Gospel for July 31, 2022

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Luke 12:13-21
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

Jesus uses a family property dispute to make an even bigger point.  When he is asked to arbitrate an inheritance issue, he makes clear that he has no civil or judicatory authority in the state — nor does he want any:

 Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?

This is consistent with Jesus’ answer to accusations that he seeks to establish an earthly kingdom.  He says to Pontius Pilate:

My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here (John 18:36).

Instead, Jesus uses this moment to reorient this man’s priorities:

 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.”

Jesus illustrates this point by telling the parable of the rich man who worried about where to store his surplus crops, and built larger barns for that purpose.  Having done so, the rich man felt secure and at ease.  However, his sense of security was an illusion:

‘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?’

Placing one’s confidence in riches and finding security in that which is transient is foolish. Life is brief, and no one has control over what happens to their estate after they die.

Perhaps there is a sidenote to the man asking for arbitration over an inheritance.  If the father of these two brothers could speak, could he possibly have approved the dispute, or would he have preferred they settle things amicably? But in fact, he could no longer determine what happened with his property.

And Jesus adds this postscript to his story:

 So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God.

What does he mean by the phrase rich toward God? Does he mean devotion and worship, or more specifically is he speaking of the use of wealth for the things that are God’s priorities?

A little later, Jesus will expound a bit more on the proper use of wealth.  A rich ruler approaches him and asks what he must do to inherit eternal life beyond the commandments.  Jesus says to him:

There is still one thing lacking. Sell all that you own and distribute the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me (Luke 18:22).

APPLY:  

Jesus seeks to reorient our priorities.  We are so concerned about getting and spending, real estate deals and investments, and what kind of return we will get.

Jesus is pointing out that placing our priorities on wealth is foolish.  Nothing that we have will endure. No matter what wealth we amass, how much money, land, investments, we will leave it all behind.  And even if we leave a will directing how our estate is to be disposed, we won’t be able to enjoy it anymore.

Clement of Alexandria said something like this long ago:

That man is richest who has the fewest needs.

But another pithy response was attributed to J.D. Rockefeller’s accountant after the wealthy millionaire died.  A reporter asked how much money Rockefeller left.  And the accountant said:

All of it.

RESPOND: 

In my experience as a pastor, and as part of a family, I know how emotional inheritance issues can be.  Families have divided over property.  Some never speak to one another again.

I have even heard of a pair of spinster sisters who were so hostile to one another and the division of property that they had drawn a line down the middle of their home and lived in the same house for many years, never crossing the line, never speaking to one another.  How sad.

Jesus reminds us that greed isn’t worth losing a relationship with God — not to mention losing family relationships.

No U-Haul trailers are attached to funeral coaches.  Everything we have will be taken away from us, except our relationship with God.

Lord, thank you for providing all of my needs more abundantly than I deserve.  I pray that I will not place my priority on wealth, but will use what I own for your glory.  Amen.  

PHOTOS:
"Luke 12.15" by Baptist Union of Great Britain is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic license.

Gospel for August 4, 2019

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Luke 12:13-21
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

Jesus uses a family property dispute to make an even bigger point.  When he is asked to arbitrate an inheritance issue, he makes clear that he has no civil or judicatory authority in the state — nor does he want any:

 Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?

This is consistent with Jesus’ answer to accusations that he seeks to establish an earthly kingdom.  He says to Pontius Pilate:

My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here (John 18:36).

Instead, Jesus uses this moment to reorient this man’s priorities:

 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.”

Jesus illustrates this point by telling the parable of the rich man who worried about where to store his surplus crops, and built larger barns for that purpose.  Having done so, the rich man felt secure and at ease.  However, his sense of security was an illusion:

‘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?’

Placing one’s confidence in riches and finding security in that which is transient is foolish. Life is brief, and no one has control over what happens to their estate after they die.

Perhaps there is a side-note to the man asking for arbitration over an inheritance.  If the father of these two brothers could speak, could he possibly have approved the dispute, or would he have preferred they settle things amicably? But in fact, he could no longer determine what happened with his property.

And Jesus adds this postscript to his story:

 So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God.

What does he mean by the phrase rich toward God? Does he mean devotion and worship, or more specifically is he speaking of the use of wealth for the things that are God’s priorities?

A little later, Jesus will expound a bit more on the proper use of wealth.  A rich ruler approaches him and asks what he must do to inherit eternal life beyond the commandments.  Jesus says to him:

There is still one thing lacking. Sell all that you own and distribute the money  to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me (Luke 18:22).

