14 Pentecost, Year C

“KING OF THE HILL, OR BOTTOM OF THE HEAP?”
This is a homily by Fr. Gene Tucker given at Trinity Church, Mt. Vernon, Illinois, on Sunday, August 29, 2010.
Proper 17: Ecclesiasticus 10:7–18; Psalm 112; Hebrews 13:1–8; Luke 14:1,7–14

“King of the hill, or bottom of the heap?”

This familiar saying seems to be a good way to distill Jesus’ teaching, heard in our gospel text today, down to its essentials.

Here before us this morning we have an incident that happened while Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem. (Remember with me that most of our recent gospel texts from Luke have involved Jesus’ teaching, which was offered in response to a question that was asked Him by someone in the crowd.)

Jesus has a teaching for the Pharisees, who jockey for position around the banquet table. But Jesus also has a teaching for the host of the party.

And Jesus has a teaching for us, as well.

So, let’s look at this dinner party, at the behavior of the guests, and at the behavior of the host.

Then, let’s look at the implications for you and me, as 21st century believers, for Jesus’ teaching has a forward-looking aspect to it. Jesus’ teaching always has a forward-looking dimension.

First, we begin with the behavior of the Pharisees.

Of course, just the mention of the word “Pharisee” brings to mind all sorts of connotations, doesn’t it, and none of the connotations are positive, are they?

In truth, Holy Scripture paints a pretty sorry picture of these Pharisees. In Matthew’s gospel account, for example, we hear Jesus’ words as He says, “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat, so practice and observe whatever they tell you, but not what they do….They do all their deeds to be seen by men, for they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long, and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues, and salutations in the market places, and being called rabbi by men.”

It seems like the Pharisees thought pretty highly of themselves, and thought that others ought to think highly of them, as well.

Self-made, self-assessed men: these were the Pharisees. They were proud of their accomplishments, and proud to be children of Abraham. They were proud of their knowledge of the Law of Moses and proud that they could apply that law to every aspect of life.

They had, through their own efforts, managed to climb to the top of the pile. They were “king of the hill.”

So it was only natural that they should choose the best seats in the synagogues, and the places of honor at banquets.

But Jesus, observing this behavior, makes some excellent observations. Let’s see what those observations are:

• Let others be the judge of your place, your worth, and your standing. At least that’s what I make out of Jesus’ statement when He says, “But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he may say to you, ‘Friend, go up higher’.”
• Take the lowest place, that others might take the higher place. Here, Jesus counters the behavior of the Pharisees, mirroring their choice of the best seats in the opposite direction.

Applying these two principles to our own lives, we might make the following observations:

• No one of us can accurately assess our own standing: I think, in this regard, of my experience in the military….The military is a stratified, hierarchical organization. It has to be, because of the need for command and control of the people involved in it. But no one in the military holds their rank by virtue of their own promotion. Others have to assess an individual’s worth and fitness to be promoted to a higher rank. No one can do that for themselves. If we look at the Pharisees’ behavior from this point-of-view, the ridiculous nature of their actions becomes quite clear: They were promoting themselves! But none of us can see ourselves with the objective clarity that is required to make an assessment of our own position in life, or in God’s eyes. We must depend on others – and on God - to make that assessment.
  
• Keep others’ needs and welfare in mind: The passage cited from Matthew a little earlier, and from our gospel text for today, both point to an attitude that says, “I am the best, I am king of the hill!” We could add to those two statements this one, as well: “I matter, you don’t.” Pretty soon, that sort of attitude corrodes the unity of the body of Christ, doesn’t it, as each person jockeys for position.

I said a bit earlier that Jesus’ teaching has a forward-looking aspect to it. Jesus’ teaching, I said then, always has such a forward-looking aspect.

This forward-looking aspect can be seen in the final part of our gospel text, in which Jesus says, “But when you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your neighbors, or your kinsmen or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return, and you be repaid. But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. You will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”

Here, Jesus breaks the self-serving, self-congratulating circle that seemed to characterize the world of the Pharisees.

