Saint James UCC of Hamburg, NY

Luke 12:13-21; Colossians 3:1-11

Preached by Pastor Alva Looze
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What makes us feel secure in the world? What makes us secure in our home, in our churches, in our communities? The Bible passages read today challenge us to place our trust completely in God. God does provide, and often God provides for others through us. Do we trust God enough that we will have enough, not only for ourselves, but also to share with one another and with our communities?

Can't you just see this man in the crowd saying to Jesus, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide with me the property our father left us." Jesus had been teaching, this man feels his brother has not given him his just inheritance, and wants Jesus to be the judge. Apparently his father had died and his brother was refusing to follow the commandments of the law which specified a certain division of the estate. That he should ask Jesus' opinion was not surprising as the rabbis were often sought out to give rulings on points of law. Apparently the man has decided what his rights are and now wants Jesus to enforce his decision. Jesus responds to the man by telling him that the quality of ones life is not measured in possessions but in one's openness to hearing and doing the will of God. Then Jesus, as usual, responds with a parable.

As is common in Luke, the parable includes a glimpse into the man's thinking. This farmer seems to be alone with no family. In the Middle East it is extremely rare to be alone. Middle Easter life is often very gregarious with tight knit communities. He is probably hard working, honest, and doesn't mistreat his workers or cheat others. His main concern is that he doesn't have enough space for this abundant crop. If you read the passage it seems to say "I", "me" and "mine": my goods, my grain, my barns, my soul. He finally made it, but there's no one to share his joy, no one to hear his arrival speech and he speaks to only himself. Yet he thinks of himself as a lucky man.

Sounds familiar, like the story of Pharaoh's storehouses overflowing. And Joseph steps in and advises Pharaoh to store the surplus to insure the community's life. Both the farmer and Joseph were storehouse builders. Joseph's storehouses were built to sustain community but the farmer though only of himself.

He feels that he has enough for years to come and he can take life easy. As the saying goes, "eat, drink and be merry". He never asks God for guidance. The farmer doesn't recognize God as the source of all his abundance or is he willing to share. In the scripture God said to him, "You fool! This very night you will have to give up your life; then who will get all these things you have kept for yourself?' Fool is a loaded word in the Hebrew tradition. It refers to those who live as if there is no God. The Old Testament looked upon miraculous harvest as the occasion to provide for others.

The Roman proverb says, "Money is like seawater; the more you drink the thirstier you become. All material things are given to us by our creator to be enjoyed. If we are not careful they can enslave us. We can find ourselves driven by the urge for more, more, and more. More to eat, more to drink, more to wear, more to entertain us, more to distract our minds. Every time we surrender to that inner urge for gratification we lose a little bit more of that inner freedom that allows us to exercise one of the chief human powers - the power to choose. We need to be aware of covetousness.

In the last verse Jesus concluded, "This is how it is with those who pile up riches for themselves but are not rich in God's sight. Having wealth is not the problem but how we use it.

Jesus doesn't use this parable to teach us that an abundant harvest is wrong but what we do with it is the lesson. Matthew 3:23 tells us that the sower whose seed lands on fertile soil is commended. It is not the circumstances but rather one's response to the circumstances that makes the difference. I think that Jesus' teachings around money and possessions may be harder for our age and generation to follow than many of his other commandments. We are consumers and from the time they were little our children and grandchildren have been taught about having the latest thing.

Rev. Ross Bartlett tells a story of a very rich man who passed away and left his inheritance equally to his two sons. One of his sons had married young and had a large happy family. The other son was still single. The night after the division of the estate the single man sat thinking in his living room. Why did my father make such a mistake?" Here's my brother, with all those mouths to feed, so many to provide for and no real joy in it. While I'm quite comfortable, I've got more than I could ever use. Why divide the estate equally?"

The other brother, when his children were tucked in bed and his wife was off at some project of her own said to himself, "Why would my father divide the estate equally? Here I am, surrounded by a loving family and all that joy, while my brother sits alone over in his house. I have my family to care for me, while he will need financial security for his old age. Why divide the estate equally?"

So each man, that very night, resolved to place the majority of his inheritance in a suitcase and take it over and hide it where the other brother would find it and use it. As they were doing just that, they met between their two homes and realizing what each had intended fell into one another's arms, meeting in love as their father had hoped they might.

The story would have turned out so much different if the farmer recognized that God was the source of all his blessings. Not only would his life have been secure but the lives of those for whom he could have provided for. I think Jesus wanted the man who approached him to go home and make peace with his brother. Jesus says to us: "Take care! Be on your guard for one's life does not consist in the abundance of possessions" (v 15).

The last four words of the parable say it all "rich in God's sight." Rich toward God is an action. Rich toward God means how we use our wealth and resources. It is not a once a year ritual of how much you and I give the church. It is how you and I use what we have for the sake of others.

Prayer
Generous God, You are the one true source of all that is good and necessary. Help us to trust you with our very lives.

Amen