The twelfth chapter of Luke’s gospel is filled with warnings for Christ’s followers. Two themes dominate these warnings: loyalty and trust. Luke 12:13-21 is one of two passages in the Gospel which speaks of the dangerous lure of wealth. The other, the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, is found in Luke 16. The passage in Luke 12 begins with a man in the crowd asking Jesus to settle a dispute over inheritance. Because Jesus was a teacher of the law, it was assumed that he would weigh in regarding such legal disputes. Jesus refuses the bait and instead uses the man’s obsession with his family fortune to caution his disciples against greed. The example given involves a wealthy man whose wealth was increased due to a bumper crop. The question that plagues the man is not “What do I do with this abundance?” It never occurs to him to do anything but keep it for himself. Rather, his only concern is how to store it. Trusting that his newly increased wealth will be all he needs, the man quotes a popular saying, “Let us eat, drink and be merry,” but leaves off the standard conclusion, “for tomorrow we die” (Isa. 22:13).  Ironically, that very night the man is confronted by God, who demands the return of that which belongs to the Divine, the man’s very life. The parable concludes with Jesus’ admonition that nothing good can come of trusting in one’s possessions more than trusting in God. Eugene Peterson’s interpretation of Luke 12:21 is particularly biting: “This is what happens when you fill your barn with Self and not with God.”

By Rev. Kym Lucas, Rector, St. Ambrose Episcopal Church, Raleigh