Our Inheritance

Our Inheritance
by Deacon Terry
Luke 12:13-21
Someone in the crowd said to Jesus, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me." But he said to him, "Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?" 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." Then he told them a parable: "The land of a rich man produced abundantly. And he thought to himself, `What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?' Then he said, `I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And 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?' So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God."
In this morning’s Gospel, we see the rich man's immediate reaction to his prosperity—he plans to build larger barns to hoard his wealth. This man is not unique; many of us find ourselves in similar circumstances, tempted to seek security in material possessions.
He asks himself, "What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?" His response betrays a heart consumed by greed.
Instead of sharing his abundance, he chooses to isolate himself with his treasures.
I believe this to be an important point for us today;
How often do we allow our desires for more, to overshadow our call to generosity?
The man envisions a future free of worry, saying to his soul, "You have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, and be merry."
This kind of thinking maybe a bit dangerous.
We are not the masters of our own fate; we are stewards of the gifts God has given us.
Then comes the warning from God: "You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you."
In this moment, the rich man's plans crumble. His earthly treasures cannot save him from the inevitable truth of mortality. He is reminded that life is fleeting; material wealth can never bring the peace that surpasses understanding.
Now, what does this mean for us?
I believe it invites us to examine our priorities.
Are we hoarding our resources or investing in what truly matters?
So, as I have mentioned in the past; I have been blessed in having two fantastic parents. Both my father and mother were very simple, hardworking, honest and loving people, who gave of themselves to secure a future for my sister and I.
They both worked in factories all their lives and never really made a great deal of money. They/we lived week to week.
But, the truth is, my sister and I, never went without.
I remember about five years before my Dad passed away, he bought a huge snow blower. Now he never had one prior to then, he had me, and he didn’t want to spend the money on a snow blower.
The laugh of the snow blower was that his driveway was about 15 feet long. This snow blower was made for Alaska!
When I asked him why he bought this huge, expensive snow blower, he said, “it’s your inheritance”.
We laughed every time he used it.
Since my Dad’s death, I now have that snow blower and every time I use it, I look up and say “Thanks Dad”.
One year later my beautiful mother died.
The conversation after Ma’s death was the QVC was going to have to close, or at least lay off half it’s sales force.
My mother loved QVC. She loved jewelry from QVC.
She would often have it shipped to our house so Dad wouldn’t see it come in and then she would say “oh, I’ve had this necklace for years”.
Well, on the day of my mother’s funeral all the women in our family and all Ma’s girlfriends went through Ma’s jewelry box and chose something of my mother’s to wear to her funeral in honor of her, of which they would keep.
As you all know, when someone passes, someone needs to make arrangements. As me, my sister, bother in law and my wife went through the “important” papers in the strong box in the cedar chest, wondering how much we were all going to inherit; we found our inheritance, our fortune, our pot of gold.
In the strong box we found old report cards, photos, old wedding announcements, funeral announcements and some letters.
One of the letters we found was a letter that I wrote to my mother about a year after I was married and living in update New York with my, then young family.
The letter, basically was me, thanking her for all she had done in my life and how happy my family was.
The reason I share this with you is to ground myself and hopefully to help all of us, re focus on today’s Gospel reading about –
“When is enough – Enough”
What’s really important.
What are we doing?
We keep trying to save more, grab more, buy more – get more.
Society tells us to store up – acquire
Why?
As I reflect on the people in my life that I have lost – I never think or reflect on how much they had. NEVER
I think about them – the love they shared with me, the time, the laughs, the sadness, the sharing.
That’s what I reflect on – not how much money or stuff they had.
Jesus calls us to a radical reorientation of our lives—to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, rather than amassing more for ourselves.
As we move through life, let us cultivate hearts of gratitude and generosity.
Consider what you can share with those in need.
The joy of giving far outweighs the temporary satisfaction of keeping.
True wealth lies not in accumulation but in relationships and acts of love.
So, how do you want to be remembered?
By how much money you had, how nice a car you drove or how big a house you owned?
I’ll take the snow blower approach that each time it snows and I’m using my inheritance, looking up and reflecting on my Dad.
I’ll take that letter, my mother thought was so precious and re read it, recalling the happiness of that time.
The money and the “stuff” can and will disappear, but the Love given to us is truly our inheritance.
AMEN