8 Pentecost Yr C Proper 13 August 4 2019

Audio  8 Pentecost Yr C Proper 13 August 4 2019

Ecclesiastes 1:2, 12-14; 2:18-23, Psalm 49:1-11, Colossians 3:1-11, Luke 12:13-21

It was a bumper crop, a good year. What does a farmer do with a bumper crop? This farmer, in the parable today, decides that he'll pull down the perfectly good barns that he has, and build new ones to hold this bumper crop. So then he can relax and rely on his wealth. He has earned his contentment. He is happy and then he dies. Isn’t that the way it is supposed to be? Isn’t this good news? And yet, in this parable, this farmer is called a fool, what is so foolish about what he has done?

What does the Kingdom of God look like? Remember, that is what we hear about in a parable. Often, the Kingdom of God looks very different from the kingdom of this world. And in the kingdom of this world, this rich man saw fit to store up his riches, and sit on his hay bales, and relax, eat, drink, be merry. Not a bad life, one that most of us long for. One that most of us work for. So why is he foolish. Just because he’s got money?

I don’t think so. Parables are usually not quite that simple to crack. Let’s take a quick look at what immediately follows this parable, because we know that all the stories are related. Continuing in verse 22, Jesus said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. Verse 32 and following, “Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

We may briefly possess things, money, the stuff of our lives, but we merely rent all that for the duration of this life, and we really have no claim on tomorrow. It is foolish to think that we do, that is what this rich man was doing. But we are not to be afraid about tomorrow either - be not afraid, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom - God’s kingdom that is already begun here, on this fragile earth our island home, begun with the resurrection and ascension of Jesus, begun in our hearts and our souls.

It is so very hard to live without fear isn’t it? No fear, no fear about tomorrow, only trust in today. Is it out of fear, or out of responsibility that we store up our possessions, and our money? We sure hear that message loud and clear in every aspect of our lives. Save, invest, build, buy, have, and if you don’t, be afraid of what may happen to you. But there is a narrow line between having enough and being preoccupied with having more and being greedy. On which side of that line do you think this rich man stood? I think this parable Luke reports tells us about the perennial distraction of greed; it is about the perennial distraction of idolatry.

It’s not the purchase of the vehicle, or the latest gadget, or the big house, or the shares of stock, that is problematic. It’s the misplaced priority about that. It’s turning the object into the idol, it’s turning one’s attention into oneself and away from others. And it’s about the distraction, away from the common good, away from the Creator, which all of that need causes.

The Colossians passage demands that our attention be turned away from greed and toward Christ, who is all and in all. Greed is a way of worshipping wrong gods. The Colossians passage instruct us to put aside, let go of, all that which is distracting us, all that which pulls us away from good and healthy relationships with others and with things. The by-product of greed and idol worship is the bitterness that builds up in our hearts and our souls, little by little, bit by bit. Greed is self-destructive. Colossians commends a new-self, the one baptized into Christ, who centers life not on self, but on mercy, compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, patience, and forgiveness. There is a genuine alternative to the seduction of greed and idols. We need to know where we stand and to whom we belong.


What do you worship? What is your idol? What is killing you? What foolish treasures do you store up? These questions also need to be addressed to us as a church, and us as society. What is it that holds us hostage, that keeps us in bondage, that we need to set aside, so that we may be free to be a merciful and compassionate society, a society of neighbors, like the compassionate Samaritan, rather than a society of mean-spirited people? What is it that we must let go so that we may be in relationship with one another and with God? What are our idols? How do we counter the foolishness of storing up treasures?

I don’t have the solution for you or for us, just some suggestions for adjusting our attitude toward wealth. First, we may need to realize that wealth is not happiness, that money and possessions do not bring peace of mind. Second, we may need to decide to share rather than hoard. Sharing is a biblical imperative, even if some call it by another name. Our society most definitely have lost sight of that in recent years. Third, we may need to make a commitment to serve God instead of money. While it is important to be responsible about money, to plan for our retirement and our needs, we should also plan for what someone has called our "expirement" – for the death that came unexpectedly to the rich fool in this parable told by Jesus. We need to ask if our lives, in all their multi-faceted and multi-tasking glory, reflect the priorities God would like us to have.

Whenever we worship the created rather than the Creator, we have lowered our sights and limited our vision – we have "missed the mark," which is the definition of sin. It doesn't mean that material things are bad in themselves. Not at all. God's creation is good. It is the "Who" that is at the center of our lives that matters. And it is how we regard the things that we have that is central to our well-being in God's eyes. And it is well-being in God's eyes that constitutes the good life.

