Today's Sermon

 

"Traveling Light: On the Road Series"

 

Luke 12:13-21
Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.” But he said to him, “Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?” And he said to them, “Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.” Then he told them a parable: “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, be merry.’ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God.”

Our son, Ben, is headed to college this Thursday, so for the last couple weeks we have been in major clean out mode. Ben has been going through the house, deciding what he will take with him, what he wants to keep at home, and what we can get rid of. I had no idea how much one can accumulate over 18 years! I know it has all been in our house, but I truly didn’t realize just how much stuff we have. It has been quite a chore to sort through it all.  It has also made me wonder why … why does our child have all of this stuff? Does he really need four gaming systems? He has a Wii, an Xbox, a Nintendo Switch, and a gaming laptop.  That seems completely unnecessary!  And does he really need dozens of stuffed animals?  No, he certainly does not!  And yet, here we are, sorting through multiple bins of stuffed animals.  We humans sure like to acquire, to gather, to collect, to save.

And yet, this is not going to be a sermon about the evils of stuff. I actually do know why Ben has so many stuffed animals.  Because at one time or another, each and every one of them brought him joy. And I know why he has all those gaming systems – because that is a great way for him to both connect with his friends and relax after a long school day, and apparently each system does a different thing.  Does he need those things?  No.  Do they bring joy?  Yes. And it is hard for me to find fault with joy.

So, if this sermon is not about the evils of stuff, where are we to go with this scripture passage? As we enter this story, it seems like this man has done a lot of things right and well.  I read one commentary that referred to him as a prudent, careful, wise, and visionary entrepreneur. His land is producing abundantly, he has the foresight to prepare for these crops by building additional storage, he is readying himself for retirement when he won’t need to work anymore. He doesn’t seem to have gained his wealth by deceit or unjust means.  It doesn’t sound like he has taken advantage of anyone or has done anything illegal. He is a good businessman. And yet, God calls him a fool.

Why is he foolish? God seems to be OK with us saving for future needs.  I think of the story of Joseph in the book of Genesis when he helped Pharaoh ration and save food in preparation for a coming famine.  God seems to be OK when we “relax, eat, drink, and be merry.” Jesus spent a lot of time eating and drinking and enjoying life. 

The foolishness comes with the man’s attitude toward his wealth.  I want you to listen again to his inner monologue that Henry read. I specifically had a different voice read this section so we would really hear it. The man thought to himself, “What should Ido, for Ihave no place to storemycrops?’ Then he said, ‘Iwill do this: Iwill pull down mybarns and build larger ones, and there Iwill store all mygrain and mygoods. AndIwill say to mysoul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’” Did you hear how many times he says “I” and “my” in that passage?  It is all about him.  There is no gratitude for the many who undoubtedly work for him and for all their labor.  No thought of God, or praise to God for the abundance of the land. No decision to share some of what he has with others, even though he has more than enough for himself.  That – that selfishness, that greed - is what makes him a fool.

When Joseph and Pharaoh decide to store the food in the Genesis story, it is for the purpose of making sure everyone has enough to eat.  When Jesus eats, drinks, and is merry, it is always with others – usually making sure the overlooked and the outcast are included in the party. The story we heard today is not about the evils of wealth, it is a story about priorities – about what we choose to do with our wealth.

Let’s listen now to the passage from the first letter to Timothy. Perhaps written by the apostle Paul, perhaps not, it has a few things to say about how God calls us to be in the world. “Of course, there is great gain in godliness combined with contentment, for we brought nothing into the world, so that we can take nothing out of it, but if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these. But those who want to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains. But as for you, man of God, shun all this; pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, gentleness.”

The letter continues, “As for those who in the present age are rich, command them not to be haughty or to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches but rather on God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, generous, and ready to share, thus storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of the life that really is life.”

Set your hopes not on the uncertainty of riches, but rather on God.  That is the second thing that made the man a fool. He stored up so much grain and so many goods, that he thought he was home free. He put his trust and his hope in his stuff, rather than in God. He concerned himself only with an unknown future that he thought he could craft for himself, rather than in God’s gift of the present moment and the blessing of each and every day.  This letter to Timothy reminds us that a good foundation for the future is not found in things, but in good works and generosity. In relationship with others and with God.  In faith and in love.

