The 27th Week after Pentecost is ended with the parable of the Rich Man and the Great Harvest as presented in St. Luke’s Gospel. This parable, I truly believe, is a parable for our modern age. Why? Because it seems that “possessions” have become so very important to all of us in this 21st Century. Very few of us lead a “Spartan life” – a life with few possessions. Our society seems to be mesmerized by things. Just consider the extensive use of cell phones. I must confess that I have my cell phone with me always. Even when I traveled in Europe, I used my phone to take pictures. We are completely surrounded by gadgets. By wireless technologies we are connected always to others and the world around us. It seems that none of us are immune from the seduction of being connected to others. This connection to others, however, is becoming more and more artificial each and every day.

In our modern world manufacturers spend billions of dollars to “market” their products while millions of people go hungry and homeless in our world. A 30-second advertisement during Super Bowl 50 cost five million dollars. That’s an average of $166,666 per second. Perhaps the most interesting thing about this is that most of the things advertised are things that we don’t NEED but, rather, want.

I must admit that I am always amazed, when I hear News reports that people actually camp outside Apple Stores when a new I-Phone is offered OR when, on Black Friday, stores offer special discounts on bigger and better televisions. All these things just add clutter our lives.

Needless to say, I feel as trapped in this thing-filled world as probably many of my readers do. I know that I would, at this time, be lost without my cell phone. What did we ever do before it was invented.

So what can we learn from this Gospel parable? The parable urges us to “trust in God and not in possessions.” As I think about this tendency to become attached to possessions I realize that psychologically it might very well be due to our desire to “hold onto life” since we really don’t know what comes after death, even though we believe that Jesus rose from the dead. Things, unfortunately, seem to give us a sense of stability in this world, even though we know that a tornado, flood or some other natural disaster can take all of our things away. And we also know that we cannot take things with us in death. Things are no substitute for trust in God and life-eternal.