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To Be Rich Toward God
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| 9/10/2007 |
Proper 13C –
August 5, 2007 - Christ Church, Philadelphia
Hosea 11:1-11
Psalm 107:1-9, 43*
Colossians 3:1-11
Luke 12:13-21
What does it mean to be rich today in America? A house, a car, the latest high definition TV, luxury vacations, wonderful entertainment, great clothes, the latest sports equipment or toys, deep and solid retirement accounts, annuities, mutual funds…whatever it is that we equate with wealth, America is the land of promise.
The stories we read in the gospels during the summer months following Pentecost often speak to the life and work of Jesus often reflected in parables that he preaches to the disciples and followers of his day. Today’s gospel story wastes no time getting to the subject matter of the day in the story of the rich fool. At first glance, it is easy to make the issue in today’s narrative about riches and wealth in the realm of physical possessions; the material possessions, what we have in our storehouses, so to speak. The easy temptation is to deny the goodness of wealth and possessions as something worldly and evil to be shunned, but the reality is that we all know better than that. Security and stability and the acquisition of possessions are part of the fabric of our existence.
The parable of the rich fool is a story about the folly of covetousness (the old fashioned term) or greed and the failure to see the distinction between what one has and what one is. Covetousness (generally, an unreasonable desire for what we do not possess) was a violation of the Law of Moses and the teaching of the prophets as well as a seemingly widespread problem in the early church. It existed in many forms from to the desire to possess what belongs to another to desiring to accumulate more when one already has enough.
The desire to hoard or get as much as you could in biblical times was often an effort to guarantee against insecurity built on acts of disregard for others as well as putting goods in the place of God. Not much has changed it seems in our human desires for wealth, security, and power. However, the acts of terrorism on 9/11/2001 in our nation taught us many things notwithstanding the notion of “security” and what is really means in our lives on every level.
Luke calls it not being “rich toward God.” He takes the notion of richness and turns it from what we possess to the relativity of our relationship to God. What does that mean for us? If the notion of security is tied into being “rich in God” then what I ask does that mean for you? If we were to go around the room and ask, I imagine there would be a litany of answers, some quite simple and some grand and glorious. I want to tell you a story, one in real time, in a real place. It took place here last week in the North Garden as we embarked on our first summer Wednesday evening Eucharist and barbeque.
This event has been going on here during the month of August for about 6 years. In the early years it was literally a hearty few families with a couple of Old City neighbors. We now generally start with about 35 folks on the first night and grow to more than 50 by the last Wednesday evening. This past Wednesday as we were preparing for the evening festivities of Eucharist, barbeque, socializing and volleyball, folks began to wander up asking what was going on. By 7:00pm we had welcomed 65 people into the North Garden.
We were shocked, anxious, and nervous…who are all these people, where are they coming from, will we have enough food? Well as the numbers swelled the answers began to surface. More than 35 of the people were homeless. I imagine they came from as far as the word spread out in the short span of time. And we had enough food to guarantee at least one hotdog or hamburger to anyone who wanted it.
The truth of the matter is that the situation was just plain awkward; seating for only about 35 in an already cramped space due to the scaffolding and construction around the church; almost instantly without warning becoming the minority in your own back yard. And if you have ever had the experience of being in the minority you know the feeling of being pushed to the margins (conscious and unconsciously). Between both the feelings of being hospitable folks and being in the minority, whether or not we were aware of it; we, the Christ Church people, quickly gave our limited seating over to our unexpected guests.
Walter J. Burghardt, a Jesuit, renowned for his preaching on matters of biblical justice describes justice not primarily or exclusively to be understood through the lens of giving people “what they deserve”, important as that is, but justice which is understood through the lens of fidelity—fidelity to relationships that stems from the great commandment. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind; love your neighbor as yourself.”
Somehow, what happened here last Wednesday evening seemed like an experience of being rich toward God…literally extending our Eucharistic table from the front of this building to right outside that door to 65 children of God eating hamburgers and hotdogs in the sweltering heat. It also felt like something of what biblical justice might be in a world where the issues of poverty, homelessness, hunger, war, violence, and social inequities seems to loom too large to get involved and make a difference.
I often get e-mails from people that have a quote or saying for the day attached to the bottom of the message. Some feel relevant to me, others do not, I am sure it is a matter of what I am thinking about or what is going on at the time. A recent one caught my eye. “Today is your day and mine, the only day we have, the day in which we play our part. What our part may signify in the great whole we may not understand; but we are here to play it, and now is our time.” (David Starr Jordan) While we may not understand the significance of our part, we do understand the call of it in the simple yet complex message of loving our neighbors as ourselves.
To serve our guests last week was to serve God, to entertain angels unaware perhaps, I’m not sure. But what we witnessed last Wednesday evening will take place again this coming week. And the Christ Church staff has every reason to believe that the numbers will be bigger. We invite you to come, join us in the sharing of a meal around God’s table with each other and our neighbors. Bring food and help make the gift of hospitality possible for whoever walks through those gates to share in our richness toward God.
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