Sunday Sermon - August 4, 2013

Peril and Opportunity

Sermon by Stephen Ricketts

Providence-Fort Washington United Methodist Church

Luke 11:1-13

Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost – August 4, 2013

 

Over the past several years we have often looked at Jesus’ parables together. They are wonderful stories that can help us hear Jesus speaking directly to us. As you no doubt remember, one of my favorite ways to study the parables is to try and look at them from the inside; you know choose a character in the parable and ask: “How do Jesus’ words apply to that particular character?” This method of “inside-out” study can be very helpful. You may remember that we looked at Jesus’ parable of the sower from the perspective of the sower, from the perspective of the seed, of the soil, and even from the perspective of the weeds - each new look brought fresh insight. So, when I realized that today’s gospel lesson from Luke contained a parable, I was all set to use this method once again. Then I actually read the parable and I realized that I was in trouble. You see the parable has only one character, the rich man who God calls a fool. To be fair there is another character, God, but I do not think we want to go there.

So, I decided to sit down and read all three lessons again, carefully this time, and see how they spoke to me. The lesson from Hosea, with its rich imagery of God teaching Israel how to walk was very appealing. And the lesson from Colossians with Paul’s impassioned call to die to our earthly pleasures and be born anew in Christ was very powerful as well. But, for some reason, I kept returning to the gospel reading. I was intrigued by the word “fool”. The word “fool” occurs many times in the Bible, mostly in the wisdom books, but this passage is the only place I could find where God directly called someone a fool. I began to wonder, what had this man done to deserve such condemnation from God?

So, I decided to go back to the parable and try and enter it from the perspective of the rich man, but this time, instead of trying different points-of-view, I wanted to follow his journey and see if I could pinpoint the decision or mistake that earns him the label of fool.

The first thing I noticed about the man is that he is a landowner,  that means that he is rich. In Jesus’ day, ownership of most of the land was concentrated in the hands of a few people, and everybody else subsisted as tenants. So, is this the man’s problem, the fact that he is rich? Well, I started to think about other people in the Bible and realized that a number of them were rich, some were very rich. Certainly Abraham was a rich man even though he was not a land owner. He possessed immense numbers of cattle and sheep. He had a large retinue of servants, and he had vast amounts of gold and silver. Yet, for all his wealth, Abraham spoke to God as to a friend and today we call Abraham the father of our faith. Abraham heard God’s call to be a blessing to the world and he followed God into new and uncharted territory. Another rich man was Boaz; he owned large fields and had many servants who tended his property. Yet, Boaz is remembered as the deliverer of Ruth and the great-grandfather of King David. There are many other rich men in the Bible: Jacob, David, Job, Solomon; all of these men had great wealth and not once did God call them fools. So, it would seem that wealth alone is not the reason God called this man a fool.

Next, I saw that the man was blessed with an abundance of food; his land produced abundantly. An abundant harvest is a blessing from God. This is not to say that we earn God’s abundance by our actions, but simply an acknowledgement that God is the one who blesses us with every good gift. So, simply being the recipient of God’s bounty is no reason to be called a fool.

Then the man began to consider his situation. He asked the question, “What should I do?” Here is a man with a problem, he had more wealth, more bounty, more food than he knew what to do with. He was in a genuine quandary. He knew his barns were not up to the challenge of storing such wealth and he knew that to waste it by allowing it to rot in the fields was not the solution either. Here, it is possible that the man was simply trying to be a good steward. He had received a great blessing from God and he did not know how to handle it. So, trying to take responsible care of God’s bounty is no cause for being labeled a fool.

As we follow the parable, I wonder if his next decision might be the one that got him into trouble; he decided to build even bigger barns to hold his wealth. I say “I wonder” because there is some precedence in the Bible for building big barns when faced with abundance. When Joseph was overseer of all Egypt, he built barns to store the abundance of Egypt against the coming famine. Now, I know I may be stretching the point a bit here, but I am willing to give this man the benefit of the doubt. Maybe, just maybe his plan to build new barns to store his abundance somehow fit into God’s plans in some unseen way. This may have been the reason God called him a fool, but I am not completely convinced. I believe we need to read just a little bit further before we call him a fool.

Well, the rich man’s next words seem to be the clincher. Listen to his reason for building bigger barns: “I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years, relax, eat, drink, be merry.”  This was the moment when he abandoned any thoughts for others; this was the moment he started thinking only about himself; this was the moment when he became a fool. Having great wealth was not the problem. Receiving abundant blessings from God was not the problem. Thinking about how to safeguard and use his resources wisely was not the problem. It was when he came to believe that the abundance was his and its only purpose was to make his life easy that he became the fool.

I must admit that our journey with the rich man through this parable has troubled me. It has troubled me because I have to admit that I am a rich man. Now I do not mean rich in comparison to the mega-wealthy;  but, I am wealthy in comparison to the vast majority of people in the world. I am wealthy and I am guilty of using that wealth for my comfort. I am a fool.

As I see it, we have a great dilemma. We have great wealth, but that wealth puts us at great peril. Wealth can quickly lead to greed and greed is idolatry and idolatry is the first and the greatest sin. When our wealth becomes our god then the Lord of Heaven is dethroned from our heart. Yet, at the same time, our great wealth also gives us great opportunities; opportunities to make a real difference in the world. How do we seize the opportunity and avoid the peril? How do we accept the great wealth and blessings that God has given us without becoming fools?

Well, today I cannot hope to give a complete answer to this old dilemma, but I want to offer three words that may help us avoid the peril that comes with our wealth; and, embrace the opportunity that comes with our riches. The first word is “light” - as in “keep a light hold on our possessions” - hold onto everything so lightly that we can drop it a moment’s notice with no regret. The fool in the parable was holding on too tightly to his possessions; so tightly that he was unable to let go when God came to “demand his life.” We came into this world with nothing and we will leave with nothing. How does our attitude towards our possessions change when we realize that we only hold them with the lightest of touches and that we will abandon them to others the moment God calls for our life?

The second word I would offer is “grateful” - as is “be grateful to God for the gifts God has given us.” What difference does it make if we see our possessions as something we have gained by our own effort or as something we have received as a gift from God? I know I tend to be more possessive, more protective, of something I have “earned” because I believe it represents my power. But, I treat gifts, especially gifts I have received from those I love, very differently. I value them not for what they are but for who they represent. Many times the object itself is worthless except that it was given to me by someone I love deeply. Then it takes on a value beyond silver or gold; it becomes priceless. So, what happens if we treat all our wealth that way; treat it as a gift from someone we love very dearly; treat it as a gift from God? Does it cease to be important for what it is and have value only because it represents God’s love for us?

My third word is “generous” - as in “be generous with all you have.” The real opportunity of wealth is the chance to be generous without care for tomorrow. When I was a small child, the joy of Christmas was discovering what I would get. It was only later that I came to understand the joy of giving the perfect gift. I believe God showers us with blessing so we can experience the joy of giving to others. How does our attitude change if we see possessions not as something we must clutch tightly, but as something we can cheerfully give away?

In Paul’s letter to the Colossians, we find these words: “Put to death, therefore, whatever in you is earthly” - especially greed, love of possessions, which is idolatry. These words may hold the key to escaping the peril of our possessions and embracing the opportunity God has given us through our wealth. It is only when we abandon the dead things of this world and seek the treasures of heaven that we become truly rich toward God. It is only then that we realize that we have been blessed with wealth so we may be a blessing to the world. It is only then that our possessions cease being a peril to our souls and become an opportunity to serve and love God by serving and loving others.

Amen.