Ninth Sunday after Pentecost Luke 11:1-13 July 25, 2010
Let me begin by asking a question: What would you do with 10 million dollars?
Go ahead, take a moment and fantasize for a moment. That was kind of fun wasn't it?
Let us pray…For all that you have given us, we thank you God. For all the blessings you have bestowed upon us, thank you God. For the roofs over our heads, food on our tables, clothes on our backs, for opportunities to study and learn, for this community of faith, thank you God. Teach us this morning to be both grateful for the blessings of abundance you have poured upon us. May we be more and more like you. Amen
Grace and peace to you in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord and our Savior.
Something happened to Bill and Melinda Gates. After Gates amassed many billions of dollars founding Microsoft and creating Windows software, the two asked themselves what all this wealth was for. Building more houses, buying more companies, and creating more wealth seemed hollow.
It was then they met Bono, the lead singer for the band U2. Often outspoken on behalf of the poor, Bono challenged the Gates to understand the challenge of "stupid poverty", that is, the people who die for want for a $2 pill because they live on $1 a day. This was enough to encourage the Gates to rethink their priorities and practices. So rather than continuing to amass more wealth, the Gates family began to give it away. With a foundation that is now worth over 30 billion (yes, with a "B") dollars and growing from a generous contribution from Warren Buffet, the wealthiest man in the world matches all gifts given by the foundation to the tune of another 30 billion dollars. The fund focuses on ending poverty in the poorest countries and fighting HIV-AIDS and avoidable diseases in the world's poorest economies.
From this point on the Gates saw wealth, not as an end, but as a means to an end, a way they can contribute to ending poverty in this lifetime.
I mention this because in today's Gospel reading it addresses wealth and one's priorities as well as the challenge to be "rich toward God". Please keep in mind; this is not a lesson about whether or not it is evil to be rich. It is not about creating a guilt trip for those who have. Nor is it a commendation to be poor. Poverty is not in itself a value we should embrace. This is a lesson about questions, the kind of questions we might all consider asking ourselves.
The Gates figured out that they had much. They had amassed a staggering fortune.
In fact their financial portfolio is larger than some national economies. They had built extravagant homes, formed companies, bought more, and done more.
Yet, despite it, all they still had much. At this point they had to ask themselves a question: Do we continue to grow a fortune or decide that the value is not in possessing wealth but giving it away? They of course answered the call and are now considered two of the biggest philanthropist in the world.
On a side note: When I was a kid I often encountered folks, often grown ups, who would ask me the question, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" I suspect they anticipated something to the effect: a cowboy, an astronaut, a fireman or maybe even perhaps I might want to follow in my father's footsteps and be a pastor. And while I was intrigued with the idea of being a cowboy and I had swore I would never be a pastor—what I really wanted to be—and this is what surprised many an adult—was when I said I wanted to be a "Philanthropist". To some I had to explain that a Philanthropist is someone who is so stinking rich their primary occupation was finding ways to give their money away! OK, so I swore I would never be a pastor and yet here I am (that's another story) and while I might not be in the same league as Bill and Melinda Gates or Warren Buffett, I am still incredibly rich in relation to much of the world's population and therefore I am a philanthropist and I do gain great joy in sharing what God has blessed me with and hopefully blessing the lives of others with the gift I share with others.
As for the Gates, I suspect it is easy to lift these two up as they have much to give.
They could give away 90% of their income and still be considered extremely wealthy.
With such wealth, perhaps giving it away is rather painless. Whether it might have been painless or difficult—the point is they were willing to consider the questions and they took a step toward letting go and reconsidering their priorities.
And this brings us back to the reading from Luke where Jesus has been teaching to the crowds when this man, standing in a crowd, shouts, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me." Jesus spent lots of time teaching people about money.
Mostly, he taught us not to worry so much about money. Mostly, he taught us to trust God. He also spent lots of time teaching people to love one another. I don't recall his spending time teaching people how to get what was coming to them.
So when this man shouted, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me," Jesus answered, "Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?"
