Sermon notes 2008 Luke 12:16-21 The Rich Fool
Then the Lord Jesus told them this parable:
“The land of a rich man produced abundantly. And he thought to himself, ‘What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?’ 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. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’ 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?’ So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God.'”
A 2008 retelling of the parable for Americans in the midst of an economic crisis:
“The land of rich men produced abundantly. And so they thought to themselves, ‘What should we do, for we have no place to store our savings and investments?’ Then they said, ‘We will do this: we will pull down those laws which limit our profits and we will invest more with larger risks, and we will build ever bigger loans for ourselves, and there we will invest our unbelievably large gains and our portfolios and net worth will grow immensely. And we will say to our selves, Selves, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry, for property and stock values can only go up.’ But God said to them, ‘You fools! This very year your loans and margins are being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God.'”
What have we as Americans been investing in for the past 30 years – in God, or in personal wealth and selfish gain? Are we concerned about being rich towards God, or just in being rich? Being rich towards God means being generous towards people, including the poor, needy and strangers.
A few other sayings of Jesus which are in the spirit of the Holiday Season:
“No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all these things, and they ridiculed him. (Luke 16:13-14)
“If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful. “ (Luke 6:32-36)
“When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.” (Luke 14:12-14)
Fraternized 