Saint James UCC of Hamburg, NY

Luke 6:37-38; Luke 12:13-21

Preached by Rev. Robert Matlack
=================================================

Thousands of people had gathered to hear Jesus teach. There were so many people that we're told they were trampling over one another. It almost sounds like the crowds that will gather for a big sale like we might experience on the day after Thanksgiving.

Jesus began to speak to His disciples about a number of provocative subjects. He warned them about hypocrisy. He then described God's judgment, and as He continued to teach He touched on several other matters.

After Jesus had talked for a little while about these very important topics, someone in the crowd just blurted out something that seems absurd. He interrupted Jesus' teaching to demand that Jesus tell his brother to divide the family inheritance with him. You wonder what this man was thinking. In fact he must have been able to think of nothing but his problem. He had obviously reached a place of desperation where he saw Jesus as the only solution, and so he just blurted his problem right out.

You know there are times when we're like that. We're unable to think of anything but our own problems, our own worries, and at times the pressure just builds up so that we're ready to burst. We can't think about anything else. When that happens, we've lost our focus. We've lost our sense of perspective. Our whole focus has shifted to what's going on out here, the things that are happening in our life. We can't even think about or really listen to anyone else, and we've totally lost our awareness of God's presence inside of us.

Now Jesus responded to this man with a question of His own - "who gave me the right to judge or to divide the property between you two?" He wanted the man to recognize that He is not some sort of divine referee, and that God's purpose in life is not to run around and solve all of what we perceive to be problems.

Instead of solving the man's problem, Jesus zeroed in on the real problem - namely greed. The man's real problem was not the relationship problem with his brother. The man's real problem was not that he had not received his inheritance or at least what he thought should be his inheritance. The man's real problem was the greed that was in his own heart.

Then Jesus told a parable to illustrate what He was saying. He talked about a rich man who had no place to store all of his crops, so he pulled down all of his barns and built bigger ones. Then and only then did he relax and decide that he had enough stored for many years. Then God said to him, "You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared whose will they be?"

The rich man in this parable saw only himself, not God. He was haughty and proud of his accomplishments. He thought that he had done it all on his own. He had forgotten that each of us is a steward, and that the world really belongs to God, so for him the bountiful harvest was a sign of his great accomplishments, instead of a reminder of God's blessings.

How often are we like the rich man in this parable? Many people go through life thinking that the things that we own can bring peace and security, that all they need to really solve their problems is more money so that they can buy more things. They have a lot of treasure stored up, but it's the wrong kind, and they aren't rich where it really counts - namely in their relationship with God.

In our text from the 6th chapter of the gospel of Luke we hear these words: "Give to others and God will give to you."

We hear those words and the temptation is to be like the rich man in the parable. In other words to view our giving as an investment, namely that when I give $100 to the church, God will give me back $100 or $150 or maybe even $200. Stop and think about that attitude. When that is the intention behind our giving, then our focus is completely on ourselves - and what we will get out of it.

Be very careful, sometimes in life you get exactly what you ask for. If all you want in your giving is to get more money back than you give, that could happen. You may be in the situation of the rich man, who built his bigger barns, then looked around in pride and satisfaction, only to discover that he would die that very night - and where had his wealth really gotten him?

Jesus reminds us that the wealth that is truly important is not the money that we have in the bank, and it's not the kind of car that we drive or the house that we live in. The wealth that's truly important isn't in the jewelry that we wear or the property that we own, rather the wealth that is truly important is the richness that we have in our relationship with God.

We all ought to see that as very good news after the events of the past few weeks, which have reminded us once again that earthly wealth can be fleeting. It doesn't provide real and lasting security. It doesn't provide meaning and purpose for our lives.

There's a funny story about a couple that was going on vacation. After being snowbound for nearly two weeks, a Seattle man departed for his vacation in Phoenix, where he was to meet his wife in a couple of days after she finished her business trip to Minneapolis. They were looking forward to pleasant weather and a nice time together. Unfortunately, there was some sort of mix up at the boarding gate, and the man was told he would have to wait for a later flight. He tried to appeal to a supervisor but was told that the airline was not responsible for the problem, and it would do no good to complain. Upon arrival at the hotel the next day, he discovered that Phoenix was having a heat wave, and its weather was almost as uncomfortably hot as Seattle's was cold. The desk clerk gave him a message that his wife would arrive as planned. He could hardly wait to get to the pool area to cool off, and quickly sent his wife an email, but due to his haste, he made an error in the address. His message therefore arrived at the home of an elderly preacher's wife who's even older husband had died only the day before. When the grieving widow opened her email she took one look at the monitor, let out an anguished scream, and fell to the floor dead. Her family rushed to her room where they saw this message on the screen:

Honey,

Departed yesterday as you know. Just now got checked in. Some confusion at the gate. Appeal was denied. Received confirmation of your arrival tomorrow.
Your loving husband
PS Things are not as we thought. You're going to be surprised at how hot it is down here.

Let's be honest. We're all going to die. When we die, and the value of our life is being judged, the money we have in the bank won't count for anything - except to the extent that it counts against us as a sign of our greed, and the way that we have ignored the plight of others in order to accumulate more for ourselves.

Jesus reminds us time and time again that this world doesn't belong to us, much as we like to think that it does. The homes that we live in are not really ours. The cars that we drive are not really ours. Yes, we've bought them, and by the laws of our society they belong to us, but in God's eyes everything is different.

God claims all that we own, just as God claims us. God looks at you and me and the things that we've accumulated, and knows that it was God who created the universe - not you or I. It was God who gave us life, and the talents and the abilities that we've been using to live that life. It is God who claims us and who we belong to, and when we fail to see that, and to really know that deep inside, then our lives are impoverished no matter how much money we might have.

The riches that have real meaning are those that reach beyond the boundaries of this life, and those are not riches that we can count in dollars and cents, rather they are the riches that we have accumulated in God's sight.

Amen.