At least, that's how the NRSV translates it. Jesus didn't really call the man, "Friend."
The Greek word was anthropos, which means, "Man." So Jesus really said, "Man, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you."
Then Jesus used the man's question as a teaching opportunity. Jesus turned from the man to the crowd. He said to them -- and is still saying to us today:
"Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one's life does not consist in the abundance of possessions."
To be perfectly fair, the man who shouted from the crowd didn't necessarily sound greedy. Jewish law -- God's law -- prescribed that the firstborn son should get two shares of the estate and the other sons should get one share each. If there were two sons, the firstborn son would get two-thirds and the younger son would get one-third. If there were nine sons, the firstborn son would get 20 percent and each of the other eight brothers would get 10 percent each. It was cut and dried -- given by the hand of God.
So if this man's brother was denying him his share of the inheritance, that brother was in violation of God's law.
But there were ways to deal with that kind of problem without making a public spectacle of a family problem. Priests were obligated to pass judgment in cases like this, and their findings were binding. This man should have gone quietly to a priest and settled the matter that way.
So Jesus responded, "Man, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?"
But you know how preachers are. You have to be careful what you ask us, because you always run the risk of provoking a sermon. That's what happened to this guy. He asked Jesus for help, and instead got a sermon.
Jesus' sermon was more interesting than most. First, he warned against greed, and then he told a story. It's a wonderful little story. I timed myself reading it.
It took less than a minute. Don't you wish you could come to church and hear a one-minute sermon!
The story went like this. A rich man had a great harvest, so that he owned more than his barns would hold. If you stop and think about it, that sounds pretty familiar. One of the great growth industries of modern America is storage lockers -- places where we can store our overflow. When our houses and garages are full, we rent storage lockers.
When our storage lockers are full, we just get bigger ones.
That's more or less what this rich man did. He decided to pull down his old, outdated, undersized barns and replace them with big, state-of-the-art barns.
Now for those of us who have the benefit of hindsight we might be quick to say, "Well, I would never do that! If I were rich I would give it away!" Really? Would you? I say this because regardless of what your current income might be fix or fluctuating you are still richer than many around the world and in this country as well. So let me ask you: How many outfits do you need in your closet to clothe yourself for a week?
How many pairs of shoes do you possess?
How many cars do you need to own?
How big a house do you really "need"?
How much do you really need to eat?
I ask this because the average American spends enough in a year on food to feed a village in other parts of the world!
Consider that for a moment.
(This is what happens after a week on a mission trip, you come home with a different perspective on things and asking some potentially unsettling questions!)
As we consider this reading, I believe it is important to note that the rich man did NOT decide to give ten percent to the temple. Note that he did NOT decide to use his bountiful harvest to feed the hungry. He was already rich, and he decided to make himself richer. He decided to retire and to live off his stored-up riches. He said to himself: "Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, and be merry."
But God said: "You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?"
And Jesus concluded his sermon by saying: "So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves BUT ARE NOT rich toward God." End of sermon!
Again, let me point out that this is not about guilt for being rich.
It is about important questions: What do you have? What are you doing with it? What are we doing to help? What more can we do? Are we growing rich with material gains or are we becoming rich toward God? I don't intend to be a nag on this sort of thing, but these are questions that we can and probably should ask every day—for tomorrow our lives are required of us and do not belong to us. Let us use our riches to lift up others. In this we become rich in God and not to ourselves.
This lifts up the question: What does it mean to be "rich toward God"? What did Jesus mean by that? Is it possible that we, too, are not "rich toward God"? Is it possible that we, too, are in danger?
Clearly, it is possible. Jesus didn't address his sermon to the man who tried to get Jesus to help with his inheritance. Jesus addressed his sermon to the crowd -- to all of us -- because all of us, rich or poor, are always in danger of loving money too much -- and God too little.
To be "rich toward God" means trying to live as God would have us live.
