In order to
appreciate this parable fully, it is important to examine the context in which
Jesus tells the parable: Our scripture
opens with Jesus teaching. As he is speaking, a man in the crowd asks,
“Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.” Apparently this person is unhappy with the way
his older brother is executing their family estate. Jesus declines the invitation to arbitrate
between the two brothers. Based upon
what he says, it appears as though he senses that the man’s request is driven
by greed. In declining the man’s
invitation, Jesus observes, “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)
To illustrate and drive home this claim, Jesus follows up with a
parable about a rich farmer. One season,
the rich farmer’s crops produce abundantly and his harvest is so great that he
does not have room in his barns to store the crops. This presents a huge problem for the farmer,
who eventually decides to tear down his barns and build much bigger ones. The rich farmer thinks to himself, “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, and be merry.” (Luke 12: 19)
Jesus’ audience would have interpreted the rich farmer’s wealth and abundant
harvest as signs of God’s blessing and favor.
But, notice that in his inner thoughts, the rich farmer does not give
God any credit or offer any thanks to God.
Neither does the rich farmer share from his wealth with his community,
especially those who are poor or marginalized.
Instead, the rich farmer turns his back on God and his community. He shuts everyone out of his life, so that
there is nothing in the story, except for the rich farmer and his
possessions.
The rich farmer begins to trust in himself and his affluence, rather
than trusting in God.
This quickly elicits
a harsh judgment from God: “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)
Writing in The New Interpreter’s Bible, Alan Culpepper
is struck by the richness of this parable.
Culpepper identifies five separate angles for moral reflection:
1. Preoccupation with Possessions. Throughout the inner monologue which the rich
farmer has with himself, the possessive
pronoun, “my,” becomes dominant. The
rich farmer refers to my crops, my barns, my grain, my goods, my soul.
2.
Security
in Self-Sufficiency. Culpepper
notes that the rich farmer trusts only himself for security. He has no use for a community of family and
friends who support him, and he has no use for God’s love as a source of
security. He trusts only in himself and
his possessions.
3.
The
Grasp of Greed. Culpepper
observes that the rich fool’s innermost thoughts “reveal that he has no sense
of responsibility to use his abundance for the welfare of persons less
fortunate than he. Greed has eaten away
any compassion he may once have had.”
4.
The
Hollowness of Hedonism. Despite
his good fortune, the rich fool has a limited vision of what the good life
entails. His vision is limited to
eating, drinking, and making merry. As
Culpepper observes, “The greatest good he can imagine is a life of maximizing
his own pleasure.” This is a very
limited vision.
5.
Practical
Atheism. Although the rich fool
may claim a faith in God, he lives and manages his prosperity as though there
is no God.
In my sermon this weekend, I intend to explore this parable
through a lens that will draw from several of the moral dimensions that Culpepper identifies. That lens is trust. That is, where do we place our trust? In
Jesus’ parable, the rich farmer erroneously puts his trust in his money and
possessions. Others have erroneously put
their trust in political or economic power, their fame, their intellect, their
weapons, other people, or science and knowledge. By contrast, followers of
Christ are called to trust in God, and God alone.
Come, join us this Sunday, as we explore what it means to put our faith
and trust completely in God. Christ
United Methodist Church is located at 4530 A Street in Lincoln,
Nebraska. Our classic worship services
are at 8:30 and 11:00 on Sunday mornings.
Everyone is welcome and accepted because
God loves us all.
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