Luke 12: 13-21 Our Scripture for Sunday With A Retelling. The Parable of the Rich Man Whose Life is Demanded of Him.

Luke 12: 13-21 

¹³ Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.” ¹⁴ But he said to him, “Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?” ¹⁵ And he said to them, “Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.” ¹⁶ Then he told them a parable: “The land of a rich man produced abundantly. ¹⁷ And he thought to himself, ‘What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?’ ¹⁸ Then he said, ‘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. ¹⁹ And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’ ²⁰ 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?’ ²¹ So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God.”

Luke 12: 13-21, A Retelling.

            Somebody in the crowd decided that Jesus was important enough and honest enough to correct a wrong.  Mr. Somebody wants arbitration for his father's final will and estate.  Jesus does everything else, so he ought to do this too?  It is not the first time Jesus has been asked to intervene in a sibling dispute.  Remember Mary and Martha from a few Sundays ago?

            Jesus’ initial response, “So who put me in charge of your life?”  Nobody except Mr. Somebody. 

            Jesus turns this moment into the opportunity to talk about greed.  As in, DON’T BE greedy.  One’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.  Or, to put it another way, whoever dies with the most DOES NOT ‘win’ the game of life.  Then...a parable to illuminate.

            There is a rich man.  He has so much stuff he has no place to keep it.  Thus, the obvious solution is to build more storage!!  Then there is my favorite line in the parable, the Rich Man says, "I will say to my soul, Soul, time to relax and party."  And God said, “You are a fool because you are going to die tonight.”  Except God does not say the rich man is going to die this night but “your life is being demanded of you.” Feels like there is a reckoning about to happen.  “Now then", God continues, “Who gets your stuff?” 

I wonder if Jesus looked back over at Mr. Somebody in that moment.  

Then comes the punchline.  You people who store up treasures and grain and stuff and money, you will die and it will come to nothing IF you are not rich with God. 

Peace

pastor pete