At the end of the service we said Godspeed to Jon and their family. We are sad to see them depart but they are moving to Minnesota and we know they will find a new church family there, The congregation sang a sweet version of John Ylvisaker's song to the family As You Go On Your Way may God Go with You:
As you go on your way may God go with you.
May God go before you to show you the way.
May God go behind you to encourage you.
Beside you to befriend you,
Above you to watch over,
Within you to give you peace.
The Gospel text was The Parable of the Rich Fool. Pastor Ray drew our attention to the farmer's conversation with himself: "What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?" Finally the farmer decides on a course of action, "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...."
Pastor Ray preached this can come to anyone who examines themselves. They can fall prey to a crippling judgment that "I am not enough." which can lead to a kind of greed based on fear. The result is a wrong-headed thinking that if they have more money or have more possessions they will feel comfortable in life. Yet the goal-posts constantly shift as goals are reached. Pastor Ray also observed the first person pronouns "I" and "my" in the parable, which betray a preoccupation with self. There is no thought to using the abundance to help others, no expression of gratitude for his good fortune, no recognition of God at all. In his reading this week he saw this was all about the rich man's greed.
Yes, this is all about the relationship between faith and money. Luke, more than any of the other evangelists, is concerned with issues of wealth. From his naming of a patron in the opening to his Gospel (1:3-4), perhaps we can hazard to guess that Luke and his community had first hand knowledge of the seduction of wealth, the temptation to believe that material abundance equates spiritual and existential joy.
Yet I only connect with this parable when I think of how the parable is framed and presented. Jesus is in the middle of encouraging his disciples to confess even when they are under duress, when he is interrupted by one of the crowd who wants Jesus to settle a financial dispute between siblings. Jesus, however, refuses to enter into the family squabble and instead uses the situation as an opportunity to teach about the seduction of wealth.
What is the farmer's error? I don't see the farmer's greed as his primary error. He is not portrayed as wicked - that is, he has not gained his wealth illegally or by taking advantage of others. Further, he is not portrayed as even being particularly greedy. Indeed, he seems to be somewhat surprised by his good fortune as he makes what appears to be reasonable plans to reap the abundance of the harvest. What is wrong, we might therefore ask, about building larger barns to store away some of today's bounty for a potentially leaner tomorrow?
Part of the error is masked by the word psyche which is translated as soul when we read "And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’ Psyche might be better translated as life "And I will say to my life, Life, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’ He is congratulating himself on his lifestyle which we all also can commonly engage in,
Pastor Ray proposed this has nothing to do with someone who engages in good financial planning. I have to confess I do see a connection, at least in my soul, about good financial planning and this parable. Recently, as I think about what my retirement may now look like, I get fearful. Will I have enough for health care, for inflation, to leave to my wife's and son's needs? Life is fraught with uncertainty and insecurity. We are tempted to strive for a measure of security and control over the vagaries of life through our own efforts or accomplishments. Yet the farmer is called "fool" neither because of his wealth or ambition. Rather he is trying to insulate himself from fate and fortune through productive farming and adequate finances, and God confirms that, in this, he will come up empty.
So I am considering better financial vehicles rather than better barns. Probably this is not an important distinction. So is Jesus against financial planning and goals? I don't think so. Reiterating here, I think the framing story is important here.
A man says to Jesus "Tell my brother to divide to divided the family inheritance with me". Jesus answers that he should not focus on an abundance of possessions and gives the parable of the rich man intending to build bigger barns. Jesus ends by talking about how critical it is to be rich towards God. Jesus responds "Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?” Yes, Jesus then talks about greed "Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions" and ends by saying " So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God.”. My feeling is Jesus teaches us that life will focus individuals on what is not essential rather than a life that is rich in God, which has nothing to do with financial planning or material wealth
Luke 12:13-21 was like a refreshing drink or taking a breath of sweet air. Being rich towards God - as a possibility of liberation, and a way of being intimately bound with the proverbial "other" - is a tonic. This kind of justice is an event rather than a transaction between "I" and "Thou". While acknowledging the importance of fair distribution to also keep our perspective on what stays truly important.
No comments:
Post a Comment