Proper 13
Preparation
Please begin by reading
Luke 12:13-21 in your Bible.
If you do not have one at hand, we have provided that text for you at the end of
this reflection.
Reflection--It’s what you do with what you get!
We continue to mover forward in Luke’s gospel during these weeks after Pentecost; walking with Jesus toward his appointment with the cross in Jerusalem and listening to his lessons on what it means to be one of his disciples. One area of discipleship involves our relationship with material things. Here are some lessons I think we can learn from Jesus on this topic.
Material things are spiritually neutral. If you ask most people for a biblical quote about money, they might come back with “money is the root of all evil.” Almost everybody gets this quote wrong. It’s really “For the love of money is the root of all evil.” (I Timothy 6:10)
Material things are not evil in and of themselves from a biblical prospective. That is especially clear in today’s parable. It is certainly God who provides abundant crops. The products of God’s good creation are not evil. I believe that the same thing may be said of the talents that God gives to us; including the talent that some have to make an abundant income.
It’s a heart problem. The core of Jesus’ teaching about material things is just the business of keeping our priorities straight. His teachings are quite consistent with Timothy’s remark that it is the love of money, not money, that is the problem. Dealing with material “stuff” is a heart problem; where is your heart?
Jesus tells us that “one's life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.” The rich man’s problem was not that he had the ability to prosper; a gift of God. His problem was his priorities. When God filled his barns with more than enough for him and his household this wealthy farmer’s thoughts did not turn to asking what God would have him do with the surplus, but to hoarding. God was rich toward him, but he was not rich toward God.
The connection. I hope that you have not found any of this startling so far. It should be clear by now that in discipleship it is a matter of what you do with what you get. If we are really followers of Jesus there is a link between God’s generosity and our generosity. That link is even clearer in another teaching from Jesus set out in Luke’s gospel: “give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back." (Luke 6:38) From God’s prospective there is a strong connection between our getting and our giving.
It’s not just for rich people. The man in the story was rich, but a discipleship approach to what we have is not just for the rich. Look at some of Jesus’ other teachings. Some that come to mind are the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30) where a character in the story who represents God says to one who has been faithful with small things “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things.” Jesus also gave high praise to a poor widow who did not give much, but shared what she could. (Luke 21:1-3)
What then? Notice that the rich man’s conversation about what he should do with God’s bounty was a conversation only with himself. Everything about our lives as we walk with Jesus should be done in conversation with God. This extends to what we have as well as to who we are, where we are going in life, how we treat others, what we believe, and all of life’s important issues. One way or another, God will provide for us. Whether we are blessed with much or just a little, God wants to be our partner in our plans about how it should be used. Keep God in the conversation. Pray for God’s wisdom about how to use what God has given to you. Know too that no matter what form of sharing God leads you to, you cannot out give God. Your security is not in the equivalent of new and bigger barns, but in the faithfulness of the One who provides for us in “good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over.”
revclay
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Luke 12:13-21
Someone in the crowd said to Jesus, "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."
[NRSV]