No longer would there be a superior class of spiritual men, self-made and self-promoting leaders.

No longer would the many have the purpose of serving the few, the high and the mighty.

Jesus turns the ways of the world, in which all of these things are common, on its head.

Jesus says that the ways of God are to seek out those who are at the bottom of the pile, and to place oneself there, among them.

And here is the paradox: to place oneself with the lowly, the meek, and those at the bottom of the pile, is the way to find oneself as “king of the hill” in God’s estimation.

So, to recap what we’ve said, we can summarize the lessons to be gained from this morning’s gospel text by saying:

• We can see the kingdom of God at work when those who are in the kingdom do not seek to advance themselves, but are willing to give the places of honor to others.
  
• The kingdom of God does not seek the welfare of those who are in it already. The kingdom seeks out those who are not yet in it.
  
• Those who are the meek and the lowly – at least by human standards - will often be the very ones who will make up the kingdom.

One final thought: The Church is called to be the bearer of the kingdom of God in the world. We can carry the kingdom of God and its values into the world best when we live out those values so that everyone can see them. That is our mission and our calling, given by God.

AMEN.

13 Pentecost, Year C

"DOES 'YOU' MEAN 'ME'?"
A homily by Fr. Gene Tucker, given at Trinity Church, Mt. Vernon, Illinois on Sunday, August 22, 2010.
Proper 16 -- Isaiah 28:14–22; Psalm 46; Hebrews 12:18–19,22–29; Luke 13:22–30

Does “you” mean “me”?

I think that’s the central question that arises as we think about how we ought to apply Jesus’ instructions to us, as we hear them in today’s gospel text.

Notice what Jesus says:

1. “(You) strive to enter by the narrow door,”

- and a little later, he says –

2. “I do not know where you come from, depart from me, all you workers of iniquity.”

Actually, the word “you” appears quite frequently in the words that Jesus speaks, beginning with the command to “strive”, where it is understood.

Just to be sure we see all of them, allow me to include Jesus’ teaching in its entirety, putting in italic print all the occasions where the word “you” appears (either when it is understood, or when it is actually spoken).

Here is the text:

Jesus said to the crowd, “(You) strive to enter by the narrow door; for many, I tell you will seek to enter and will not be able. When once the householder has risen up and shut the door, you will begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us.’ He will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’ Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from; depart from me, all you workers of iniquity!’ There you will weep and gnash your teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrown out. And men will come from east and west, and from north and south, and sit at table in the kingdom of God. And behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”

Jesus wanted the crowd who’d gathered around Him to get the point, didn’t He?

Jesus wants us to get the point, too.

What is the point, exactly?

I believe the point is this, and it is to be found in the progression of the narrative. Notice that progression:

- The unnamed questioner begins by asking a general question, saying, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” The question has to do with those people out there, and with the big picture. Put another way, the questioner seems to be asking Jesus to “show us the big picture, tell us who’s ‘in’ and who’s ‘out’.”

- Jesus responds by bringing the general question, dealing with those people out there, into the very personal and specific. It is worth noting that Jesus uses the second person plural in all of the references where He says “you” and “your”, but the message is still very personal, and it is a targeted message, meant to apply directly to His listeners.

So, the progression is from the general to the specific.

It’s as if Jesus is saying to His original audience, and to us, “Don’t be concerned with the big picture, be concerned about yourself and your own relationship to God.”

But Jesus doesn’t leave His original hearers, or us, in the dark about the “big picture”, for He ends His discourse by providing a glimpse of the “big picture”, saying, “And men will come from east and west, from north and south, and sit at table in the kingdom of God. And behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”

So, does “you” mean “me”?

The answer seems to be, “Yes, ‘you’ does mean ‘me’.”

In truth, many Christians have been very preoccupied with the question that we hear today. There are churches in existence today whose main concern seems to be “Who’s saved, and who isn’t?”

There’s nothing wrong with that concern.

