In 1888, Alfred Nobel opened his newspaper and read his own obituary entitled “The merchant of death is dead.” The obituary had been written in error, of course, in response to the death of Nobel’s brother Ludvig. Alfred Nobel was the inventor of dynamite and owned an armaments manufacturer. He would live for eight more years after the obituary was written. Imagine reading your own obituary and learning that you would be remembered in such a negative way! Nobel responded by changing his will and using his great fortune to create the Nobel prizes to recognize significant accomplishments that brought “the greatest benefit on mankind.” I wonder if Jesus’ parable functions a bit like Nobel’s obituary for us. In response to a question about inheritance, Jesus told this parable about a rich man who needed larger barns to store the abundance of his crops. The man has a conversation with himself, giving his soul a dose of hedonistic permission. Relax, eat, drink, be merry! The man doesn’t realize this will be his last night before death and his stored treasures will be left sitting in the barns, likely to be inherited by his children who will argue about how to divide the abundance. Thanks to our guest writer Rev. Dr. Millie Snyder. You can find the rest of the commentary on our website. | 
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