Rich Man,
Image by John Mattos,
Graphic Computer Generated illustration,
Circa 2010
© John Mattos Illustration, all rights reserved
Rich Man,
Image by John Mattos,
Graphic Computer Generated illustration,
Circa 2010
© John Mattos Illustration, all rights reserved
There was once a rich man
Luke 12:13-21
A man in the crowd said to Jesus, ‘Master, tell my brother to give me a share of our inheritance.’ ‘My friend,’ he replied, ‘who appointed me your judge, or the arbitrator of your claims?’ Then he said to them, ‘Watch, and be on your guard against avarice of any kind, for a man’s life is not made secure by what he owns, even when he has more than he needs.’
Then he told them a parable: ‘There was once a rich man who, having had a good harvest from his land, thought to himself, “What am I to do? I have not enough room to store my crops.” Then he said, “This is what I will do: I will pull down my barns and build bigger ones, and store all my grain and my goods in them, and I will say to my soul: My soul, you have plenty of good things laid by for many years to come; take things easy, eat, drink, have a good time.” But God said to him, “Fool! This very night the demand will be made for your soul; and this hoard of yours, whose will it be then?” So it is when a man stores up treasure for himself in place of making himself rich in the sight of God.’
Reflection on the Graphic Art Illustration
Today’s parable is highly relevant for the times in which we live, when most of us seem to be preoccupied with the idea of accumulating more and more worldly possessions, as if the quality and value of our lives depended on how many things we possess. The parable is prompting us to instead make ourselves rich in the sight of God…
Sometimes when reading these parables, it is helpful to try and place ourselves in the time when the Gospels were written, as the poignancy of these parables then becomes more evident. Jesus' contemporaries lived in fairly harsh circumstances, under very hard political and social conditions. Famine was a constant threat for farmers, crops were not guaranteed, the soil wasn’t very fertile in general, the people were suffering under heavy taxation, etc… So the fact that the landowner in today's parable does not use his surplus crop to feed and support the poorer people around him makes this story even more shocking and relevant. The parable is basically a stark warning against greed. Luke does take it a step further though and pushes this condemnation of greed into a higher question we should all ask ourselves: in what way do I make myself 'rich in the sight of God’?
Today’s artwork is by John Mattos, a New York-based illustrator who has done work for magazines such as Forbes, The New York Times, Newsweek, Time, etc… He has won many accolades and prizes for his excellent graphic image works. Today's illustration is a highly stylised image of a rich man, lavishly dressed and smoking a cigar… a man probably highly ambitious in the world, but hopefully equally ambitious to love and humbly serve others as best he can…
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I am making $90 an hour working from home. I never imagined that it was honest to goodness yet my closest companion is earning $16,000 a month by working on a laptop, that was truly astounding for me, she prescribed for me to attempt it simply.
Here’s what I’ve been doing.. http://www.maxjob3.com
As Catholics, are we still bound by the tithe? I was told by a priest that my giving just has to be a sacrifice and that it includes time, talent, and treasure. I know in my mind that I give knowing by faith that God will provide and that everything is His anyway. I still struggle to give a tithe when because of a limited income, it is hard to make ends meet. I guess I need to pray for more faith.
No Tithing is not a Catholic practice. It is too formulaic.
Ooh..you are being very charitable about this particular rich man! But maybe…who knows?
The haves and have nots are going to be even more obvious in these times, which should prompt us to share with others. We won’t have to look far.
This message from Jesus flies right in the face of modern Western society. Accumulation of worldly riches is one arguably the greatest goal we have although, of course, there are some good people who share their good fortune. Perhaps we should tithe our income to those less fortunate? How many do that? I know that I don’t……
A good point you make. We used to, then my husband was made redundant and we never resumed the practice. We never gave to our church (as some tithers do) but looked around us. It is actually quite difficult to give to others. Two things are important; to remain anonymous and not belittle the recipient.
But Chazbo, the spirit is clearly there in you, so you will definitely have your ways of sharing!
See reply above! ?
The right hand should not know what the left hand is doing!