The ‘I’ sickness

( Lk 12 : 13 -21)

 With the increase in wealth often the ‘I’ and the ‘my’ sicknesses also increase. We become more selfish and self-centered. The rich man of the parable uses the word ‘I’  five times and ‘my’ four times in just two verses.  “What shall I do?”, “I am short of room”, “I  shall pull down my barns.”, “ I shall store my wealth.”, “ I will say to my soul”.

“Be on your guard against avarice” Jesus warns us.  Jesus is a master storyteller. In this parable, he warns us about the dangers of wealth, of increase in good luck,  of winning a lottery. With the increase in wealth, there is every danger that we will begin to see only ourselves.  The rich man is so full of himself. He has no doubt to whom the wealth belongs. It is “my crop” ” my barns”, ‘my wealth’, ”my grain”.

The good crop certainly was due to his industry. He was smart enough to invest and double his fortune. But he forgets he was not the only stakeholder. He contributed much, but more than his contribution, the sunshine, the rain, and the soil contributed to having a good crop. He has not paid for the rain and the sunshine.  Even the soil cannot be considered strictly his. These are free gifts given to him. All he did after the sowing was to sleep. Certainly, he had nothing to do with the growth. He has taken for granted the rain and sunshine. The credit for the good crop goes far more to the giver of rain, sunshine, and the soil.  He should have looked up and thanked the giver of these gifts than look at himself. He is rich but he is a fool. He does not know where to look and to whom to give credit. 

 Life is made better when “I” sickness decreases and we look up to God and to others around. When “I” is replaced with “ we”   illness becomes wellness.

“ This very night, life will be taken.” Death comes to him as a surprise.  There is nothing to be surprised. The more the possessions, the more will be one’s worries and anxiety. Where to gather the crops? How high to build the walls? Where to hide the profits?   Will thieves break in and steal?  With the increase in wealth, one makes more and bigger projects.  Always anxious, worried for more. It affects their health. Heart-attack may be the result. The more one has the greater the difficulty in giving. I remember someone with much resource thought it very generous of him to pay rupees thousand five hundred a month as salary to some part-time teachers! The agony of parting with one’s wealth!  The more we have the more we hold on to our possessions. We will prefer to die than to distribute like the monkey who holds on tightly to the coconut  in the cage and refuses to let it go and live.

“ Store up treasure where no one can steal,” Jesus says.   The true wealth of a person is the life one has – a full life, a happy life, a fulfilled life.  What makes a person rich are the qualities of mind and heart. The treasures of mind and heart, of good attitudes and kindly gestures, will follow you wherever you go. No one can steal these from you. The more you give, the more you get. It is hidden in your heart and not in your pockets and so no one can steal them. You have to give it away.  Our true wealth is the kindness, the gentleness, the love, the smile we can offer.   Be generous.  Be gentle. Be cheerful. Be human. Be kind. These are your treasures, the more others steal these from you, the richer you become. “ Give and there will be gifts for you”,  says Jesus.

Jesus calls this man a fool. There are many fools among us, dressed in purple gowns and neckties and eating richly. Actually, we need only one-fourth of what we eat, to live on. The rest of the three fourth, the doctors need to live on!  They are fools because they do not know their priorities. They are fools because they look at themselves rather than look up when wealth increases. They are fools because they do not know that hearts and not storerooms hold true wealth.  

Jesus in the Gospel of Luke chapter fourteen speaks of a man who laid foundations for a building and could not complete it. Many began to make fun of him. The rich fool who built the barns is perhaps the same fool who started to build and could not complete them.  

There are many who are being made fun of today because they have laid foundations and they cannot complete the work they have started.  They have invested everything into their project- their wealth, their time, their liberty, their love, and themselves. They have given up everything for the sake of God’s kingdom. But the project has not taken off. There is very little growth in holiness.  No wonder why people laugh at the one who laid the foundation and could not complete the building. The work they have started has not gone beyond the foundations even when they are celebrating their Golden Jubilees!

Huge barns are being built even today mostly by people who suffer from ‘I’ sickness. Some of the symptoms of this sickness are: they try to dominate over others, they show little respect for authorities, superiors are only those who think like them,  little respect for traditions and values, and even constitutional principles are easily violated. They cover up their malaise with beautiful, noble labels and convince everyone that they are doing, what they do, for the cause of formation, education, higher education, evangelization etc…

What does it profit if you gain the whole world and destroy oneself and the community?   We build on shifting sands! The magna-cum-laude or the ‘A’ grade certificate, one may obtain from doctors who have not examined us closely or lived with us, may not be the true diagnosis.     

We cannot sacrifice century-old  traditions and values for the whims of one or two sick persons.  The wisdom of one or two is not greater than the rest put together and added to it years of painfulyl and carefully built-up traditions.

Take care. ‘I’ and ‘my’ sicknesses can be deadly for the one who is infected and for the community.  If not treated early it can become a  pandemic. 

-        Fr T.V.Georgesdb