Being Rich Toward God

August 4, 2019 (forgot to post this last month;)

Luke 12:13-21

Pentecost 11, Proper 13, Year C

When I read the Gospel out loud to Rob early this week he said: 

This one is pretty clear.  Don’t be greedy.

And then there’s the corresponding sayings:

“You won’t ever see a U-Haul behind a hearse”
“You can’t take it with you”

“There are no pockets in shrouds”

But it isn’t satisfying to me

Because one thing we can be sure of

Is that when Jesus tells a Parable

There is trouble in the text!

Parables always upset the apple cart.

Retell

What does it actually say?

The occasion is a question from the crowd

Presumably, there are two brothers having a dispute about inheritance

And then it doesn’t say: Don’t be greedy

It says beware! Be on guard against ALL KINDS of greed…

(because greed is sneaky)

And then it tells the parable

Which is interesting because it is in response to someone who wants more possessions

By telling a parable about someone with an abundance of possessions

The land of a rich man produced abundantly
and he thought to himself

What should I do? I have no place…
and then he said: I will do this…

And I will say to my soul, ‘Soul…

So this is kinda Comic

We have a guy having a conversation with himself

And then he has a conversation with himself 

Within the conversation with himself!

It’s a short parable

It has one character (until God comes into the story)

6-I’s and 2-Psyches/Souls

The UnHoly Trinity

Me, Myself, and I

What doesn’t it say? What’s missing?

The parable never gives the rich man credit for his wealth.

And yet the man

Never mentions the bountiful Land

Or the blessing of good weather

Or the hard work of the laborers 

No words about family 

or community

No mention of anyone or anything that had a role in producing this bumper crop

NO…the parable paints a picture

of a man in complete isolation
A man whose vision begins and ends with himself

A man whose only conversation is a monologue

And conversations with oneself

Even ones as robust and active as this one

Rarely yield a depth of wisdom

Fool!!!

He is a FOOL not because he makes provision for the future

But because he believes that by his wealth he can own his future

He gives infinite value to finite things

A conclusion he came upon---all by himself

And what he missed out on

All wrapped up in himself as he was

What he missed was the gift of gratitude

But how could there be gratitude?

Gratitude is a response…it implies a gift

It is always directed toward another…and there was no other in sight.

(describe the painting)

In a sense 

Rob was right

WE KNOW THIS

We know it isn’t that God doesn’t want us to save for retirement
(which is perhaps a convenient interpretation for me because Rob would be out of a job)

It isn’t that God doesn’t want us to eat, drink and be merry

…enjoying what God has given us

WE KNOW from the Gospels themselves
that Jesus spent lots of time around tables enjoying the gifts of life’s richness

But Jesus in the Gospels is also very clear about where ultimate meaning lies

And we KNOW that too

We KNOW it 

We KNOW that being rich in God is what will keep us from turning all those other things (money, fame, approval) into idols 

But what we DON’T know

Is how to keep 

WHAT WE KNOW --- right here---

Front and center

In front of us as we go through our day’s decision making

What I don’t know is how to keep from being seduced and tempted 

Over and over again by the desire for more

A desire that blinds me to

WHAT I REALLY DO KNOW!

Two stories from the past week

How to be and how not to be

Rich toward God

I went to a funeral on Thursday
The mother of a large family died

The father died several years back

There was a family business

And I don’t know what happened but

It had to do “with getting one’s share”

Three of the children are not on speaking terms

And the priest…who was a friend of the family

Took several occasions…

And almost begged for reconciliation in the family

I don’t know the story 

but the resentment was palpable…

and then yesterday

I went to a bridal shower

And there was this game where everyone got this cheapy plastic ring

And the idea was to trick others into saying the word “Bride”
and if you were successful you got to steal their ring.

Well there were three little girls ages 4-6 there

And they were completely into this game…trying to collect more and more loot!

So the adults started to just try and give them the rings 

pretending that they were so clever…because they were having so much fun!

And then…the youngest, Tatum

Came up to Ellie, the eldest, and asked how many she had

Ellie said 9

And Tatum said, “I have 11”

And then she opened up her wide pocket offering to share.

Somehow there are hints in these stories about how to become rich toward God.

Jesus is asking me

Cindy
Where is your heart?

Keep track of your heart

You will become rich toward God

By keeping track of your heart.

I feel like this isn’t really a homily

It is a confession of a struggle
Money is powerful
If we don’t talk about it here

About its religiously significant sense

It will be the culture at large that gets to set the definition

And my guess is that it’s a struggle for most of us

---as an addendum---

This morning

I don’t know how to engage the devasting tragedy in El Paso
But somehow

If it is, in fact, the Gospel being preached

there must somehow be a connection

ON the side of the victims

And the family and community that loved them

I imagine it will be hard to keep track of the heart

In the aftermath of such violence

And so in light of this reflection

I can pray for hearts open to the wisdom and peace of God

…no matter how long it takes

And the gunman…why was his heart so very lost?

How did it get so?

I have no idea

But I can’t help but imagine

That, perhaps, like our rich fool

His only source of wisdom was the wanderings of his own mind

Interpreting the world alone

With his own familiar voices being the limit of his wisdom

And I can pray…that I, that we, that our people and communities and families
meet isolation with invitation

Invitation into shared lives trying to become rich toward God

So perhaps we can wonder together

Maybe we can even continue this at coffee hour

Let’s not be like the man who talks things over with himself

Let’s learn from each other

How do you live, move, and act your way into becoming rich toward God?

I’d love to know