The World of the ‘Rich Fools’!

Monday, October 19, 2026

Eph 2: 1-10; Lk 12: 13-21

Today’s Gospel highlights the problematic worldview of the rich fool.

Jesus gives us ‘The Parable of the Rich Fool,’ in which the rich man appears quite harmless. Maybe he was hardworking and therefore was successful in reaping a plentiful harvest. Maybe he knows how to manage his resources better so that he thinks of enlarging his barns so he may save for rainy days. Maybe he wants to build a future in which there will be no wants. When all these traits are ideals of successful people in modern times, Jesus notes a moral failure in the rich man, and it draws our attention.

Firstly, Jesus lets us understand that the rich fool got scammed by his own notions of immortality. The one who enlarged his barns certainly believed that his health would last long enough to enjoy everything he accumulated with his hard work and smart planning. He got so scammed that the uncertainties of life never once bothered him. It is here that Jesus helps us realize the difference between responsible planning, which is needed, and the illusion of absolute control that we must avoid at all costs. 

Secondly, Jesus lets us see the world of the rich fool that only existed for himself. The excessive use of ‘I’ as a personal pronoun and ‘my’ as a possessive adjective already reveals that everything revolved around himself, and only he and he alone mattered in that world. The world usually has everything to address poverty, encourage solidarity, and promote sharing. But it won’t do. Such self-centered people create a bubble around themselves, and, for them, others do not exist, and their needs matter less. It is this world that Jesus calls ‘foolish.’

Thirdly, Jesus shows the bubble-break when God intervenes. Therefore, now Jesus points against such meaningless bubbles and invites us to build a future where everyone matters in the name of God. Such a sense of solidarity and community is born when we understand wealth in terms of ‘means’ and not as an ‘end’ in itself. The new way of life that Jesus underlines approaches wealth with gratitude and richness with responsibility. What we have is to serve the needy. That is when the needs of others enter our world as Jesus wants. 

Let us pray that we may grow into people through whom God’s goodness would reach others. 

Fr. Dhinakaran Savariyar