Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” (Luke 12:13-14).

This week’s passage kicks off with two unnamed brothers arguing about their inheritance (i.e., dad’s money, possessions, assets).  At that time, the first-born brother would receive a “double portion” of the inheritance, as he would assume the father’s role of protecting and providing for the family.

We’re going to assume that the younger brother, having been listening to Jesus speaking about the kingdom of God, got excited about a new day dawning.  No longer would his older brother automatically get the lion’s share of the inheritance just because he was older.  After all, with kingdom coming, shouldn’t things become more equal?  Shouldn’t old ways be replaced by new ones?  He makes his appeal, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me” -- 

-- and Jesus shuts him right down.  (We can imagine the older brother smiling, in a most self-satisfied and thoroughly annoying manner).

Jesus shuts him down – but not entirely.  He proceeds to tell a story, one that actually speaks to both brothers, as well as to all of us.  This farmer enjoys a great harvest, decides the best way to handle the blessing is to build bigger storage barns for it, only to find out that God (a) thinks he’s a fool, and (b) is going to demand his life of him this very night.  (Jesus tells the story much better – read it in Luke 12:13-21).

We’re paying attention this week to the Lie of Possessions, the lie that what we possess defines who we are.  The more money and stuff we have, the better and higher we rank on some imagined scale of worthiness.  If you’ve got a lot of stuff, why not bigger barns to store it all?

Jesus wants the arguing brothers, and us, to see and understand that God is not “defined” by what he possesses.  Yes, of course: God indeed owns everything.  But having or possessing is not what “defines” God.  God is known by his gracious, generous, lavish and ridiculously abundant giving.

What most makes God God is not that he has stuff; it’s that he gives.  God is abundantly and lavishly – prodigally! -- generous.  Why not learn to behave more like the one we call Father?

We’d be fools not to.  Even if we win an argument here and there.

Father, I know I can be a fool.  Please help me: help me to pay attention to you and to what you say.  Help me see where I am grasping and greedy, especially when I give myself “good reasons” for my disobedience.  Please open my heart and my hands a bit more today, then a little bit more tomorrow.  Please keep it up until you see me acting more and more like you.  Amen.