A Godly Inheritance—Lectionary Reflection for Pentecost 8C/Proper 13C (Luke 12)

 Luke 12:13-21 New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

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.”

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                It is said that you can’t take your riches with you when you die. Pharaoh tried, but instead of Pharaoh enjoying the royal treasures, typically, grave robbers benefited. So, instead of having your treasure buried with you, you might want to create a will or trust to determine who gets what when you die. If you do it right, your heirs with thank you!

                In our Gospel reading for the week, we continue our journey toward Jerusalem by jumping forward to Luke 12 and the Parable of the Rich Fool. The previous reading focused on prayer, with the introduction of Luke’s version of the Lord’s Prayer (Luke 11:1-13). This passage could be used in a stewardship sermon, reminding people they should forget about hoarding treasure in this life but instead be rich toward God.

                The reading begins with someone in the crowd requesting Jesus’ assistance. We’re told by Luke that this person wants Jesus to resolve a dispute over the family inheritance. The person requesting his help wants Jesus to intervene with the brother. Could this be a younger sibling who wants a larger share? He figures that Jesus had the moral authority to convince his brother to divide the inheritance with him. Later in Luke, we will encounter the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32), but that is a different story.  While this person believed Jesus could convince the brother to share the inheritance, Jesus didn’t want to get involved in this family dispute. He asks an appropriate question: “Who made me the judge and arbiter between you and your brother?”

                Although Jesus doesn’t want to get sucked into this dispute, he sees this as an opening for a conversation about greed. While some might think greed is good, Jesus isn’t one of them.  He tells those in the crowd, including the person who asked for his help in dividing the inheritance, “Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions” (Luke 12:15). Life is more than our possessions. As I look around my study, I wonder if Jesus would include my books. Surely, they are worthy possessions! A passage like this is difficult to comprehend when you live in an affluent suburb of a major city. With the passage of a big tax cut that will likely benefit those richer than me more than me, I might feel a bit envious. Then again, those tax cuts, even the ones I might receive, come with a cost of services to those who are among the poorest in our communities. But that’s not surprising. Their voice isn’t as “loud” as the wealthiest people, who have the ear of those in power. It seems pretty clear that Jesus is more concerned about those on the lower end of the economic spectrum than those at the top.

                With this warning about the dangers of greed, Jesus offers us a parable. In this parable, Jesus invites us to imagine a rich man whose land produced an abundant harvest. This man looked at this great harvest and began thinking about what to do with it, since he didn’t have sufficient storage capacity to store the harvest. Now, he could share the harvest with those in need, but that thought never came to his mind. So, why not tear down one’s existing barns and build larger ones? If he did that, he would have the storage room to store his grain and goods. That did seem like a great idea. After all, if he did that, he wouldn’t have to worry about tomorrow. With new barns, he could store he would have enough grain to support his life for the foreseeable future. He could retire, sit back, and enjoy the proceeds of this harvest.  So, following the lead of Epicurus, he could eat, drink, and be merry. Who can blame him?

                Although this rich man seems set for life, we have to wait for the punch line. Here it is. According to the way Jesus told the story, God tells the man, “You fool! This very night, your life is being demanded of you.” You can build bigger barns and store up for yourself treasures, but you can’t stave off the call of death. So, who will all of this treasure belong to? Apparently, financial planners and estate attorneys didn’t exist back then because they would have had an answer. Create a trust, and when you die, the trust will distribute your assets as you have determined. You can even regulate how these assets are used after your death. All of this is true, as I can attest, but these modern estate planning tools should not distract us from Jesus’ message. That message involves greed. Jesus tells the audience, including the person wanting Jesus to intervene in his dispute with his brother: “So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God.”

                Making wills and establishing trusts is wise. But Jesus wants us to remember that, despite what Gordon Gecko suggested, greed isn’t good. Hoarding assets isn’t good. So, keep things in perspective. In this case, Jesus doesn’t advise the man to give away everything he owns. The rich man in the parable isn’t advised to give everything away. But Jesus does advise his audience, including us, the live faithfully. Keep things in perspective. Yes, being rich toward God does involve caring for the needs of others. Tax cuts for the rich, while cutting the safety net, isn’t something Jesus would embrace.

                If we continue into the next paragraph, we hear Jesus tell his disciples not to worry about their life, including what they eat and wear. Life is more than food and clothing (Luk 12:22-23). Of course, we need food and clothing, it’s just that they are not ultimate. It is appropriate to plan for tomorrow. That is an aspect of wisdom. However, the issue is one of greed, of accumulating without regard for others. Our consumer culture continually invites us (seduces us) into thinking we need the latest gadget or trinket. But one thing we don’t control is when death will come for us. It might come sooner than we think. So, rather than hoard, why not show concern for others, especially those who are poor? That is how one stores up treasure with God.