APPLY:  

Jesus seeks to reorient our priorities.  We are so concerned about getting and spending, real estate deals and investments, and what kind of return we will get.

Jesus is pointing out that placing our priorities on wealth is foolish.  Nothing that we have will endure. No matter what wealth we amass, how much money, land, investments, we will leave it all behind.  And even if we leave a will directing how our estate is to be disposed, we won’t be able to enjoy it anymore.

Clement of Alexandria said something like this long ago:

That man is richest who has the fewest needs.

But another pithy response was attributed to J.D. Rockefeller’s accountant after the wealthy millionaire died.  A reporter asked how much money Rockefeller left.  And the accountant said:

All of it.

RESPOND: 

In my experience as a pastor, and as part of a family, I know how emotional inheritance issues can be.  Families have divided over property.  Some never speak to one another again.

I have even heard of a pair of spinster sisters who were so hostile to one another and the division of property that they had drawn a line down the middle of their home and lived in the same house for many years, never crossing the line, never speaking to one another.  How sad.

Jesus reminds us that greed isn’t worth losing a relationship with God — not to mention losing family relationships.

No U-haul trailers are attached to funeral coaches.  Everything we have will be taken away from us, except our relationship with God.

Lord, thank you for providing all of my needs more abundantly than I deserve.  I pray that I will not place my priority on wealth, but will use what I own for your glory.  Amen.  

PHOTOS:
"Luke 12.15" by Baptist Union of Great Britain is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic license.

Gospel for July 31, 2016

START WITH SCRIPTURE:

Luke 12:13-21

CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

Jesus uses a family property dispute to make an even bigger point.  When he is asked to arbitrate an inheritance issue, he makes clear that he has no civil or judicatory authority in the state — nor does he want any:

 Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?

This is consistent with Jesus’ answer to accusations that he seeks to establish an earthly kingdom.  He says to Pontius Pilate:

My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here (John 18:36).

Instead, Jesus uses this moment to reorient this man’s priorities:

 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.”

Jesus illustrates this point by telling the parable of the rich man who worried about where to store his surplus crops, and built larger barns for that purpose.  Having done so, the rich man felt secure and at ease.  However, his sense of security was an illusion:

‘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?’

Placing one’s confidence in riches and finding security in that which is transient is foolish. Life is brief, and no one has control over what happens to their estate after they die.

Perhaps there is a side-note to the man asking for arbitration over an inheritance.  If the father of these two brothers could speak, could he possibly have approved the dispute, or would he have preferred they settle things amicably? But in fact, he could no longer determine what happened with his property.

And Jesus adds this postscript to his story:

 So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God.

What does he mean by the phrase rich toward God? Does he mean devotion and worship, or more specifically is he speaking of the use of wealth for the things that are God’s priorities?

A little later, Jesus will expound a bit more on the proper use of wealth.  A rich ruler approaches him and asks what he must do to inherit eternal life beyond the commandments.  Jesus says to him:

There is still one thing lacking. Sell all that you own and distribute the money  to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me (Luke 18:22).

APPLY:  

Jesus seeks to reorient our priorities.  We are so concerned about getting and spending, real estate deals and investments, and what kind of return we will get.

Jesus is pointing out that placing our priorities on wealth is foolish.  Nothing that we have will endure. No matter what wealth we amass, how much money, land, investments, we will leave it all behind.  And even if we leave a will directing how our estate is to be disposed, we won’t be able to enjoy it anymore.

Clement of Alexandria said something like this long ago:

That man is richest who has the fewest needs.

But another pithy response was attributed to J.D. Rockefeller’s accountant after the wealthy millionaire died.  A reporter asked how much money Rockefeller left.  And the accountant said:

All of it.

RESPOND: 

In my experience as a pastor, and as part of a family, I know how emotional inheritance issues can be.  Families have divided over property.  Some never speak to one another again.

I have even heard of a pair of spinster sisters who were so hostile to one another and the division of property that they had drawn a line down the middle of their home and lived in the same house for many years, never crossing the line, never speaking to one another.  How sad.

Jesus reminds us that greed isn’t worth losing a relationship with God — not to mention losing family relationships.

No U-haul trailers are attached to funeral coaches.  Everything we have will be taken away from us, except our relationship with God.

Lord, thank you for providing all of my needs more abundantly than I deserve.  I pray that I will not place my priority on wealth, but will use what I own for your glory.  Amen.  

PHOTOS:
"Take care to guard against all greed..." by BK (a.k.a. Symphony of Love) is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic license.  BK's website is Love Quotes and Sayings