We are currently in the middle of a sermon series titled, “On the Road,” exploring various journeying metaphors in our lives.  When I titled this sermon “Traveling Light,” I thought of that in two ways.  First, it is good to examine how much stuff we accumulate on our journeys.  I can guarantee that we truly don’t need as much as we have.  What might it look like to lighten your load?  Not to get rid of everything – if those stuffed animals bring you joy, keep the stuffed animals!  But what would it look like in your life to spend less on things and more on causes you are passionate about, or non-profits doing work you support?

Second, constant worry about the future and if we will have enough, is wearying for the soul. What would it look like to lighten that burden?  Don’t get me wrong – planning and managing for the future is very important, we are not off that hook.  But it doesn’t need to be our sole focus or purpose. We can provide for ourselves while also rejoicing in community, serving our neighbor, and praising God.  We travel with a lighter soul when we can release our anxiety about the future and instead take hold of this life that is really life.

I was at a fundraising event a few weeks ago for a school in Kenya where some friends will be volunteering in October. The event was held at a beautiful house in the Peacock Gap area of San Rafael.  The house is up on a hill, and when standing in the backyard, you get an amazing, panoramic view of the bay. At one point, the host welcomed us, explaining that she is a member of the McNear family – a big name in San Rafael – and that the house had been in her family for many, many years.  There is some serious generational wealth in that family.

Later in the evening, I joined a small group that was in conversation with our host, and she was talking about the non-profit organization named Roots of Peace. I don’t know if you’ve heard of it, but they do work in several countries removing land mines and then planting and tending a lot of new agriculture. They often say their work is “turning mines to vines.” The organization has been around for many years and was founded here in Marin.  I knew enough about Roots of Peace to blurt out in the middle of the conversation to which I was already late – “Oh, that’s the group founded by Heidi Kuhn, right?” The host paused, looked at me, and said, “I am Heidi.”  I think maybe I was already supposed to know that, since I was at an event at her house … but that detail had escaped me.

I hadn’t known much about her prior to that evening – other than the fact that she founded Roots of Peace. I didn’t know she was a McNear.  I didn’t know she had a beautiful house in San Rafael.  She could have easily decided early in her life that she was going to relax, eat, drink, and be merry.  But she didn’t. She heard the call, just as we heard in the letter to Timothy, to do good, to be rich in good works, generous, and ready to share.  In one interview, she reflected, “As a Marin County mother of four children, I could not imagine a world where children could not hike the mountains like Mt. Tamalpais or run the beaches of Stinson, without worrying about stepping on a landmine. (In other countries,) children would often kick their only soccer ball out of bounds and lose a life or limb to a landmine. These seeds of terror sown into the one earth we share is a violation of nature which produces fruit to feed her children. And, so I set out on a global quest to plant the Roots of Peace on Earth.”[i]

I am not saying we all need to, or should, set out on a global quest.  That is not the calling for everyone. But we can use our resources to share the love and the light of God in our little corner of the world. We can make our decisions out of abundance and not of scarcity.  We can move beyond thinking just about me, myself, and I to caring for all of God’s beloved children.  We can, as I once heard a pastor say – love people and use things rather than loving things and using people.[ii]

So if I could rewind 18 years, would my past self buy fewer things for our son?  Maybe – just so my present self wasn’t having to sort through so much! But maybe not.  Because I hope, in the midst of acquiring things, we have also taught him important lessons. That spending money on yourself is fine, but it needs to go along with generosity to others.  That finding joy in playing video games with your friends is OK, but it is also important to spend time serving those in need.  That saving for the future is good, but it needs to go alongside a deep awareness of and gratitude for God and the people and the circumstances that allow us to save.  That having stuff is not evil, but that we are also called to use our stuff to be a blessing within our community.

A seasoned pastor once said, “I have heard many different regrets expressed by people nearing the end of life, but there is one regret I have never heard. I have never heard anyone say, ‘I wish I hadn’t given so much away. I wish I had kept more for myself.’”[iii]May we each travel light on our journey. Amen. 

[i]https://ls.berkeley.edu/news/interview-alumna-heidi-k%C3%BChn-founder-and-ceo-roots-peace

[ii]https://www.pulpitfiction.com/

[iii]https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-18-3/commentary-on-luke-1213-21-4