July 29, 2009 + “Where Is Your Investment Account?” (Luke 12:13-21) + Hayward Fong

Did you know you can purchase almost anything on eBay these days? About a year ago an Australian man sold his complete life – his home, his possessions, his job and his friends – the bidding reached L 400,000. About the same time a 20 year old student in the USA put his ‘soul’ up for sale on eBay. The bidding went to $400 before eBay removed the ad. What value would you place on your life this morning? If a magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck when you arrive home today, what would you grab? How do you value a life? How do you measure what your life is worth? In buying life insurance, you think of the needs of those you leave behind, your family, meaningful organizations in your life, etc.

To the classical Greek world the division between soul and body was commonly accepted, as it is today. To the Hebrew mind, and to the Christian mind, such a division was, and is, unthinkable. For the Judeo-Christian mind it is impossible to separate the soul from the body. The Hebrew word ‘nepes’- the self, was a whole person, indivisible in parts and it is that understanding that we must keep in mind as we turn to this parable.

If we go back to the beginning of this Chapter, you will find that Jesus is teaching a crowd of many thousands. From the crowd a voice is raised above the others and asks the question of verse 13. ‘Teacher’ is Luke’s word for ‘Rabbi’ and the man in the crowd assumes he is addressing a legal expert. He asks Jesus a question concerning inheritance. Notice what he does not say in his question. He does not say that he and his brother are quarrelling over money and that he does not want this to get out of hand and destroy their relationship; therefore for the sake of their brotherly relationship would Jesus intervene and reconcile them. On the contrary, he says something like this, “Rabbi, my brother is in the wrong and therefore he should give me my rights.”
The words of this man, the demands that he makes, indicate that he and his brother had already been estranged because of the issue. The assumption behind the request is clear. The father had died without leaving a will or instructions, so according to the law of the time, the estate could not be divided until the older brother agreed. The fact that this man wants his inheritance would lead us to conclude that he was a younger brother. The petitioner had already decided what would be a just outcome of his request. But he doesn’t know Jesus!

In verse 14, Jesus addresses the questioner as ‘Man’ which was a form of address which denotes displeasure in the Middle East. He refuses to be judge between these two men and proceeds to explain why. He uses the question as a teaching opportunity, not just for the benefit of the man who had asked the question but for all who would hear.

Verse 15 gives us a clear warning about the insatiable desires of possessions. Possessions are attached to a deep, often irrational fear, that one day we will not have enough. There is always that gnawing fear that one day it will all be gone and it is never satisfied. Why, because the insecurity is never dealt with. Jesus warns the man, and us, that the measure of life is more than possessions. The amount that you have is no measure of the value of your life. Note how Jesus describes this desire for possessions – ‘greed.’ Greed is never satisfied; it never has enough. Jesus then moves on to tell them this parable, a strange and challenging story, to illustrate this general point.

Many of us may find this parable uncomfortable because, in America at least, we are considered wise if we hold onto our surplus and lay it up for the ‘rainy day.’ This is called ‘financial planning.’ The other tendency is to use our surplus to acquire more extravagant consumer goods. This could be called ‘upgrading.’ The ‘rich man’ in the parable, who could count up his amassed fortune and sit back and relax, living well off the interest, is the model for American retirement. Jesus shows us this ‘rich man’ in a very different way that convicts us all.

The man in this parable is already rich. He had what he needed for daily life and more than a little bit more. He did not work any harder for this bumper harvest that had arrived this year. It was not by the sweat of his brow or the toil of his labors that his fields yielded more than any other year. But listen to what he says in vs. 17-19. Let me read them again for you. “… and he thought to himself, ‘what shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ And 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. And I will say to my soul, Soul you have ample goods laid up for many years; take your ease, eat, drink, be merry.’”

Did you notice that at the very beginning, ‘he thought to himself’? This would have come as a shock to those listening to Jesus that day. In the Middle East people make important decisions after long discussions with their friends. Everybody’s business is everybody’s business in such village life. Sometimes even trivial decisions are only made after discussion with family and friends; but if appears from Jesus’ account that this man had no friends. The literal translation as noted by commentators is that ‘he dialogued with himself.’ What a sad scene is depicted in those words – he had riches but he was alone. Isaiah 5:8 warned about the dangers of wealth – this man had paid no heed to the warning and was alone, with no one to discuss what he should do with this bumper harvest. How sad!

“What shall I do (with my crop)?” This man believes that this harvest is his. He shows absolutely no awareness that this harvest is a gift from God. He has a plan, but notice how self-centered it all is. He made no mention of the effort of the farm hands. It is all ‘I, I, I along with my, my, my - my crops, my bars, my grain, my goods, my soul.