After all, your clergy are vitally concerned about it. We attempt to assess where each person in our care is in their relationship with God. We do this for every member of our congregation(s).

I’ll bet you didn’t know that we clergy do this. Well, we do.

We clergypersons ask ourselves much the same question we hear today, “Lord, who are those who are being saved?”

We don’t mean to put anyone on the spot about this. But I thought it would be important for you to know, anyway.

You see, that’s our ministry, as clergypersons, to try to do everything we can to bring every person in our care into a close and personal relationship with God, and to nurture that relationship.

Now, let’s return now to our main focus: “Does ‘you’ mean ‘me’?”

If “you” means “me”, then what is it that each of us is supposed to do in response to Jesus’ teaching?

Four observations come to mind, and all four arise from the text. They are:

1. Be concerned about yourself: Ultimately, none of us (not even clergy) can mold and shape the nature of other people’s relationship with God. It’s up to each person to do that, as each person responds to what God has done in sending Jesus Christ to teach us and to save us through His death and resurrection.
2. We have work to do: Notice Jesus’ command to “strive”. That command was addressed directly to the people who originally heard His voice. But that command is also addressed to you and to me. Put another way, we have work to do! That work has to do with building our relationship with God, as we respond to God’s work, done in Jesus Christ.
3. The need is urgent, and the time is short: Jesus seems to indicate that the time for action is limited. He uses the image of the shutting of the door. Once the door is shut, the opportunity for entry is gone! Put another way, Jesus is warning us not to think that we have lots and lots of time to cultivate our relationship with God. “Let’s get to work, now!” is a good way to characterize this part of Jesus’ message.
4. Being familiar with God isn’t good enough: Jesus seems to be addressing a common attitude among the people He came into contact with 2,000 years ago. The four gospels paint a picture of a people who thought that, because they had some sort of a relationship with God through the Law of Moses and through regular worship in the Temple in Jerusalem that those things were good enough. But Jesus warns against the temptation to think that a casual relationship with God is good enough. Indeed, He seems to tell His original audience that many people who will come into the kingdom of God will come from far outside the borders of the Holy Land. His words are, “men will come from east and west, from north and south, and sit at table in the kingdom of God.” And just to be very, very clear about the matter, He adds, “And behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.” It’s worth noting that by the time Luke was writing down his gospel account, many who had come into the kingdom of God weren’t Jews by birth at all. Many were Gentiles. They had come from east and west, from north and south.

So, does “you” mean “me”?

Yes, indeed it does.

Is the Lord calling us, each one of us, into a deep and personal relationship with Him?

Yes, He is.

Is He calling for that relationship to begin – or to deepen – today?

Yes, He is.

AMEN.

12 Pentecost, Year C

“A GIFT THAT DIVIDES”
A homily by Fr. Gene Tucker, given on Sunday, August 15, 2010 at Trinity Church, Mt. Vernon, Illinois; and at St. John’s Church, Albion, Illinois (by Mr. Dan Scherer, Licensed Lay Worship Leader)
Proper 15 -- Jeremiah 23:23–29; Psalm 82; Hebrews 12:1–14; Luke 12:49–56


One day, Charlie comes into the back of the church before service, sits down in the last pew, and begins to pray intently, saying, “Lord, please let me win the lottery.”

The week goes by, and there’s no winning the lottery.

The next Sunday, Charlie comes into the church before service, sits down in the last pew, and begins to pray intently, saying, “Lord, it’s me, Charlie….can’t you just let me win the lottery this week?”

The week goes by, and there’s no winning lottery ticket for Charles.

The third Sunday comes along, and once again, Charlie goes into the church before service, sits down in that same last pew, and begins to pray as before, “Lord, won’t you just let me win the lottery this week?”

Almost immediately, the Lord’s voice rings out in reply: “Charlie, work with me a little here….buy a ticket!”

(Now, this joke is not an endorsement of the lottery. In fact, I never win the lottery because I never buy a ticket.)

