Calvin Synod Herald, 2016 (117. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2016-09-01 / 9-10. szám
CALVIN SYNOD HERALD 9 Text: Luke 12:13-21 Rich Toward God The grain farmer in Jesus’ story is wealthy, distracted and terminal. I’m not well off, but I happen to live in an affluent neighborhood. When I ride my bike on the nearby streets I frequently see beautiful houses being gutted in order to build new, larger and finer dwellings. These folk are like that grower in Jesus’ parable, seeking to figure out how to use their abundance on themselves. Jesus owned only the clothes on his back. He and his disciples journeyed about, funded, according to St. Luke, (Luke 8:23) by Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Susanna and other women with resources. He had no objections to possessions, and even no condemnation of wealth, but he warned, “Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.” He taught that what you own can turn on you and eat you up. We who live in the First World need constant reminders about possessions. The local paper is likely to list the names of the business executives and their unreal annual incomes. We are not likely to see a list of the saints in the region. Jesus’ mother, Mary, sang the song Samuel’s mother, Hannah, once sang: God has brought down the powerful from their thrones and lifted up the lowly; He has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty. (Luke 1:52-53) A prevailing sin of those of us who have less is covetousness. The prevalent temptation of the wealthy is greed, which St. Paul calls idolatry. (Ephesians 5:5; Colossians 3:5) As the farmer said, “I will tear down my bams and build greater ones.” His hands were not folded in reverence, nor open to give, but rather clutching in order to take. The man in Jesus’ parable was not only wealthy, he was also distracted. Distracted by his possessions. Listen to him: “I have no place for my crops. ” “There I will store my grain and my goods. ” “And 1 will say to my soul. . . relax, eat, drink and be merry. ” His was a serious case of narcissism, an absorption with himself. His cousin must have been the rich man who ignored the beggar, Lazarus, at his door. Distractions lie all about us. People drive the streets distracted by texting rather than concentrating on the traffic. People in a room who might be available to each other, instead punch away at their cell phones or iPads. A thousand voices fill the air hawking their wares, insisting we need what they have to offer, seeking to create needs we did not know we had. Today’s parable calls us to focus on building an abundant life, not larger bams. Jesus said, “Seek first the reign of God, and all these other things will be added to you.” But constantly we are bombarded by those seeking to convince us of more, more, more—personal security, retirement security, homeland security. All these distractions distract our focus on eternal security. One time I went to a Senior Center to lead a Bible study. Only a few showed up. A woman said, “If we were having bingo today the room would be crowded.” Further, and finally, the man in Jesus’ story was not only wealthy and distracted, he was terminal. Immediately terminal. The psalmist might well have been speaking of this man: “Surely everyone stands as a mere breath. Surely everyone goes about as a shadow. Surely for nothing they are in turmoil. They heap up and do not know who will gather. ” (Psalm 39:5b-6) And the ancient wisdom said, “One becomes rich through diligence and self-denial, and the reward allotted to him is this: when he says, T have found rest, and now I shall feast on my goods! ’ he does not know how long it will be until he leaves them to others and dies. ” (Sirach 11:18-19) So Jesus asks, “What does it profit a person to gain the whole world and lose his or her soul?” (Matthew 16:26a) The essence of this life is to be rich toward God. This means we understand what makes us wealthy. We are learning how to resist distractions. We discern what makes us not just terminal, but by God’s grace, eternal. The rich farmer talked to himself, “Soul, take your ease.” Those who are rich toward God say, “Take my life and let it be, consecrated, Lord, to thee.” Rich toward God means being a steward, not a hoarder. In my childhood there was a person named Zoe King. A single women, who raised two adopted daughters, Alberta and Patsy. She ran a community house for families of coal miners who were still poor until the labor leader, John L. Lewis, came along. She helped me save enough newspapers to buy my first bicycle. One Easter Sunday morning she showed up early at the pastor’s door saying, “I saved some money for a new Easter coat, but this morning I’ve decided to give it to missions. She handed the cash to him and walked away - wealthy. Zoe King is a parable too. A parable in 180 degree contrast to the rich farmer. This is not the gospel of Richard Murdock and the Wall Street Journal. It is the gospel of the Christ who still calls us this day to become abundantly wealthy toward God. May each of us become lavishly rich. In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, world to its end. Amen. Rev. David B. Bowman