I officiated at a funeral recently of a man who died of a heart attack two weeks after he declared bankruptcy. With his beautiful wife, five kids, and many grandchildren circling the grave, this is how I began the eulogy:

One of the wealthiest men in the world died on [....] His name was . . . . He made his wealth in real estate. The real real estate of life.

You say: how cruel can you be? In front of his grieving family you are calling a man “wealthy” who died right after declaring bankruptcy.

I say: how crude can you be? You are calling a “wealthy” person someone who made their fortune from the real estate of land and property and not the real real estate of life.

In our Scripture lesson this morning, Jesus gives us a different understanding of wealth than the one we’re used to. In…