GREED REVERBERATES! Luke 12:13-21
Rev. Paul Wrightman 2/20/22
I WANT TO TELL YOU ABOUT A REMARKABLE MAN.
HE WAS REMARKABLE IN MANY WAYS – IN HIS BUSINESS INSTINCTS,
IN HIS FINANCIAL SUCCESS, AND IN THE CONVERSATIONS HE HELD.
ESPECIALLY, IN HIS CONVERSATIONS.
AND THEN, IRONICALLY –
QUITE IN CONTRAST TO HIS CONVERSATIONS –
IN THE WAY HIS STORY ENDED.
I DON’T KNOW HIS NAME BECAUSE THE BIBLE DOESN’T MENTION IT.
HE IS A CHARACTER IN ONE OF JESUS’ PARABLES, AND JESUS
VERY RARELY MENTIONS NAMES IN HIS PARABLES.
JESUS CALLS HIM “A RICH MAN,” AND NEAR THE END
OF THE BRIEF STORY, JESUS SAYS THAT GOD CALLS THIS MAN A FOOL.
SINCE THE MAN COMES TO US IN A PARABLE,
HE IS A FICTITIOUS CHARACTER.
BUT WITHOUT A DOUBT JESUS KNEW SOMEONE LIKE HIM.
SO DID MANY OF THE PEOPLE WHO WERE LISTENING TO JESUS.
THIS IS ONE OF THE REASONS JESUS’ PARABLES
ALWAYS CATCH THE ATTENTION OF THE CASUAL CROWDS,
BECAUSE THE PEOPLE SAY TO THEMSELVES,
“I KNOW A FELLOW JUST LIKE THAT.”
IF JESUS’ PARABLES HAD BEEN PUT INTO MOVIES,
IT WOULD HAVE BEEN NECESSARY TO RUN A LINE ACROSS THE SCREEN
STATING: “ANY RESEMBLANCE BETWEEN THE CHARACTERS
DEPICTED HEREIN AND ANYONE LIVING OR DEAD
IS PURELY COINCIDENTAL.”
EXCEPT, OF COURSE, THAT IT WASN’T COINCIDENTAL.
SO WE READ THESE STORIES NEARLY TWENTY CENTURIES LATER
AND KNOW THAT JESUS IS TALKING ABOUT REAL PEOPLE,
PEOPLE WE KNOW.
JESUS PRESENTS THIS STORY BECAUSE ONE DAY A MAN IN THE CROWD
ASKED HIM TO INTERVENE IN A QUARREL
CONCERNING THE FAMILY INHERITANCE.
“TEACHER” IS LUKE’S WORD FOR RABBI.
NOTICE HOW THE MAN DOES NOT SAY TO JESUS: “RABBI JESUS,
MY BROTHER AND I ARE QUARRELING. THERE IS A DANGER
THAT OUR FIGHT WILL CREATE A PERMANENT BREAK
IN OUR RELATIONSHIP AND I AM CONCERNED.
WOULD YOU LISTEN TO ME AND TO HIM AND RECONCILE US?
I BEG YOU, BRING US TOGETHER!”
NO, WHAT JESUS HEARS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR RECONCILIATION,
BUT SOMETHING VERY MUCH LIKE AN ORDER:
“TEACHER, TELL MY BROTHER TO DIVIDE THE INHERITANCE WITH ME.”
THE ASSUMPTIONS BEHIND SUCH A DEMAND ARE CLEAR:
THE FATHER HAD DIED WITHOUT AN ORAL OR WRITTEN WILL.
THERE WAS AN ESTATE THAT WAS HELD BY THE TWO BROTHERS.
ACCORDING TO JEWISH LAW, THE INHERITANCE COULD NOT
BE DIVIDED UNTIL THE OLDER BROTHER AGREED.
THE PETITIONER THEREFORE MUST BE THE YOUNGER BROTHER,
WHO IS ORDERING JESUS TO PRESS HIS OLDER BROTHER
INTO MAKING THE DIVISION.
BUT JESUS IS A RECONCILER OF PEOPLE, NOT A DIVIDER.
JESUS WANTS TO BRING PEOPLE TOGETHER,
NOT FINALIZE SEPARATIONS.
SO THE YOUNGER BROTHER DOES NOT GET WHAT HE WANTS
FROM JESUS. INSTEAD OF JESUS TAKING HIS SIDE,
HE RECEIVES WHAT AMOUNTS TO A WARNING:
“TAKE CARE, BE ON YOUR GUARD AGAINST ALL KINDS OF GREED;
FOR ONE’S LIFE DOES NOT CONSIST IN
THE ABUNDANCE OF POSSESSIONS.”
