ON TARGET | Fr. Dan Ferrandiz

A group of young professionals, all successful in their respective fields had a reunion at their former teacher’s house. At first the gathering was a happy conversation and recollection of their old school days but soon it turned into whining about the stress in their work as well as problems in their family life.

Hearing them, the gracious host offered them coffee. He went to the kitchen and returned with a big coffee maker and a tray of different cups, some porcelain, plastic, glass and some coated with 24 carat gold trimmings.

When all the guests had a cup of coffee in hand, the old teacher noticed that all the nice looking expensive cups were taken except those made of plastic; those that really looked cheap. So he said, “While it is normal that you only want the best for yourselves that is the source of your stress and problems. Sometimes in life when you feel exhausted what you need is only coffee not the cup but you consciously go for better cups first before the coffee.”

Our life is like a coffee. Jobs, works, positions or offices are just cups or glasses. Just like a cup which contains or holds the coffee, our works, office, money power, are just tools to hold and contain life. The quality of the coffee that we get from the coffee maker does not change with the cup, which holds it — the taste is the same. In the same manner our relationship with God and others should not change because of our status in life.

In the parable of the rich fool, the statement of Jesus was not directed against the rich. Jesus is not against the rich. It was not a general statement but a personal answer to a personal question. However, what we can learn from this story is that it can be applied to us who face the same dilemma – when money and possessions stand between God and us.

Jesus calls the rich young man a fool because his wealth becomes an obstacle for him to reach the kingdom. His possessions made him see only himself.  He never saw beyond himself. Focused to himself he became selfish to the core. Selfishness makes you oblivious of those around you and consequently God. God doesn’t need our money.

In the book titled “The Treasure Principle” the author points out that the single greatest obstacle to generous giving is the illusion that this world is really our home and that’s the biggest obstacle to giving is to believe at the core of our belief that this world is our final place.

The question that indicts the rich fool in the parable echoes the sentiments of Qoheleth in the book of Ecclesiastes: If “you can’t take it with you,” he argues, what is the point? But this is the perspective of a man who does not believe in life after death. “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity” (Eccl. 1:2).

Many of us have this struggle. We are men and women of faith. We live a good life and yet when we are confronted with material needs and opportunities the picture of eternity vanishes and God does not come into the picture anymore. That is the danger that the rich young man was facing. The danger of losing the perspective of God.

The rich young man comes under judgment not because he is rich, but because he is a fool for thinking that all these material things will secure him in the life to come. He was a fool because he put his trust on his riches and gives no thought to God who alone secures and sustains life. St. Paul reminds us of greed as a form of idolatry.

I am not saying that we stop making our life better through the use of these material things that are available to us. But again as we go through life remember that our riches are but cups. The coffee is still important. And we can enjoy the coffee when we savor it. The coffee is the heart of God. We will enjoy our coffee more if we see our material possessions in view of our relationship with God and others

Let us not miss the target. Let us see the coffee and not just the cup.