The Rich Idiot is based on Luke 12: 16-20
Why Retell?
This is a parable that can still be understood without explanation. Farmers still exist and they still have bumper crops. They still rebuild their barns (though nowadays, they’d probably be rebuilding them into self-catering holiday homes). There are a few points we’d miss (if the rich fool is discussing things with himself, he’s got no friends), but even a modern, urban audience will still ‘get’ the main point.
So why retell?
One reason would be to recreate surprise. Even non-church audiences might have heard parables before; a church congregation might be able to tell you the ending before you’ve started the second sentence. Recasting the parable with modern characters and a modern setting could be refreshing. Surprising.
The Setting
Someone listening said to Jesus: “Teacher, tell my brother he’s got to sell Mum’s house and split the money with me! She left it to us both!”
Jesus answered, “Mate, who appointed me as a referee between you? Then he said to the crowd. “Watch out! Be on your guard against greed: life isn’t about having loads of stuff.”
…
“That’s how it is for anyone who saves up stuff for themselves without being generous to God.”
Luke 12: 13-15, 21
This is a very distinctive setting; the parable is a response to someone who wants to tear apart the family farm, just as the rich fool wants to tear down his barns. Jesus announces that he won’t judge between the brothers, but his parable is a pointed judgement on the brother making the request.
Why didn’t I Include the Original Setting?
I originally intended to, because discussions of this parable usually include its setting. But when I was writing the retelling I realised that the parable works perfectly well without it. The real question is whether Jesus invented this parable as a one-off judgement on the farm-dividing brother – or whether he told it many times.
If we think of this parable as a one off judgement then it belongs with its setting. But what if we think Jesus used this parable many times, even if he did create it as a rebuke on the spot? Then we should be aware that it’s the setting, with its ancient laws on inheritance and the use of a rabbi as a judge, that needs explaining. It’s the setting that makes the parable ‘long ago and far away’, instead of something that could happen today. The parable stands on its own; the setting doesn’t.
Why an author?
The rich fool in the original parable has an unexpected windfall – a bumper crop. So, in retelling, we need to pick a situation or a job where these unexpected windfalls are possible. My first thought was a lottery jackpot, won by someone who was already well off. That would emphasise the greed.
But huge lottery jackpots are genuinely unexpected. The farmer in the parable is definitely an idiot – it would’ve been obvious before the harvest that a bumper crop was heading his way. He should have thought about the storage in advance.
Authors, in many ways, can’t really control how well their book sells. However, there are times when they can guess a windfall is on the way – when a film or TV show is made out of their book.
Authors get windfalls, just as a farmer sometimes gets a bumper crop. In the UK, even the tax office allows for their highly unpredictable income; allowing authors to calculate tax on their average income over two or three years. So an author’s windfall is a good fit for the farmer’s ‘bumper crop’.
Gifts
In the setting, a man wants Jesus to judge his brother. However, he’s the one who’s judged. He received an inheritance, a gift from his parent, something he didn’t earn. In the same way, the rich fool didn’t earn his bumper crop. His crops produced more than he thought they would. That was a gift from God.
But so was his soul.
Previous parable: Churchwarden and Salesman (Luke 18:10-14)
Next parable: The Unproductive Biotech Company (Luke 13: 6-9)
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