TO ILLUSTRATE HIS POINT, JESUS GOES ON TO TELL
THIS MORNING’S PARABLE, THE PARABLE OF THE RICH FARMER.
THIS PARABLE IS ONE OF JESUS’ PRIMARY TEACHINGS
ON THE SUBJECT OF MONEY AND POSSESSIONS,
A SUBJECT THAT HE TALKS ABOUT MORE IN THE GOSPELS
THAN HE DOES THE SUBJECT OF PRAYER.
THE MAN IN THE PARABLE IS ALREADY RICH.
THEN HIS LAND PRODUCES A BUMPER CROP.
HE DID NOT WORK HARDER TO PRODUCE THIS BOUNTY;
IT IS A GIFT OF GOD.
THE QUESTION IS: WHAT WILL HE DO WITH HIS SURPLUS?
TRANSLATED LITERALLY, THE TEXT SAYS HE
“DIALOGUED WITH HIMSELF.”
THIS IS A VERY SAD SCENE. IN THE MIDDLE EAST, VILLAGE PEOPLE
MAKE DECISIONS ABOUT IMPORTANT TOPICS
ONLY AFTER LONG DISCUSSIONS WITH THEIR FRIENDS.
BUT THIS MAN APPEARS TO HAVE NO FRIENDS.
HE LIVES IN ISOLATION FROM THE HUMAN FAMILY AROUND HIM,
AND WITH AN IMPORTANT DECISION TO MAKE THE ONLY PERSON
WITH WHOM HE CAN DIALOGUE IS HIMSELF.
THROUGHOUT THE WORLD, THE MORE WEALTH PEOPLE ACQUIRE,
THE FARTHER THEY GENERALLY WITHDRAW FROM THEIR NEIGHBORS.
THE PROPHET ISAIAH DESCRIBES THIS DYNAMIC AS HE WRITES:
“WOE TO THOSE WHO JOIN HOUSE TO HOUSE,
WHO ADD FIELD TO FIELD, UNTIL THERE IS NO MORE ROOM,
AND YOU ARE MADE TO DWELL ALONE IN THE MIDST OF THE LAND.”
(Isaiah 5:8)
THIS IS PRECISELY WHAT APPEARS TO HAVE HAPPENED TO THIS MAN.
THERE IS NO ONE AROUND, AND HE CAN ONLY TALK TO HIMSELF.
JESUS’ LISTENERS WOULD HAVE ENVISIONED THIS TYPE OF PICTURE
AS THE PARABLE UNFOLDED.
THE RICH MAN ASKS HIMSELF, “WHAT SHALL I DO?”
HE HAS NO PLACE TO STORE HIS ABUNDANCE, AND DISPLAYS
NO AWARENESS THAT HIS BUMPER CROP IS A GIFT FROM GOD
OR THAT HE IS RESPONSIBLE TO USE IT AS ITS OWNER MIGHT DIRECT.
HE SEES IT AS HIS CROP.
AS THE CHURCH FATHER, AMBROSE OF MILAN, POINTS OUT:
AMPLE STORAGE WAS ALREADY AVAILABLE –
IN THE MOUTHS OF THE POOR AND NEEDY!
IN THE BIBLE, WEALTH IS GIVEN BY GOD FOR SHARING.
BUT THE RICH FARMER IS STOCKING UP GOODS
TO GUARANTEE HIS OWN PLEASANT FUTURE.
HE IS REVELLING IN PROFIT WHILE FORGETTING THE POOR.
THE WHOLE POINT OF STORING EXCESS PRODUCE
WAS TO HELP THE COMMUNITY, ESPECIALLY THE POOR,
GET THROUGH TIMES OF FAMINE.
GREED IS NOT JUST A PRIVATE VICE,
BUT AFFECTS THE COMMON WEALTH AND THE COMMON GOOD.
THE RICH MAN HOLDS A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE, HOWEVER.
THE CLIMAX IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PARABLE DESCRIBES HIS DECISION
TO PULL DOWN HIS BARNS AND BUILD BIGGER ONES.
THERE IS NO MENTION OF HIS EMPLOYEES,
WHO HAVE DONE AND WILL DO THE WORK.
RATHER, HE KNOWS ONLY MY CROP, MY BARN, MY GRAIN,
MY GOODS, AND MY SOUL.
LIKE THE YOUNGER BROTHER AT THE BEGINNING
OF OUR SCRIPTURE READING, THE RICH MAN RECEIVES A RESPONSE
HE ISN’T PREPARED FOR.
HE DIES.
