by Rev. Canon David B. Tabo-oy
v13A man in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide with me the property our father left us.” v14Jesus answered him, “Friend, who gave me the right to judge or to divide the property between you two?” v15And he went on to say to them all, “Watch out and guard yourselves from every kind of greed; because your true life is not made up of the things you own, no matter how rich you may be.” v16Then Jesus told them this parable: “There was once a rich man who had land which bore good crops. v17He began to think to himself, ‘I don’t have a place to keep all my crops. What can I do? v18This is what I will do,’ he told himself; ‘I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, where I will store the grain and all my other goods. v19Then I will say to myself, Lucky man! You have all the good things you need for many years. Take life easy, eat, drink, and enjoy yourself’ v20But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night you will have to give up your life; then who will get all these things you have kept for yourself?’” v21And Jesus concluded, “This is how it is with those who pile up riches for themselves but are rich in God’s sight.” – Luke 12:13-21
What were the thoughts that first came to you when the earth quaked last Wednesday morning? Surely not your bank account or properties. To us who experienced the horrors of July 16, 1990 temblor we might have silently prayed ‘O Lord, not again… please save us!’ Earthquakes unlike typhoons are unpredictable they strike like a thief in the night. So is death. Life is transitory. Earthly possessions cannot save us from death nor can buy us an extension when God calls us. We are reminded of these realities by the story that Jesus told his listeners in the gospel lesson this Sunday.
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The background for our story is an incident that occurred in Galilee as Jesus was teaching to a large crowd. A young man called out from the crowd and said: “Rabbi, tell my brother to divide the inheritance of our father.” Now, Jewish law clearly prescribed that at the death of a father, the elder son received 2/3 of the inheritance, and the young son received 1/3. This is obviously a younger son who is complaining about the inherent unfairness of it all. Nothing will divide brothers and sisters more than dividing up an estate. So it was then, and so it is now.
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The request, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me” is actually full of interesting complications and nuances. Most likely the word “inheritance” means the family land. That’s the way it is in the Middle Eastern world. That’s even the way it still is today, as we witness the continuing struggle between Palestinian and Israeli people regarding a very narrow piece of land. How hard and difficult it is for people to find peace when dealing with land issues – issues grounded in opposing viewpoints of justice. The plea of this man who comes to Jesus is similar. He is saying, “I want justice, and I want it on my terms. You, Jesus, make my brother divide the family inheritance in a way that fits best for me.” The request is not for Jesus to mediate the dispute but rather to settle it once and forever. It is a voice coming to Jesus that says, “Give me my rights.”
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Jesus refused to get involved in a petty family squabble. And Jesus saw through the self-serving request of the man. Jesus was concerned, however, with the larger implications of preoccupation with the things of this world. He said: Beware of greed, for life does not consist of things possessed. The sum total of a person’s life is more than their financial portfolio. He then illustrated this point by telling a story. There was once a man who had an unbroken run of prosperity. In today’s language, he had successfully played the commodities market. So prosperous did he become that his barns could not hold all of his crops. His solution was to tear down these barns and build bigger and better barns. Then, with his financial security in hand, he could sit back and truly enjoy life. His philosophy was: eat, drink, and be merry.
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Many who hear this parable may wonder: Why is the rich farmer called a fool?
One could easily argue that the rich man is a wise and responsible person. He has a thriving farming business. His land has produced so abundantly that he does not have enough storage space in his barns. So he plans to pull down his barns and build bigger ones to store all his grain and goods. Then he will have ample savings set aside for the future and will be all set to enjoy his golden years. There is one very important thing the rich man has not planned for — his reckoning with God. But God said to him, “You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?” (Luke 12:20)
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The rich farmer is a fool not because he is wealthy or because he saves for the future, but because he appears to live only for himself, and because he believes that he can secure his life with his abundant possessions. When the rich man talks in this parable, he talks only to himself, and the only person he refers to is himself: “What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?” “I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, ‘Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry’” (12:17-19).
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The rich man’s land has produced abundantly, yet he expresses no sense of gratitude to God or to the workers who have helped him plant and harvest this bumper crop. He has more grain and goods in storage than he could ever hope to use, yet seems to have no thought of sharing it with others, and no thought of what God might require of him. He is blind to the fact that his life is not his own to secure, that his life belongs to God, and that God can demand it back at any time.
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Like the rich farmer, we are tempted to think that having large amounts of money and possessions stored up will make us secure. Sooner or later, however, we learn that no amount of wealth or property can secure our lives. No amount of wealth can protect us from a genetically inherited disease, for instance, or from a tragic accident. No amount of wealth can keep our relationships healthy and our families from falling apart. In fact, wealth and property can easily drive a wedge between family members, as in the case of the brothers fighting over their inheritance at the beginning of this text.
Most importantly, no amount of wealth can secure our lives with God. In fact, Jesus repeatedly warns that wealth can get in the way of our relationship with God. “Take care!” he says. “Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions” (12:15).
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Jesus seems to step right into our time with the issue of greed and accumulation. It is a story that has lasted through the ages. No matter how rich or poor we might be, we all seem to find our way into this story. Like the rich man, who is the main character, we are all tempted to think that bigger is better. Jesus sees the world differently and invites us to have his perspective so that we might also be rich toward God. We don’t live in a time when it is easy to say foolishness and wealth are synonymous. Neither did Jesus except in a parable about a rich man who decided to build bigger barns for his huge crop. He had such wealth that he had lost touch with the human community and was forced to speak to himself (monologue). That insight leads Jesus to teach about having another kind of wealth, about being rich toward God. When we figure this out for ourselves, as hard as it is, it should lead us toward the community of faith.
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Our lives and possessions are not our own. They belong to God. We are merely stewards of them for the time God has given us on this earth. We rebel against this truth because we want to be in charge of our lives and our stuff.
Yet this truth is actually good news. Because all that we are and all that we have belongs to God, our future is secure beyond all measure. So Jesus tells us, “Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” (12:32).
Let us pray.
All that we have is yours, O Lord, for you have given us life. And you have blessed us richly with this earth, with each day, and with the love we have found in our lives. Though we often forget the source of our blessings, daring to think that what we have is ours, we turn back to you now to prayerfully rededicate ourselves and all that we have to your service. May we give of ourselves and share what we have with free and thankful hearts. May we be known for being cheerful and not reluctant givers. May we be understanding and less judgmental towards those less fortunate. May we show forth our lives by what we do for others, and how we share our blessings. May we find ourselves living more freely and gratefully day by day as we are ever more mindful and thankful for the love and grace we know through your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.
