The rich man in the parable builds bigger barns, makes careful plans, and dreams of a life of comfort, but God says to him, “This night your soul is required of you.” That is not just his story. It is our story too, especially in the middle of the Nativity Fast. We pour our energy into plans, food, gifts, and schedules, and we forget that our soul is eternal and that the kingdom of God is the only thing that lasts.

The Church gives us the Nativity Fast to heal that split inside us. We are told six days a week that God is not real, or that He does not matter, and then one day a week that He is everything. Fasting, prayer, mercy, and repentance are not about proving we are strong. They are about changing what we love. They teach us to lay aside our earthly cares so that we may receive the King of all. To be “rich toward God” is to keep turnin ...