Mine-Mine-Mine All Mine (The Meaning Behind The Parable Of The Rich Fool)

For those not familiar with and Anglican Service; There are four Scripture readings directly before the Message: Today's assigned readings are : Hosea 11:1-11; Psalm 107: 1-9,43; Colossians 3:1-11 and Luke 12:13-21

God created the physical world ... the material world ... and called it ... "good" ... and into which ... he placed ... human beings.

This combination of the spiritual and the physical ... ... and its relationship to God .... is at the heart of the teachings ... of Jesus.

"The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof" .... wrote the Psalmist. (Psalm 24:1)

Does this mean ... that the right to private property ... is denied?

In biblical thought ... we are stewards .... of all our possessions ... and we are responsible to God ... for what we do ... with them.

At the same time ... the New Testament affirms ... the legitimacy ... of private property.

Peter confronted Ananias and Sapphira in Acts .... because they falsely claimed ... to have dedicated their property to God ... when they had not done so. (Acts 5:1-11).

Their sin ... was there false claim, ... not their possession ... of the property.

As Christians we are called to be stewards of our private possessions ... and of ... the whole earth.

Our text from the Gospel of Luke ... is one of our Lord's primary teachings ... on the subject.

The man in the crowd ... assumed he was addressing ... a Rabbi... a teacher ... a legal expert... of the Law.

However, ... he does not say to Jesus, .... "Rabbi Jesus, ... my brother and I are quarreling.

Would you listen to me and to him and reconcile us?"

Instead he, ... in effect, says, ... "Jesus tell my brother that he is wrong .... And that he should give me my rights."

The assumptions behind such a request ... are clear.

The father had died ... without an oral ... or written will.

There was an estate ... that was now held by the two brothers.

And ... According to the law of the times ... the inheritance could not be divided ... until the older brother agreed.

The petitioner before Jesus ... therefore .... must be the younger brother, ... who is ordering Jesus ... to press his older brother ... into making the division.

Beloved this is not a trivial issue.

The is an important issue.

The Younger brother was seeking Justice.

And Justice is a critical part of life.

The petitioner in the text cries out for justice .... in the division of the land, ... an extremely sensitive .... and divisive issue ... even in our own country.

The fights over estates... with or without a will ... have split many a family.

Yet ... It is clear throughout the Scriptures ... that Jesus seeks to be a reconciler of people.

His heart yearns ... to bring people together, ... to bring about healing of the broken... not in finalizing separations.

This passage ... does not indicate .... that Jesus is indifferent ... to the cries for justice.

In many parables and dramatic actions, ... He demonstrates compassion for the downtrodden, .... the oppressed ... and the outcast.

This parable ... reflects on the relationships between material possessions, ... God and Justice.

Justice means giving to each his due.

Often ... Our problem, ... as seen in the light of the gospel, ... is that each of us ... over estimates ...what is due each of us ... compared to that ... which is due ... our neighbor.

In the Middle East ... especially since World War I, many communities ... have struggled ... for numerous forms of justice.

Often these communities ... express a consuming sense of self-righteousness.

They insist that what they are fighting for ... is justice.

And the person who fights for a just cause ... normally believes .... that he or she ... is thereby ... a just person.

Everything such a person does ... in fighting for that cause ... usually becomes right ... in her or his own eyes.

Yet The Scriptures Are Clear ... Woe to those ... who fall under the sway of this kind of self-created ... self-centered justice.

Beloved ... This parable presents a new perspective ... on the cry ... for justice.

In the story set before us .... the younger brother has already decided ... what justice requires ... and wants the visiting Rabbi ... to enforce his view.

How will Jesus respond?

First century rabbis ... were experts in the law of Moses ... and spent much of their time ... giving legal rulings.

We know from historical writings ... that the famous Rabbi ... Johana Ben Zakki, ... a contemporary of Jesus, ... moved from Galilee to Jerusalem ... because he wasn't hearing enough cases ... in the North.