August 12, 2007 – Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost
Luke 12:32-40
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Grace and peace to you from God the Creator and the Lord Jesus. Amen.
I was intrigued to learn recently that the largest steam locomotive in the world weighs in at just under one and a quarter million pounds, and that going at full tilt – 80 miles per hour – that locomotive can smash through a steel-reinforced concrete wall 5 feet thick. However, that same locomotive can be immobilized by 1-square-inch pegs of wood strategically placed in front of the engine’s drive wheels. Imagine: So much power, and it’s unable to budge.
Now this is not a perfect analogy for us in the Christian movement, because we’re not called to smash through steel-reinforced concrete walls. But we are designed to live in this world with a strong sense of purpose and vitality and, yes, power; but that power can be immobilized by some carefully placed obstacles in our life of faith.
That insight is at the heart of our Gospel lesson this morning, which is really the culmination of a series of teachings by Jesus. He began by telling the story of the Rich Fool. Remember that parable? It’s the story of a man whose land produces so abundantly that his biggest problem in life is figuring out what to do with all of his stuff. He decides that he’ll build more and bigger barns to hold it all, and that thereby his future is secure. His dreams evaporate, however, when his life ends unexpectedly. When your possessions have you instead of the other way around, Jesus says, you are truly a pauper before God.
Jesus follows the story of the Rich Fool with the observation that those who are obsessed by providing for their own security in this life display a basic misunderstanding of the character of God. It is only God, our Creator, Jesus says, who is both truly committed and capable of providing for his people. Knowing that fact and trusting that fact frees us to live in this life according to God’s values and not the values of the world.
And now Jesus brings his teachings to a conclusion, and he begins by saying what angels always say in the Bible: Do not be afraid. “Do not be afraid, because it is God’s good pleasure – it gladdens the heart of God – to give you the Kingdom of God.” Do not worry, he says, about accumulating those things that make life rich and worth living, because those things that make life truly rich and worth living are already yours, a gift from God.
When we read this story, we need to remember that Jesus was addressing a culture in which daily survival was not at all a sure thing; there was a fine line between having enough to make it from day to day, and not. So the anxiety over possessions that Jesus confronts is real, and widespread. Just a few verses before our Gospel lesson Jesus acknowledged that possessions, the things of this world, are necessary; but they are limited in the benefit they can provide, and he tells his listeners that a preoccupation with acquiring those things will prevent them from living the quality of life that God intends for them.
Jesus has some strong words of counsel for us today. I doubt that anyone in this sanctuary this morning is seriously concerned about surviving until tomorrow. Some people may live paycheck to paycheck, but it’s safe to say that no is obsessed with day-to-day survival. Still, Jesus’ words ring true for us because they address misplaced priorities and preoccupations, priorities and preoccupations that can act for us in the Christian movement like inch-square wooden pegs under the drive wheels of a powerful engine: they can prevent us from moving forward. For us, as for our ancestors in the faith, those obstacles have to do with over-attachment to possessions, principally because of the impact that over-attachment can have on us.
Those of you who are fans of the TV show “Mad Money” have no doubt heard the host, stock market guru Jim Cramer, repeat his mantra. He says that when it comes to investing in the stock market, remember: “Bears make money, bulls make money, pigs get slaughtered.” Message: Be careful when investing, because it’s easy to get greedy, and when that happens, it’s easy to over-reach and lose it all.
That’s a universal truth. In Africa, the ring-tailed monkey is a delicacy, but they’re hard to catch because they’re so quick. The hunters among the Zulu people, however, have discovered a fool-proof method. They know that the seeds of a certain melon are the monkeys’ favorite. So they cut a small hole in the side of the melon and wait. Monkey comes along, sticks its hand in the melon, grabs a handful of seeds and now can’t get its hand back through the hole because its fist full of seeds is bigger than the hole. The monkey will struggle for hours to get its hand out of the melon, unwilling to let go of the seeds in order to secure its freedom. Easy prey for the hunters. The seeds are wonderful; desperation for them can be deadly.
That kind of desperation can be dangerous for us Christians as well because it draws our attention and our commitments steadily inward and saps our concern for those around us. Part of the problem Barry Bonds has had in his race for the home run record, besides the allegations of performance-enhancing drugs, is his personal mission statement: “I take care of me.” It’s really another illustration of the story of the Rich Fool. There the rich man sits, surrounded by all his possessions; so he has a conversation about what to do with them. But his conversation is not with his friends. His conversation is not even with God. His world has gotten so small that now he consults only himself.
The antidote to that kind of self-absorption is what Jesus proclaimed as the Kingdom of God. We use that term a lot, run across it frequently in the Bible. But what do we mean when we say, Kingdom of God? Most importantly, what did Jesus mean by the term, and therefore what should we mean by it?
I’ve appreciated the insight of Bible scholar Marcus Borg, who wrote in a recent issue of The Lutheran magazine that the Kingdom of God is what life would be like in this world if God were in charge and earthly rulers were not. We heard another perspective at the Churchwide Assembly this last week in Chicago. Several speakers reminded us that the Church is called to stand in solidarity with the poor and the oppressed, and to speak clearly on behalf of those who cannot speak for themselves; that this is not a liberal issue nor a conservative issue, but a profoundly Christian issue because it cuts through partisan politics and is rooted deeply in what Jesus envisioned as the Kingdom of God. Living that reality, Jesus says, draws our attention and our commitments away from our selves and increasingly toward the physical and spiritual needs of those around us.
Here’s one example of what that looks like. I recently spoke with a friend of mine, an Episcopal priest working in Germany. He told me a story about his bishop. Bishops in the Episcopal tradition have considerably more authority that do those in our Lutheran tradition: an Episcopal bishop can open a congregation, close a congregation, move priests around from church to church. One congregation in this particular archdiocese was having horrendous trouble. Two factions of long-time members had squared off against each other over a dispute. Neither side would budge. The problem? What color to repaint the sanctuary.
So they called in the bishop to mediate the disagreement. The bishop showed up one Sunday night, sat down and listened as the two sides put forth their arguments. When they were through, everyone looked to the bishop for a decision. The bishop rose from his chair and said, “Thank you for coming tonight. Here’s my decision: This congregation has 90 days to raise $100,000 for missions, or I’m closing the place.” And he walked out. Stunned silence.
But sure enough: In 90 days, they had raised $100,000 for missions; and today that congregation is the most mission-focused church in the archdiocese, now, not because they have to but because they’ve discovered how life-giving it can be to stop focusing inward, on one’s own wants and needs and ideas and positions, and focus outward, on meeting the needs of this world that God loves.
This is what makes for a rich and full life, Jesus says: A life that is lived for others, a life that is lived in faith.
Abraham and Sarah had nothing to cling to except their faith in the promise of God. And because they clung to that faith, they saw God’s promise come true. Jesus is calling us to live in this world as if the Kingdom of God were real. And the promise is that the more we do it, the more real it becomes. May it be so for you, for me, and for this world that God loves. Amen.
