Today’s gospel tells the story about a man who wants certain security in this life by growing more and more crops and building larger barns to store them. The voice of God…the Voice of reason and truth speaks to the man, “Why are you doing this? Why are you putting so much stock in your possessions and in your futile desire to control your destiny? Your very life will be required of you this very day and to whom will all your possessions go?”

Well, you might say his children will benefit, but don’t “bank” on that transaction: families are torn apart over who gets what and how much. Legal wills are frequently contested. The man in the story was really concerned about his own future…his own 4012K and other IRA’s of investment. There’s that word: investment. His investments focused on what HE could see and control and these investments are fleeting and evaporate in the blink of an eye. Invest your life in sacrifice. 

Where your treasure is…that’s where your heart is. The man in the story grew rich in what is material  and his heart became rooted in these temporal realities. Foolish…plain and simple. He was rich in things and not love. 

The happiest people in the world  root their hearts in giving, forgiving, creating beautiful memories for others, making a difference, being kind and surrendering to the love of God. Their hearts are filled with treasures that they CAN take with them when they breath their last. We don’t need larger barns or more storage lockers to collect things we truly don’t need. We are called to give life away, not store it for our future security. 

The photos are storage “barns”‘in Galicia, Spain on the Camino.