It has been said that Jesus came to banish the words “I” and “mine” from life and to substitute “we” and “ours.” It is certainly significant that in the Lord’s Prayer the first person singular never appears; it is always the first person plural. Self is banished and man is taught to think of himself as one of a community of brothers and sisters.

The ancient monks of the Middle East may have made many mistakes in their outlook on life, but they had one custom worthy of emulation. It was laid down that no monk might ever speak of “my” book, “my” pen, “my” cell, and to use the word was regarded as a fault demanding rebuke and discipline.

This man remembered the first part of Ecclesiastes 8:15 to eat, drink, and be merry, but he failed to heed or chose to ignore the latter part of the verse – ‘it is God who gives the days of life to man.’ This man believed that a man made in the image of God can be ultimately satisfied with eating, drinking and being merry. What a fool he is? One of Lucy’ favorite hymns is formed with words from Psalm 42:1-2, ‘the soul of man thirsts for God just as the soul of a deer thirsts for water.’ St. Augustine stated, ‘my soul is restless till it finds its rest in thee.’ This rich man believed his soul would find rest, satisfaction, in the storing of the abundance of his wealth in bigger barns.

His plan is not God’s plan. God announces that this man’s soul is forfeited that very night and the goods that he was planning to store, and satisfy his soul with, would be left for someone else to enjoy. A commentary notes that in the Greek, there is a subtle play on words. The man, following the teaching of Ecclesiastes, plans to ‘make merry’ or ‘rejoice’ which is the Greek word ‘euphraino’ (from which we get the word euphoria), but God called him ‘aphron’- they sound almost identical when spoken. He thought he would ‘rejoice’ but God said he was a ‘fool.’ He learned, too late, that his soul is not his, but a gift from God. In fact the language used by Jesus here denotes the repayment of a loan. His soul was not his, but God’s and God has called it in. The question now becomes, who will inherit the man’s wealth? We turn again to the Book of Ecclesiastes (2:18-19), “I hated all my toil in which I had toiled under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to the man who will come after me; and who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will be master of all for which I toiled and used my wisdom under the sun. This also is vanity.” In this parable God reminds this rich man and us of this other gem of wisdom.

It may well be said that the most dangerous word is the word, “tomorrow.” It may be a grim thought but a necessary one. We have no bond on time. No one knows if tomorrow will ever come. There is an old story of three apprentice devils that were coming from hell to earth to serve their time. They were telling Satan before they left what they proposed to do. The first said, “I will tell men that there is no God.” “That,” Satan said, “will not do because in their hearts they know there is.” The second said, “I will tell them that there is no hell.” That,” Satan said, “is still more hopeless for even in life they have experienced the remorse of hell.” The third said, I will tell them that there is no hurry.” “Go,” said Satan, “tell them that and you will ruin them by the millions.”

The rich fool forgot time. It is said that Alexander the Great kept a little model of a skeleton on the table before him to remind him that, even at the happiest, time was short and death must come. It is a thing that all of us must remember, not simply as a grim and frightening thing, but as a challenge to prepare ourselves for taking a step to a greater work and a higher world and a life in the presence of God.

Jesus concludes this parable with another general principle. The young man had come demanding his share of the wealth of his father but Jesus turns his attention to his wealth with God. Whether the inheritance was under the control of his brother or them both, ultimately it was under the control of God. Ultimately it belonged to God and was on loan to them.

You know it would be easy for us all to dismiss this parable. You may say to me, “Hayward, I’m not rich like this man. I’m not about to knock down barns and build bigger ones. I have no bumper crops this year or for that matter any year. And haven’t you heard of the credit crunch? Get real, Hayward!”

If you have money in the bank, money in your purse and you have spare change in the dish at home, then at this moment you are among the wealthiest 8% of the world’s population. If you went to school while growing up and learned to read, you’re better off than 2 billion people in today’s world. If you have food at home, have shelter, a bed to sleep on, you are wealthier than 75% of the world’s population.

I could continue with these comparisons, but what I want to do is leave these thoughts for you to ponder: If God demanded your soul of you right now, where would your wealth/treasure be stored? Are you the blessed who has stored up treasure in heaven? Or are you the ‘rich fool’ before God whose material possessions are keeping you off the road to heaven? God will demand an accounting from each of us, but we don’t know when He will call in His chips. This young man came asking about material wealth and Jesus turned his eyes to his eternal wealth. Where is your investment account?

Amen.