Or to use the YouthWorks motto from last week—Be Like Jesus. And what does that mean? It means trusting God with our very lives, being extravagant when it comes to matters of forgiveness, compassionate to a fault with others, welcoming of strangers and neighbors alike and responding with grace at every opportunity. When someone asked Jesus to tell him in a nutshell how to please God, Jesus gave him two answers.
First, the man needed to love God. Second, he needed to love his neighbor (Matthew 22:37-39; Mark 12:30-31; Luke 10:27-29). So if you want to be "rich toward God," do those two things. Love God and love your neighbor.
If the rich man had loved God, he would have demonstrated his love in some significant way. Being rich, he probably would have given a substantial offering to the temple.
But he would have done other things as well. He would have offered a prayer of thanksgiving and gratitude. He would have looked for other ways to show his devotion to God. Those are things he would have done if he had loved God. He did none of them.
If the rich man had loved his neighbor, he would have demonstrated his love in some significant way. Being rich, he would have looked for ways to help those who were poor. He might have enlisted his rich friends (much like the Gates and Warren Buffet have done) to solve problems that needed money and managerial expertise. There are many ways that he could have demonstrated his love for his neighbors, but he did none of them -- and so he was not "rich toward God."
So, are you "rich toward God"? Do you love God? If so, what are you doing to express that love? Do you love your neighbor? If so, what are you doing to assist your neighbor in need?
As far as God is concerned, it doesn't matter whether we're rich or poor. It matters only whether we are "rich toward God." And being rich toward God involves loving our neighbor, sacrificing for others, being faithful to promises, forgiving our enemies, assisting those in need, caring for the sick and forgotten, working for justice and peace, showing compassion and mercy. In short what waters to God is living according to the standards of the Gospel. That is what makes a rich man, a rich woman.
And here is the really cool part of all this--if we are "rich toward God," everyone else will be better off too.
Our neighbors to the right and left will be better off. Our neighbors across the street will be better off.
Our neighbors in the church pew will be better off.
Our churches need not count pennies and cause our church treasures any more anxiety as bills are in need of being paid.
Our homeless neighbors in Milwaukee and Milaca and everywhere in between will be better off.
Our neighbors in far-flung nations will be better off IF we are "rich toward God."
Allow me to close with another story.
Back in the early part of the 1900's a man gave $100,000 to build a college in Liberia.
By the 1940's the college had grown.
Thousands of young African students were educated there.
Not long ago on an anniversary of the college founding, the president of the college decided it was time to say thank you to its original benefactors.
He sent a representative to America to find the man who had made the initial gift to the school.
It took months to track him down for not long after giving the $100.000 the man had lost all of his money in the stock market crash of 1929 and had never recovered. The representative for the college found the man living in a little house on the south side of Chicago. Twice he refused to see the representative but finally he agreed to meet him and the college representative insistence, he was flown to Africa for the anniversary celebration.
As he looked over he campus filled with hundreds of students—fine young men and women who wouldn't be receiving a college education but for the gift he had made years earlier, his eyes filled with tears. Hardly able to speak, he whispered to the college president, "It's ironic, isn't it? The only thing I have left is what I gave away."
Those are the words of a wise man. Ultimately the only thing we keep in life is what we give away. We may not have barns bursting or lands that produce with abundance, but by the standards of most of the world around us, we are rich, far richer than the foolish landowner. And we must listen carefully to Jesus' words this morning.
Are we making the same mistake that the rich man made? Have we made wealth and possessions the goal of our lives and are we spending our lives within the rat race only to realize that we are the rats? Or are we using our wealth, health, our goods and abundance to bless others in God's name? Is the kingdom we are building our own?
Or by God's grace, are we able to support and further the work of God's kingdom on earth? Remember: generosity is not dependent upon how much we have in the bank account. It is dependant upon how much we have in our heart.
May yours be filled with faith in Christ. It's the only way to be Rich Toward God.
Amen
Pastor Stephen Blenkush
Zion Lutheran
Milaca, MN
www.ZionMilaca.org(Sermon Archive)
