Pentecost 10 – 2007
Ecclesiastes 1:12-14; 2:1-7, 11, 18-23; Psalm 49:1-11; Colossians 3:5—17; Luke 12:13-21
Sermon
While browsing through some sermon illustrations for today, I came across a skit by the late comedian, Jack Benny. He was approached by a gunman, who stuck a pistol in his ribs and demanded, “Your money or your life!” Jack was silent. Impatient, the gunman yelled, “Hurry up, I don’t have all day!” To which Jack replied, “Don’t rush me, I’m thinking it over.”
We all know that money or possessions is a subject very close to home; either we don’t have any and we want some, or we have some, and we want to keep it. In fact, we usually want more in either case.
Money and possessions is a touchy subject. The story of the rich farmer we heard in today’s Gospel probably touches those of us here in a farming area in a special way. What farmer does not want to build up his farm, his orchard, his ranch? For most, it is part of what he is, and what he will leave behind to the next generation.
There are a lot of tangents we could go on from these readings, especially the Gospel, but what I want to tell you that today’s reading is a Gospel of liberation and a gospel of hope. It isn’t a reading calling everyone to a life of poverty, or demanding giving to the poor, or condemning the rich – Jesus had rich friends. It’s about the freedom that comes from not being absorbed with the possessions we have or the possessions we want to have.
First, let’s examine the context. In the preceding chapter of Luke, Jesus started out by teaching his disciples to pray. We heard that lesson just last week. He says to be persistent in prayer, and he points out that the Heavenly Father loves us so much he will give us more than we can imagine -- if we will only ask. Later on in the chapter, Jesus dines with the Pharisees, but is not the polite guest; he chastises them for adherence to form rather than substance, for neglecting justice and for seeking the place of honor for themselves. He chastises the temple lawyers for loading up the people with burdens hard to bear.
Then, as he goes outside, and the crowd gathers, he promises the crowd that they are all of great value to God, and promises that they will be protected even if they are brought before the authorities.
Then there is an interruption. An interruption that reminds me of trying to explain something very seriously to a class of five-year olds; perhaps you are telling them the Christmas Story, or the Easter Story. You believe you have their rapt attention, then little Jennifer raises her hand. This is wonderful you think; “I’ve really got them thinking!” “Yes Jennifer?” “Are we going to have a cookie today?”
The young man who interrupts Jesus is obviously not paying attention; he is obviously self-absorbed in his own problems. He interrupts a lecture on the love of God, a god who will provide for everyone, a God who loves everyone, with a request for Jesus to help him get more than he was really entitled to – Jewish law decreed that the oldest son got two-thirds, and the youngest one-third. This fellow was obviously not paying attention. He was more concerned with what he had or did not have than with the liberating message Jesus was preaching. Jesus could have simply admonished him sit down and shut up, to not interrupt the flow of the message. Instead, Jesus takes the opportunity to address the burden of possessions. “Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.”
Note carefully that Jesus is not criticizing possessions; Jesus had rich friends who helped support his ministry. But Jesus is reminding the crowd – and us – that possessions are not what life is really about.
I’m told that translation from the Greek can be very tricky. I believe that the translation in today’s Gospel leads us away from the essential meaning of the parable. This translation reads “This very night your life is being demanded of you.” Scholars tell us that the Greek text says, “They have demanded your life.” Who were “they” who demanded the life of the farmer? His things! He no longer owned his possessions, they owned him![1]
Have you ever felt that way about your possessions? Don’t you sometimes feel that they own you? Although the last 18-20 years of my life hasn’t really been about possessions, possessions have played a huge role. Marny and I moved from a large home to a much smaller house, which still held many of her mother’s possessions. For a time, we had two – count ‘em – two self-storage units. Slowly but surely we pecked away at those contents, re-arranging what we had, selling what we didn’t need, giving some of it away, trying to get our children to take their stuff. We finally got rid of the storage units. Now, we’ve moved back to a larger house, taken what we need to furnish it, and we’ve still got stuff left over!
Possessions are nice, but possessions can be a burden. For the rich farmer in this parable, they had become an albatross around his neck. He was so concerned with making room for more that he had no time to enjoy what he had at the moment. His possessions truly owned him.
The situation evokes Scrooge and Marley in the Christmas Carol. Scrooge, mired in his obsession for accumulating money, rejected all contact with life other than collecting what was owed him. Jacob Marley, his deceased business partner, visits him in a ghostly appearance one evening, chained with large books and ledgers. Marley says, “These are the links I forged in life,” links that now bound him in death.
I mentioned self-storage units a moment ago. Something about the word Aself-storage@ tickles my funny-bone. I can=t help picturing someone unlocking the storage unit, stepping inside, and pulling the door back down behind him.
Matter of fact, I think that=s what these lessons are talking about. When we become too obsessed about our things, and about our security and our future, we are losing contact with God; we are storing ourselves away from him B and from others. So, self-storage it is! That=s why Jesus warns against greed -- life is not defined by what we possess. A life subjected to possessions is no life at all.
In his letter to the church in Colossi, St. Paul puts flesh and bones on all of this talk about money. He speaks of shunning all things earthly, including greed B which he equates with idolatry. However, he goes on to speak of what Christians should be concerned with: compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. He enjoins them B and us - to bear with one anther and to forgive one another. Forgive one another, Ajust as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.@ St. Paul brings us to what Paul Harvey would call Athe rest of the story@. He is telling us not just what we should leave behind us, but what we should have in front of us; what we should be doing as Christians.
There is a story about a family that put up a hummingbird feeder with four feeding stations. Almost immediately it became popular with the hummingbirds that lived in the area. Two, three, or even four birds would feed at one time. The feeder would be refilled at least once a day. Suddenly the usage decreased to almost nothing. The feeder needed filling only about once a week. The reason for the decreased usage soon became apparent. A male bird had taken over the feeder as his property. He was now the only hummingbird who used it. He would feed and then sit in a nearby tree, rising to attack any bird that approached his feeder. Guard duty occupied his every waking hour. He was an effective guard. The only time another bird got to use the feeder was when the self-appointed owner was momentarily gone to chase away an intruder.
That hummingbird story teaches a valuable lesson. By choosing to assume ownership of the feeder, he forfeited his freedom. He was no longer free to come and go as he wished. He was tied to the work of guarding his feeder, his STUFF.[2] He was possessed by his possessions.
I believe that part of our problem in understanding and following the rules for living handed down to us in the Scriptures, is that we think we are to do all of these things (or refrain from doing other things) for the benefit of others, or for the good of the church, or for the Glory of God. In truth, these rules of living are for our benefit. The hopes and expectations God has for us are to change us; that they may incidentally benefit others is fine and good, but it is our souls, our lives, which God is concerned about for us.
Remember, God is a personal god for each and every one of us. He wants each and every one of us to lose our preoccupation with Astuff@ and money so that we have time to join in with his preoccupation with us -- his unconditional love for us. He wants us to love others, as he loved us, and by doing so, become free of earthly things that encumber us from entering into eternal relationship with him. That=s what God wants for us. That=s what will bring completeness to our life.
Listen once more to Jesus: "Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one's life does not consist in the abundance of possessions."
[1] Thanks to the Rev. Dr. J. Barry Vaughn, in a sermon offered online in Sermons that Work, The Episcopal Church on-line.
[2] Sermon by David E. Leninger, quoting from W. L. Barnes, Free As a Bird, quoted in Bible Illustrator for Windows, diskette, (Hiawatha, IO: Parsons Technology, 1994)