“You fool!” said Jesus. “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 toward themselves but are not rich toward God,” begins Barbara Lundblad, a preaching professor at Union Theological Seminary in New York City, and a minister in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. She is preaching on Luke 12:13-21 , the parable of the Rich Fool. “Why does Jesus even need to tell this parable?” wonders Lundblad. Why is this man called a fool? His land produces abundantly, a sign from the Old Testament that he was a devout man. So what is the issue? The man says, “What should I do? I will do this…I will pull down…I will build…I will store…I, I, I…” says the man. “Following Jesus calls us beyond ourselves and Jesus’s call usually has economic implications,” says Lundblad. This parable summarizes the odd economy of God. What is God’s economy? How do we live it out today? Listen and find out how we can see beyond the border of our fields, bank accounts, or investments and have a truly abundant life.

This sermon is from A Sermon for Every Sunday, a series of lectionary-based video sermons designed for use in worship, Bible study, small groups, Sunday school classes or for individual use.

For more sermon preparation help, check out Pulpit Resource, Will Willimon's weekly lectionary-based sermon resource, available online and through a print subscription.