Someone in the crowd was trying to triangulate Jesus who knows a thing or two about healthy relationships between three persons. “Tell my brother to divide the family inheritance” sounds like a sibling
rivalry with a little history. Who knows maybe Jesus’ well known tale about
two sons and a loving father comes from a chance encounter in the crowd with a
real life prodigal? Of course Jesus does not take the bait (he never does) but
speaking the truth in love goes to the heart of the matter. You have placed possessions
in front of people which is the definition of greed. To seal the deal he tells
the story of a rich man who appears to be acting prudently. Crops not stored
properly will quickly turn into cr@p so building
bigger barns and enjoying the fruit of your labor makes sense as the reward of
hard work and sound investments. But then this is a parable and the details are
not to be dissected because it’s all about the punch line and in this case the
punch line is a Jesus twist on what the texts for this week have been teaching all along. You
can’t take it with you when you go and living as if you can is foolish. The
lesson is for the “someone” in the crowd although we are clearly meant to apply
it to our own lives. Your brother is more important than dividing the
inheritance and the way one is rich toward God has everything to do with the
value of our relationships in the here and now especially with brothers who won’t
share.
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