Lectionary Year C
August 5, 2001
Luke 12:13-21

Distillation

Step V - Distillation

A. Summary of Salient Features

(JFC) The minor concerns seem to be the parable itself. Parables are used to make a point or points Jesus teaches. The lesson he teaches here is a major concern of this pericope. "The theological 'center of gravity' in the text" is God's statement in verse 20. Just off "the theological 'center of gravity'" here is Jesus' second statement, the one to the crowd, in verse 15.

B. Smoother Translation

(JFC) 13 Somebody from the crowd said to him (Jesus), "Teacher, tell my brother to divide with me the inheritance." 14 But he said to him, "Man, who me made to be judge of whether to divide between you (plural)?" 15 But he said to them (the crowd), "See and keep watch to avoid great greed, for not in someone's abundance (is) his life the greatest value to him."
16 Then he told a parable to them saying, "A man (was) well to do for his land/farm bore abundant harvests. 17 And he considered carefully unto himself what to do and he said; "What should/must I do (first person aorist active subjunctive), since I do not have any place where I shall store the plentiful harvests of mine?" 18 And he said, "This I shall do, I shall tear down my barns and I'll build larger/more spacious ones and there I shall store all the wheat and the goods of mine 19 and I shall say to the myself, 'Self, you have many goods you might just lie down/recline for many years now; just rest (present middle imperative), eat (aorist active imperative), drink (aorist active imperative), be made glad' (present passive imperative)." 20 But God said to him, "Be not senseless, (or, "That attitude is senseless.") for this very night your life might be demanded ("figurative of the concept of life as a loan from God") of you; the things which you (have) prepared whose are they to be?" 21 Just so is the one storing up unto himself and not to God, becoming rich (of material possessions).

C. Hermeneutical Bridge

(JFC) Recently William Crouch, President of (Ky's) Georgetown College spoke to our Rotary Club. He reported that the rather small Southern Baptist College is applying for a Phi Beta Kappa designation and that the Phi Beta Kappa Senate in Washington D. C. is discouraging them, citing, among several other objections, that they are not diverse enough in their enrollment, faculty and staff. When Dr. Crouch reported this reaction by the Phi Beta Kappa Senate to the college's Board of Directors, the Board discussed the challenge and voted unanimously to go for more diversity. They sent Dr. Crouch to Beijing, among other global places, to recruit students, faculty and staff from abroad. While in Beijing, 4 coeds approached him on the street and asked him to speak English with them. He granted their request. They went to the students' dorm room where they showed him some of their projects as Art Majors. He offered to buy one from each student. They asked a dollar for each one. Dr. Crouch gave them $100 for the four. As soon as the money exchanged hands, an official came through the door and took the money, explaining it would go to the Communist Party to help pay for their education. Dr. Crouch took the students to his hotel room, which apparently was not bugged, and gave them another $100 for the art work. Does Dr. Crouch's generosity and respect for life and life's accomplishments and insistence on human justice seem to apply some of what Jesus was teaching in Luke 12:13-21? I think so, maybe, at least.

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