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Jesus said, “That’s how it is with someone who is storing up treasures for himself and is not rich toward God.”

᛭ INI ᛭

Strong words of warning from Jesus today. Aren’t you thankful? Kind of a downer on everything that we’re all about today. How it goes for the worldly rich man, who is spiritually poor, in the parable is the exact opposite of opposite of how it goes for the spiritually rich, whether they are worldly rich or poor, doesn’t actually matter. Although what Jesus says is true: “How difficult it is for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of heaven!”

The rich man is his own preacher. He has many things to say about what’s going on in his life, why He has so many things, and what he’s going to do with them. “My crops,” “my barns,” “my grain,” “my goods,” all, because, as he’d put it, “My land produced plentifully!” “What am I going to do with my things?” “Why do I need this or that? I deserve it. I’ve earned it. I’ve planted. I’ve harvested. I’ve put in the hours. I’ve got the expertise. I’m better than others. I’m just so fortunate. I’m just so blessed. Life couldn’t really have gone any better.” Sounds so eerily familiar…

No matter how much he said it, it wasn’t true. None of it would be his! It was all for nothing! Many were the plans of his heart, but God directed his steps—to his grave! Not decades or years or months later. The very night he’d supposedly got it all squared away, God said: “This night your soul is demand of you! The things you prepared, whose would they be?” Whose indeed?

What a farm sale he would’ve had! Auctioned off, maybe at bargain prices, to the highest bidder. The leftovers carted off to the scrap yard, the burn pile, the dump, or simply bulldozed under. “In just a little while, the wicked will be no more; though you look carefully at his place, he will not be there.” (Ps 37:10) “It is vain to get up early and to stay up late!” (Ps 127) “Surely for nothing they are in turmoil; man heaps up wealth and does not know who will gather!” (Ps 39) “Who knows whether he will be wise or a fool?” (Eccl 2:19)

Life in our context looks eerily similar to that rich man. Our lives; our homes, barns, garages, and outbuildings; our cabinets, closets, attics, and basements—they’re often filled with things. Things that make us feel good or comfortable. Things that we like. Things that make us proud. How we also tell ourselves all sorts of things!

But for us, today, we must truly be thankful, not only for all things that we have in our daily lives. All of it is the daily bread we pray for in the Lord’s Prayer. “Daily bread includes everything that has to do with the support and needs of the body, such as” all the things listed the Catechism. For “every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights.” (James 1) But our flesh exchanges this truth for a lie and worships and serves the gift rather than the Giver. (Rom 1:25) It’s why get so worried about all things we have, or could have, or want to have. We tell ourselves all sorts of things, and it sounds a lot like the guy from the parable…

So, the Father sends a Preacher, a Messenger, He sends His Son to proclaim: “Guard yourselves from covetousness.” He says this because “Covetousness is idolatry.” (Col 3:5) The gifts become gods in our hearts. There is great danger. “Do not love the world, nor the things that are in the world. If someone loves the world, the Father’s Love is not in him. Because everything that is in the world—the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and pride of life—is not from the Father, it is rather from the world.” (1 Jn 2:15–16) “Guard yourselves!” Watch out!

Christ, of course, is Judge of the living and the dead, but He’s come to show that He is not some vending machine, nor is He some Probate Judge or Arbiter, Arbitrator, or Executor for us, like the men in Luke 12 wanted, to mete out instructions and give directions.

He comes to say, “Your family, your farm, your freedom, or whatever else you list after ‘faith,’ are not your god. That I am not first shows where your heart has placed me. ‘I am your God… You shall have no other gods before Me’ (Ex 20:2, 3), and ‘there is no other God besides Me.’ (Dt 32:39) ‘I share My glory with nothing’ (Is 42:8) else in your life.”

“For there is one God, and One Mediator between God and Man, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a Ransom for us all.” (2 Tim 2) “For we know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ: that He who is rich, for your sake, became poor, so that you would be rich by His poverty” (2 Cor 8:9) “He made Himself nothing, taking on the form of a servant, becoming obedient unto death, even death on a cross.” (Phil 2) There He was curse for us, “for cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree.” (Gal 3) “He who knew no sin, became your sin, so that you would be the righteousness of God in Him.” (2 Cor 5) There He was fool and foolishness for you: “Christ crucified is a stumbling block to Jew and foolishness to Gentile, but to use who are being saved, Christ the power of God and wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is stronger than men.” (1 Cor 1)

He delivers all the bounties of salvation to you. Always at the proper time. For what was hidden before the ages, He has manifested to you here and now. He comes to silence all our self-preaching, by gifting us His own: “I baptize you.” “I forgive you.” “This is My body and blood for you for the forgiveness of your sins.” From this comes forgiveness, true faith, and endless thanksgiving!

This is how He makes us rich toward His Father, for we are rich in Jesus, in His forgiveness, in His mercy. And the one who was given over at the “proper time” (Lk 22:6), “according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God” (Acts 2:23), knows well how “to give them their food at the proper time,” (Ps 145:15) even you and me. For, “God certainly gives daily bread to everyone without our prayers, even to all evil people. But we pray in this petition that God would lead us to realize this, and to receive our daily bread with thanksgiving.” (SC) That means just because we have it doesn’t meant mean we’re on our heavenly Father’s good side.

Those who desire worldly things have not the Father’s love in them. They are eternally, inexpressibly (2 Cor 9:15), incalculably poor. Jesus doesn’t leave much to the imagination as to what happens next after the rich man who trusted the creation met His Creator… But for those who are on the receiving and believing end of Jesus’ promises and gifts, who say, “His blood is more precious than gold and silver,” (1 Pet 2) who say, “His Word is more precious than gold, even much fine gold” (Ps 19:10, 119:127), who say, “the washing of rebirth makes me an heir of eternal life,” (Tit 3:7) who say, “the bread we break and the cup we drink are Communion of His body and blood,” (1 Cor 10:16) we are eternally, inexpressibly (2 Cor 9:15), and incalculably rich!

“If riches increase, don’t set your heart on them.” (Ps 62:10) Because “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” (Rom 8:32) “Let conduct be non-greedy, being content with your possessions. For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you, nor will I ever forsake you,’ so we are confident to say, ‘The Lord is my Helper.’” (Heb 13:6) Not farm or money or any other thing. For Christ Jesus is Your mediator and redeemer, He is your God and Savior, He is your shield, your exceedingly great reward. And when you die, being actually that rich toward God in Christ Jesus, well, “eye has not seen, nor ear has heard, nor has it entered into man’s heart, what God has prepared,” what He has treasured up, “for those who love Him.”(1 Cor 2:9)

᛭ INI ᛭