OR, IN THE WORDS OF THE PARABLE, GOD SAYS TO HIM “YOU FOOL!
THIS VERY NIGHT YOUR LIFE IS BEING DEMANDED OF YOU.”
NOTICE THE WORDING, WHICH IS ACCURATE:
YOUR LIFE IS BEING DEMANDED OF YOU.
IT’S A NEUTRAL PROCESS. IT’S NOT AS IF GOD IN ANGER
PUNISHES THIS GUY BY TAKING HIS LIFE.
IT’S SIMPLY THAT HIS TIME IS UP.
SADLY, HIS TIME IS UP WITHOUT HIS EVER HAVING
MADE A BREAKTHROUGH IN TERMS OF HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD,
HIS NEIGHBORS, OR EVEN HIMSELF.
HE DIES AS ALONE AND ISOLATED AS HE HAD LIVED.
BUT LET’S REMEMBER HERE THAT THIS IS A PARABLE,
A TEACHING STORY , TOLD PRECISELY WITH THE INTENT
TO GIVE WARNING.
JESUS IS SAYING, IN EFFECT, HEY, THIS IS WHAT HAPPENED
TO THIS FICTITIOUS GUY –
DON’T LET THIS HAPPEN TO THE REAL YOU!
ONE OF THE SADDEST STORIES IN DR. RACHEL NAOMI REMEN’S
BOOK KITCHEN TABLE WISDOM IS ABOUT HER OWN FATHER.
SHE SHARES THIS STORY NOT IN JUDGMENT, BUT IN SADNESS,
WHICH IS, I SUSPECT, PRECISELY WHAT JESUS FELT CONCERNING
THE WAY IN WHICH MANY OF THE PERSONS HE KNEW
ALLOWED THEIR POSSESSIONS TO OWN THEM,
MUCH LIKE THE RICH FARMER.
DR. REMEN WRITES:
“ONE OF THE EARLIEST THINGS I CAN REMEMBER
IS MY FATHER TELLING ME HOW IMPORTANT IT WAS
TO BE YOUR OWN BOSS, TO BE IN CONTROL OF YOUR OWN LIFE.
I GREW UP ON THE SIXTH FLOOR OF AN APARTMENT BUILDING
IN MANHATTAN.
ALL THROUGH MY CHILDHOOD, THERE WAS A GAME
MY FATHER AND I WOULD PLAY.
HE WOULD TALK ABOUT HIS HOUSE,
THE HOUSE HE WOULD SOMEDAY OWN.
THERE WOULD BE A DISHWASHER IN THE KITCH3EN AND A GARDEN.
WE ARGUED ABOUT WHETHER THE LIVING ROOM SHOULD BE PAINTED
LIGHT GREEN OR CREAM-COLORED.
I FAVORED CREAM. DAD THOUGHT IT WOULD BE TOO UPSCALE.
I WAS ALMOST TWENTY WHEN HE AND MOM
BOUGHT A LITTLE PLACE ON LONG ISLAND AND RETIRED.
FOR A WHILE HIS DREAM SEEMED COMPLETE.
SOME MONTHS AFTER THE PLACE WAS HIS,
I STOPPED BY ON A SUNDAY VISIT
AND FOUND HIM ASLEEP EXHAUSTED IN HIS CHAIR.
A FAMILIAR SIGHT FROM MY CHILDHOOD, BUT I HAD THOUGHT
THAT THINGS WOULD BE DIFFERENT NOW.
MY MOTHER TOLD ME HE HAD JUST TAKEN A LITTLE JOB,
SO THAT THEY COULD KEEP THE PLACE UP,
THINGS ARE ALWAYS DETERIORATING.
ON MY NEXT VISIT, HE WAS ASLEEP IN HIS CHAIR AGAIN.
“ARE YOU ENJOYING YOURSELVES?” I ASKED.
“WELL,” MOM SAID, “YOUR FATHER IS AFRAID THAT SOMEONE
WILL BREAK IN AND TAKE AWAY EVERYTHING WE’VE WORKED FOR.
HE’S STILL WORKING BECAUSE HE WANTS TO PUT IN
AN ALARM SYSTEM.”
MY HEART SANK. I ASKED HOW MUCH IT WOULD COST.
MY MOTHER EVADED ME AND SAID THEY WOULD HAVE IT
IN JUST A LITTLE WHILE.
MONTHS LATER, MY FATHER CONTINUED TO LOOK WEARY.
CONCERNED, I ASKED WHEN THEY WOULD BE
TAKING THEIR VACATION.
“NOT THIS YEAR – WE CAN’T LEAVE THE HOUSAE EMPTY.”
