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Be Poor in Order To Be Free

13 A Saying about Greed.[a]Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to share the family inheritance with me.” 14 Jesus answered him, “Friend, who appointed me to be a judge and arbitrator in your regard?”

15 [b]After this, he said to the crowd, “Take care to be on your guard against all kinds of greed. Life does not depend upon an abundance of one’s possessions.”

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Footnotes

  1. Luke 12:13 The Law of Moses dealt with temporal questions (see Ex 2:14; Acts 7:27), and the rabbis willingly offered their opinions. Jesus has not come to sustain us in our personal interests but to save us. The Gospel does not foster greed in any form; it demands detachment from earthly goods. This episode serves as an introduction to a series of teachings concerning money, an important theme for the Gospel of Luke.
  2. Luke 12:15 The desire for and the satisfaction in accumulating riches closes one to God and deprives one of lucidity. The goods of earth do not have a vocation for eternity. The spiritual future of human beings is more important. The Word and Life of Jesus are sustained by this conviction.