Luke 12: 13-21
“Be Passersby” (The Rich Fool)
This week we conclude our July exploration of how Jesus’ teaching in these readings from the Gospel of Luke invite people to step forward into awkward and challenging situations.
This week we consider the parable of the rich fool and come full circle. Being willing to be vulnerable to hunger and weather makes the 70-ish evangelists effective. Over-insulating himself against his human frailties, rejecting the very vulnerabilities the 70 accepted, robs the rich fool of joy in the final season of his life.
These weeks have sketched Luke’s understanding of Jesus beautifully. Luke’s Jesus invites us to push aside attempts to be safe, set-apart, and holy. When we hold a little less tightly to how things should be, we discover how wonderful they are. In Luke, we find a vulnerable, messy, dogged, and tangible kind of earthly salvation available to us in the here and now.
