"This painting of The Rich Fool (2007) by Central Texas artist, Jim Janknegt, is a complex and modern illustration of the parable of the wealthy man who decides to build bigger barns to store all of his grain and goods, only to lose his life that very night. It is ultimately a parable, as with so many of Jesus’s parables, of Christian values.
The painting consists of a central panel surrounded by a border of related smaller vignettes. The central image is of two homes, one a more luxurious modern home in which sits a man alone at a large table, the “rich fool” at his ample yet lonely dinner. Across the dinner table from him sits the angel of death. Next to this house sits a much smaller and modest one in which resides a family –– a mother, father, and six children.
In Janknegt’s painting, the wealth of the rich man is displayed in his well appointed home, filled with art and fine furnishings. In the living area across from the dining room, a modern sculpture of a figure with a hole in its center symbolizes the hollowness of a life of abundant possessions. The bedroom upstairs is one in which the rich man sleeps alone, and dreams of a life where he will relax, eat, drink and be merry. The landscaping around the wealthy man’s home is somewhat barren, with cactus plants and large rocks. Reflecting the somberness of the event, the night sky contains a full haloed moon, shrouded by strips of clouds.
In the monochromatic border of the painting we see the trappings of material prosperity –– furnishings, electronics, jewelry, etc. Ironically, the image on the television screen is a talking head, a skull, perhaps a news anchor relating the horrors of the day’s events. In the border there are images of side by side houses. In one, we see the home of the rich man after his death, with a “For Sale” sign in its yard, a sale that will in no way profit our fool. In the upper border, one of the houses is being bulldozed, to make room for a larger home which the fool will ostensibly fill with all his possessions. Beneath the images of the consumer goods, we see phrases from advertising circulars, encouraging us to “Buy One Get One Free,” and to purchase items that are “Essential for Every Home.” We are reminded that faith is the only matter that is essential for every home, and grace, the only commodity that is free: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from you; it is the gift of God” (Eph 2:8)."
Sandra Hill, Diocese of Austin
The Collect
Grant to us, Lord, we pray, the spirit to think and do always those things that are right, that we, who cannot exist without you, may by you be enabled to live according to your will; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Old Testament
Genesis 15:1-6
The word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, "Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great." But Abram said, "O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?" And Abram said, "You have given me no offspring, and so a slave born in my house is to be my heir." But the word of the Lord came to him, "This man shall not be your heir; no one but your very own issue shall be your heir." He brought him outside and said, "Look toward heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them." Then he said to him, "So shall your descendants be." And he believed the Lord; and the Lord reckoned it to him as righteousness.
The Psalm
Psalm 33:12-22
Exultate, justi
12 Happy is the nation whose God is the Lord! *
happy the people he has chosen to be his own!
13 The Lord looks down from heaven, *
and beholds all the people in the world.
14 From where he sits enthroned he turns his gaze *
on all who dwell on the earth.
15 He fashions all the hearts of them *
and understands all their works.
16 There is no king that can be saved by a mighty army; *
a strong man is not delivered by his great strength.
17 The horse is a vain hope for deliverance; *
for all its strength it cannot save.
18 Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon those who fear him, *
on those who wait upon his love,
19 To pluck their lives from death, *
and to feed them in time of famine.
20 Our soul waits for the Lord; *
he is our help and our shield.
21 Indeed, our heart rejoices in him, *
for in his holy Name we put our trust.
22 Let your loving-kindness, O Lord, be upon us, *
as we have put our trust in you.
The Epistle
Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Indeed, by faith our ancestors received approval. By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible.
By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to set out for a place that he was to receive as an inheritance; and he set out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he stayed for a time in the land he had been promised, as in a foreign land, living in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he looked forward to the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God. By faith he received power of procreation, even though he was too old-- and Sarah herself was barren-- because he considered him faithful who had promised. Therefore from one person, and this one as good as dead, descendants were born, "as many as the stars of heaven and as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore."
All of these died in faith without having received the promises, but from a distance they saw and greeted them. They confessed that they were strangers and foreigners on the earth, for people who speak in this way make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of the land that they had left behind, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; indeed, he has prepared a city for them.
