. Jesus then told them this story; One year a rich farmer had a very big harvest and his barns were not big enough to store all the crops. He had an idea. “I know what to do. I will pull down the old barns, build bigger ones, and store everything I have in them. Then I will say to myself, ‘congratulations! You have enough crops to last for a long time, so I can relax! Eat! Drink! Party every day!”  But God told the rich man “You fool, tonight you will die. Who will get all the stuff that you have saved?” 

 The same thing will happen to those people who forget about God, being greedy and always wanting more and more possessions stops us from thinking about how God is truly important to us.

Let’s think about how we can grow rich in God’s sight, and learn to put God first. What else could the rich man have done with his extra crops? He could have given some away to people who were hungry, shared what he had with others rather than selfishly keeping them all for himself.

Jesus is not telling us that it is wrong to be rich or to have lots of possessions. Just that they don’t make us truly happy, we cannot take them with us when we die. Jesus wants us to be generous and share what we have with others. God wants us to put Him first, above all other things and realise that our blessings come from God and go back to God. Jesus wants us to store up the important things, faith in God and love of one another. Jesus doesn’t want us to be like the rich man who forgot God. 

If you would like to remind yourself of how you can become ‘rich’ in the sight of God you can make a beautiful cross to keep in your room near your bed.

Print out the cross template, cut it out and stick it onto craft card to make it stronger.

Write in the centre of the cross BE RICH IN GOD’S EYES.

Then you can decorate your cross with stickers or glitter glue or by drawing different jewels.

Listen to the song; You say I am your treasure .

Sign of the cross.

Dear God, please help me to put you first in my life. I know how much you love me, and I want to love you back. Thank you for sending your Son Jesus to teach us how to love you and how to treat one another with love and respect. Amen.

Gospel in symbolsDownload

How to use this space

God speaks to us in many ways, including through the Sunday Scripture readings. Here you will find useful background and activities to better understand the upcoming Sunday's Scripture readings, helping you to connect the Scripture to daily life in a meaningful way.