10. Sunday after Pentecost, 08/01/2010

Sermon on Luke 12:13-21, by Carl A. Voges

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. [Colossians 3.1]

The Passage

Someone in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me." But he said to him, "Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?" And he said to them, "Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.

And he told them a parable, saying, "The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?' And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.' But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?'

So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God." [English Standard Version]

In the Name of Christ + Jesus our Lord

As we wheel through this Pentecost season, surrounded by vacations and the Mexican Gulf getting an opportunity to be cleared of oil, surrounded by Lutheran church conventions and parishes gearing up for a resumption of their fuller schedules in September, we make the continuing observation that what the world does best is to focus on itself. Along with that observation, it is striking to notice how much richer a life of a parish community can become as its members and friends are drawn more and more deeply into the Life of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

This can represent a major shift for the Lord's parish communities. Consider how we used to have little idea of Baptism's impact on our lives, when we thought Baptism was just a spiritual vaccination or a social custom. Or where we studied books written by Christians rather than the holy ones written by the Lord God. Or where we were careful to not schedule the Lord's Supper that often. (A few years ago we have friends who were looking for a faithfully aware parish in another city, they spoke with the church's secretary and asked if they celebrated the Eucharist every week - her startling response? "Oh, heavens no!") Or where we bragged that noticing our sin and confessing it was not really that necessary anymore because we have access to therapists and support groups.

Against such a backdrop, it is a stunning reality to observe that as the Lord's four holy places (Baptism, Scriptures, Supper, Forgiveness) become larger and larger in a parish's life, that life becomes richer and richer. The way in which this shift occurs is brought out in today's Gospel. The passage deals with greed, a reality which is on every list of the seven deadly sins.

As this passage opens up someone in the crowd is saying to Jesus, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me." Note that the questioner is starting off in a flattering manner. Is he playing off the wisdom Jesus has obviously been displaying and now seeks that wisdom for his own advantage? But Jesus says to the man, "Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?" With the word, "friend," Jesus reflects his attitude toward all people. But his question is edgy; is the man thinking that Jesus is to do something for him just because he wants it?

Jesus says to the man and the crowd, "Take care!" The phrase snaps us to attention; in the Gospels Jesus uses it a lot. He goes on, "Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one's life does not consist in the abundance of possessions." All of a sudden our Lord is pointing our attention to a reality we would just as soon ignore. We know this is what our Lord thinks, but it is not what the culture or the world into which we are born thinks. Baptized or not, we envy people who seem to be basking in the abundance of many things!

Then Jesus tells the man and the crowd a parable: "The land of a rich man produces abundantly and he thinks to himself, ‘What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?'" The parable turns right here - the man does not recall the Giver who makes such abundance possible, he is thinking of no one but himself!

The parable continues, "Then the rich man says, ‘I will do this; I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, ‘Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.'" In a way his comments are describing the American way of life about seventeen hundred years before the country comes into being!

The parable concludes, "But God says to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?'" It is striking that the rich, smart man gets nailed with the designation, "fool." Usually it is applied to a poor, ignorant person. All the things this man has accumulated are probably destined for the people around him who have put up with him, who are waiting for him to die, who are anticipating their share of his estate.

Jesus ends the parable with these remarks, "So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves, but are not rich toward God."

The question confronting us this morning, then, is this: Are we going to store up treasures for ourselves or are we going to be rich toward God? As we wrestle with that question in our minds and hearts and lives, let me draw your attention to three Greek words vital to this passage - "life," "store up" and "rich".

"Life" is used in verse 20. It is a word describing the world's life, the one into which we are born; it is not describing the life which pours out of Baptism. "Store up" occurs in verse 21. The Greek word is "thesaurus", referring to a book that piles up words with similar meanings. "Rich" is used in verse 21. The word really means "full", indicating that our lives are not truly complete until they are imbedded in the Lord's Life.

Let's refer to the question again - Are we going to store up treasures for ourselves or are we going to be rich toward God? It is a tough question because it reminds us of the tough struggles which rage between the two realities. Greed is an honest characteristic of the world's life (that's why it always makes the list of the seven original and deadly sins!). By being born into the world's life, greed comes naturally to us. It flows out of this obsessive concern we have for ourselves.

Most of us attempt to dodge this question by running from it or by pretending we are not all that greedy (a check written to our parish is good demonstration of the latter). But our Lord, out of his deep concern for our salvation, will not let us dodge the question. He wants us to fearfully and honestly face up to our native greed. How come?

So we can see how he frees us from it and makes us rich toward his Father. This freeing took place in his dying and rising; it pours in on us steadily through his four holy places. We can run from greed or pretend it is not affecting us, but that is foolish.

Let us confront that natural greed, then, and let our Lord pry us loose from its choking ways. As his Baptism, Scriptures, Supper and Forgiveness steadily cross our lives, we will find the lives of our parish communities becoming richer and richer. Why? Because those holy places are pointing us to and imbedding us in the Life of the Lord God!

Now may the peace of the Lord God, which is beyond all understanding, keep our hearts and minds through Christ + Jesus our Lord.

Pr. Carl A. Voges

E-Mail: cavoges@bellsouth.net

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