I SUGGESTED A HOUSE SITTER. MY FATHER WAS HORRIFIED.
“OH NO,” HE TOLD ME. YOU KNOW HOW PEOPLE ARE.
EVEN YOUR FRIENDS NEVER TAKE CARE OF YOUR THINGS
THE WAY THEY WOULD TAKE CARE OF THEIR OWN.”
THEY NEVER TOOK ANOTHER VACATION.
IN THE END, MY PARENTS RARELY LEFT THE HOUSE TOGETHER,
NO EVEN TO GO TO THE MOVIES.
THERE COULD BE A FIRE OR SOME OTHER SORT
OF VAGUE AND UNNAMED DISASTER.
AND MY FATHER WORKED ODD JOBS UNTIL HE DIED.
THE HOUSE TURNED OUT TO HAVE FAR GREATER CONTROL OVER HIM
THAN ANY OF HIS FORMER EMPLOYERS EVER HAD.”
DR. REMEN ENDS BY MAKING THE FOLLOWING OBSERVATION:
“IF WE FEAR LOSS ENOUGH, IN THE END THE THINGS WE POSSESS
WILL COME TO POSSESS US.”
THINKING ABOUT TODAY’S SCRIPTURE READING,
AND ALL THE OPPORTUNITIES FOR MEETING GOD THROUGH SHARING
THAT THE RICH AND SELFISH FARMER MISSED,
MAKES ME THINK OF ANOTHER PARABLE,
THAT OF THE SHEEP AND THE GOATS
IN THE TWENTY-FIFTH CHAPTER OF MATTHEW.
THERE JESUS PROVIDES, AS IT WERE, A CHECKLIST
OF THE KINDS OF PERSONS THAT HE EXPECTS US TO HELP
BEFORE WE GET TO THE POINT OF HAVING TO BUILD BIGGER BARNS.
FEEDING THE HUNGRY, GIVING DRINK TO THE THIRSTY,
WELCOMING THE STRANGER, VISITING THE SICK,
PROVIDING CLOTHES TO THOSE IN NEED, AND SHOWING COMPASSION
TO THOSE IN PRISON ARE HIGH ON JESUS’ LIST.
IN ADDITION TO ENGAGING IN THESE ALTRUISTIC ACTIVITIES,
JESUS CHALLENGES US TO JOIN HIM IN CHALLENGING THE SYSTEM
THAT PRODUCES SO MANY PERSONS WHO ARE HUNGRY, THIRSTY,
STRANGERS, ILL, IN NEED OF CLOTHES, AND IN PRISON.
CHANGING THE VERY STRUCTURE AND VISION OF THE SOCIETY
AND CULTURE IN WHICH WE LIVE IS A BIG PART OF WHAT JESUS
IS GETTING AT WHEN HE ANNOUNCES THAT HE HAS COME
“TO PROCLAIM THE YEAR OF THE LORD’S FAVOR,”
GOD’S JUBILEE YEAR, IN WHICH RESTORATIVE JUSTICE
IS NOT ONLY TALKED ABOUT, BUT BROUGHT ABOUT.
I’D LIKE TO CLOSE BY HAZARDING A GUESS ABOUT THIS PARABLE.
THIS GUY, THIS RICH FARMER, IS SO OFF-THE-WALL SELF-CENTERED,
ISOLATED, AND OUT-OF-TOUCH WITH ANY REALITY
BIGGER THAN HIMSELF, THAT I THINK JESUS INTENDS FOR US
TO TAKE HIM WITH A GRAIN OF SALT,
AND SEE HIM AS THE CARTOON CHARACTER WHICH HE IS.
LIKE HE DOES AT MANY PLACES IN HIS MINISTRY,
JESUS IS EXAGGERATING ON PURPOSE –
THE PURPOSE BEING THAT WE DON’T END UP
LIKE THIS OUTLANDISH PERSON.
MAY GOD BLESS US WITH THE DETERMINATION NOT ONLY
TO MEET THE NEEDS OF PEOPLE AT THE LEVEL OF ALTRUISM,
BUT THROUGH ACTIVISM TO ENGAGE THE POWERS OF DARKNESS
IN OUR OWN CULTURE
THAT FAVOR THE RICH OVER THE POOR,
THE HEALTHY OVER THE ILL,
MEN OVER WOMEN,
THOSE WHO ARE STRAIGHT OVER THOSE WHO ARE NOT,
THE YOUNG OVER THE ELDERLY,
AND THOSE WHO ARE WHITE OVER ANY OTHER COLOR.
AMEN.