Everything we have is a gift from God. We may work hard, but what we have is a gift, not a reward. Wealth is a means, not an end. We see the distraction and greed all around us. It is useful to keep us occupied on what doesn’t matter, so that we don’t have the energy and fortitude for what does matter. And what does matter? Justice, mercy, and compassion. Loving our neighbor. Everything we have is a gift from God. We deserve none of it, the Love that wins our hearts and minds and souls, is what satisfies.

Thanks be to God.

21 Pentecost Proper 24 Yr B

Teacher, we have something we want you to do for us. James and John ask Jesus. Arrange it, they said, so that we will be awarded the highest places of honor in your glory - one of us at your right, the other at your left. Jesus, I have something I want you to do for me. I want you to grant my wish for a better job, a bigger house, a wonderful spouse. I want you to get me out of this mess I'm in. I want you to make sure that with this investment, I make a lot of money. With this ticket, just make sure I win the lottery. Jesus, I know you can do this for me, and if you do, I will be a better person. I will give ten percent away. I will never again use your name in vain.

James and John, you and me, we get confused about who Jesus is. Sometimes we think Jesus is more like a genie in a lamp, instead of the one who walks this life with us and gives his life for us. James and John are confused, they think this is about seating order at a party, not life in God's kingdom. Jesus, in this story, is too polite to say to James and John, since when did you believe this is about you? And we need to hear that too, since when did you believe this is about you?

Jesus and the disciples are on the road to Jerusalem, the place where Jesus will be put to death. They all know this, but the disciples are unwilling to accept the inevitable death of their friend and teacher. Jesus says to them, if you want to be close to me, if you want me to be present with you, serve one another, serve your neighbor, serve those with whom you most vehemently disagree. This is the model of discipleship.

Jesus says it is not the order in which you sit at the table at the party. Dwight Zscheile, in People of the Way writes, "In the household of God, no one can claim privilege of place; we are all adopted children via our baptism." And this is the image Jesus invokes. It is all about diving into the water. "The cup that I drink you will drink; and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized." We are baptized into Jesus' life, suffering, death, and resurrection. Taking Jesus' cup is about diving into the waters of our baptism, waters that bring the dead to life, waters that fill an empty soul, waters that give a heart the only thing worth living, and worth dying for. We get completely wet in these holy waters. We take each others hands and dive in.

Diving in to those waters is dangerous. We take the risk of dying. But you and I both know that death is necessary for resurrection. We must die to that which is killing us so that Jesus can raise us to new life. Right now, not later, not after you die, but right now Love wins. Jesus' work on the cross brings new life now. You see, what is true for each and every one of us is that there is that thing that is out there beyond us, that goal we construct our lives around, that dream that demands every ounce of our being, that job that demands all of our attention, all of our energy, or the revenge that consumes us, that is our idol. For James and John it was the prize of sitting next to Jesus at the banquet table. They couldn't see that the prize was an idol. They couldn't see that the getting the prize would kill them. Or at least destroy everything they cared about and all their relationships.

What is it for you? What is that prize that you are willing to die for. Lay it down. Lay it down. And take up your most honest and authentic self. Be free. Be transformed, be changed. Because there is where you will find new life, resurrected life, there Jesus will find you. You see, the goal of life is not to have something, or someone. Even if that someone may be God. The goal of life is not to gain the reward of an after life. Life is about living fully alive, now, in the midst of God's amazing and abundant love. That's what Jesus' work on the cross and in the resurrection is all about. Life is about living every present moment fully immersed in God's love, and showing forth God's love in your life.

The other part of the good news is that we don't do the work alone. We do this work in community. I spent a lot of my life by the side of a pool, or a lake, as a lifeguard. In lifeguard training one of the hardest exercises was to dive in and swim up to a person who is acting as if they are drowning, putting that person under control, and then swimming into the shore towing my own weight plus theirs. I truly hoped I would never have to do it for real. But that's actually what we're called to do as a follower of Jesus, as a person who is baptized into Jesus' baptism. You are called to dive into the water, sometimes you're the lifeguard, towing someone else to safety. Sometimes you're the one being saved, and you need to let someone else carry you to safety. But it's together we have a chance to receive the new life that Jesus has for us, together we know that Love wins.

And that's what this community of faith is all about. Diving in and swimming, or thrashing around, whichever it is, we do it together. That is the body of christ. The work of letting go of the idol, letting go of the prize is so important, it matters so much, that we need help, we need each other, we can't do it on our own. We need to be in the company of others. And the joy of new life, the joy of being transformed matters, and needs to be celebrated in the body of christ, in the company of others.

Lay down the pursuit of your prize, lay down your idol, be lifted up to new life in Jesus. Let Love win.