| The Rev. Catharine W. Montgomery | 10 Pentecost |
| Grace Memorial Episcopal Church | Proper 13 |
| August 5, 2007 | Year C |
As Jesus and his disciples walked down the road the crowds around him grew to thousands of people. Along the way he was giving his followers a “How-To Manual” for how to get along in this world…how to love a neighbor…how to love the Lord….how to pray to your Father in heaven.
Suddenly a man speaks out from the crowd and opens the door for Jesus to tell another “How To” story. “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.” Now I ask you…is this a mine field or not? Would you want to get in the middle of a family fight? Especially over money? Arguments over family inheritances were extremely common back then. The custom was that the oldest son was given control of the estate when his father died and it fell to him to distribute the inheritance. That works if the oldest brother is honest and caring. That gave the first born son a lot of power, and if he is greedy there is a problem. Apparently the man who called out to Jesus was a younger son who was feeling cheated.
Jesus is too smart to get in the middle of a family feud. You may have noticed a few weeks back when Jesus was visiting Mary and Martha …Martha was upset that Mary was not helping her in the kitchen. Martha came into the room… “Lord, tell her to come and help me.” You could almost hear Jesus thinking… “Hmmmmm…maybe I better get Martha to stop complaining about Mary and help her look at her own problem of too much busyness. Hmmmmm.
All the man in the crowd asked was that his brother divide the inheritance with him…it was probably a fair request. However, I wonder if something about the man in the crowd made Jesus think that getting this money or whatever was too important – all important – the only thing that was important to this younger brother. Did Jesus think to himself…Hmmmm…I think this a teaching moment about greed and how to be rich… Hmmmmm.
Then he told the huge crowd a parable about a landowner.…. “The land of a rich man produced abundantly. And he thought to himself, ‘What should I do for I have no place to store my crops.’ Then he said, ‘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 and be merry.’” I picture him sitting on his deck sipping his martini, having a conversation with his soul… and looking over his land and barns with great satisfaction. An example of how to be rich.
A number of years ago I knew a young girl who came from a pretty wealthy family. As she grew into her teens she made it clear that she wanted to be rich. She wanted a big house with a pool. She wanted a fancy sports car and the nicest clothes and lots of money to spend. She usually only dated boys from rich families. One year she was in a real dilemma. A young man who didn’t come from a wealthy family ended up being her best friend. He loved her and I suspect she loved him. After she graduated I asked her about him one day. “Oh, I got rid of him – I knew he would never make much money and I want lots of things.” A few years later, I saw her again and asked if she had married. “No…I have decided I don’t want to share what I have worked for or share my life with anyone – I just want to have fun.” An example of how to be rich.
This past week our secretary and I were talking about vegetable gardens and what a good growing season it has been. We talked about how satisfying it is to plant and tend the garden watch it grow and put up food for the winter. Fay and Dan are farmers, and she has amazed me with stories of how much food Dan and his friends grow together. Bobby and I get a lot of tomatoes off of a few plants.
Dan and a friend have about five hundred tomato plants along with corn and cucumbers, squash, and okra that they grow. Fay said Dan gives a lot of his produce away. That he really enjoys doing that. Dan’s friend is a mailman. He loads his truck up with not only mail but fresh vegetables to give to people on his route who might need extra food. Another example of how to be rich.
Let’s go back to the story Jesus told. Is there anything wrong with being rich in money and possessions? Is there anything wrong about trying to find security for yourself and your family for the future? Is there anything wrong with feeling satisfaction at what you have accomplished? And what does it mean exactly to be rich toward God? Listen again to the words of the rich fool. My crops…my barns…my grain…my goods…my soul….In his conversation with himself there was no room for anyone else or any need for anyone else including God.
In his self-centered and small world there was no thought of sharing his abundance with his neighbor. No thought that anyone else in his world or the larger world might be hungry or in need of his surplus crops. And then imagine his shock when suddenly there is another voice – a big voice – “You fool.” “You rich fool.”
God informs him that tonight he will lose this life that he has hoarded and so carefully protected for himself and his own pleasure. Why did God call the rich man a fool? God confronts him with the ultimate question…What good are all your possessions when you face your maker? You cannot take them with you to heaven or hell.
I hope the younger brother on the road got his share of the inheritance. Most of all I hope he heard what Jesus was saying. Like that man, we have a choice – we can be prosperous and secure – at the same time we can be grateful to our creator God for all that we are and all that we have. According to Jesus the difference between heaven and hell is generosity to others. We can be rich toward God. Or we can be a fool.