But I’ll bet most of us have day dreamed just a little about winning the lottery, or about coming into a large sum of money somehow, haven’t we?

And when we do, don’t we imagine how our lives would change as a result?

For the most part, I suspect our day dreaming would consist of all sorts of wonderful things that would happen as a result of being suddenly very, very wealthy. You know, we could imagine retiring or stopping working. We could imagine giving money to support the things we value most. We could imagine making sure that our children or grandchildren’s education was taken care of.

All of those things would be wonderful, wouldn’t they?

But there’s another side to all of this day dreaming, and to illustrate the effects of receiving such a gift, let’s return to our hero, Charlie, to see what some of the costs of having such a gift would be.

For one thing, Charlie might have a whole new set of friends, or long-lost relatives, whose motivation would be to influence Charlie to part with some of his new-found wealth. Put plainly, they’d want Charlie to give some of his money to them!

And, I would guess, many of these new-found friends or long-lost relatives would suddenly come back into Charlie’s life, coincidentally, of course.

But there are other relationships that would probably end. Sad to say, there would be some of Charlie’s acquaintances and perhaps even family members who would cease to have anything to do with Charlie. Maybe they would feel like they no longer had anything in common with him. Maybe they would become angry because Charlie didn’t share his new-found status with him to a level they expected. Maybe Charlie’s new-found interests weren’t ones they had anything in common with.

Charlie’s gift turns out to be a gift that also divides.

“A gift that divides” is a good way to describe today’s Gospel reading.

Here, we hear Jesus describe the division that the gift of the Kingdom of God produces. “Do you think I have come to bring peace on the earth,” He says? “No, I tell you, but rather division.”

A side note is in order here: So much for a gentle Jesus, meek and mild! Sometimes, what the Lord has to say to us is very, very difficult to hear. Sometimes, what He has to say to us qualifies as a “hard saying”. Today’s gospel has its fair share of “hard sayings”.

Returning to our text now…What sort of a division does Jesus have in mind?

To make sure there’s no mistaking the sort of division that’s in view, Jesus continues, “For henceforth in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three; they will be divided, father against son and son against father,” and so forth.

So, Jesus is saying that the division that the gift of faith produces will even divide families.

Much like the gift of wealth that produces new relationships, but ends others, the gift of the kingdom
of God will also produce division. That’s Jesus’ point.

Let’s pause for a moment in our consideration of Jesus’ statements to remember that, by the time Luke is recording his gospel account, perhaps in the years 85 – 90 AD, already within the Christian community such divisions were taking place as one or more family members became Christian believers.

Suddenly for these early Christian believers, they found that they no longer had much in common with their own relatives. Discussions about religion became fruitless and pointless as Christians refrained from taking part in the pagan rituals that had been a part of family life before the gift of faith came.

So the very early Christians lived out in their lives the reality of divisions, even within their own families.

But what could prompt those early Christians – and us modern Christians – to endure the ending or curtailing of relationships, because of the gift of the kingdom of God that we receive?

What is it about the kingdom that makes it possible to endure divisions, even within families and close friendships?

I think the answer is in the first part of our gospel text. There, we hear Jesus say, “I came to cast fire upon the earth, and would that it were already kindled! I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how I am constrained until it is accomplished.”

What could the Lord possibly mean by His references to “fire” and to “baptism”?

Jesus’ words are an echo of John the Baptist’s characterization of the nature of Jesus’ ministry. In Luke 3: 16, John tells us that Jesus will “baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire.”

We would do well to unpack the biblical meanings of both terms, baptism and fire.

We begin with fire:

Fire is a symbol of God’s judgment. Consider the fate of the wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, as an example. Fire consumes both as God’s judgment is poured out (see Genesis 18: 16 – 19: 24).

But fire also purifies. As to the purifying effects of fire, we read in I Corinthians 3: 12 – 13 these words, “Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw – each man’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done.”

And fire energizes, as we see on the Day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit’s presence was made known like tongues of fire, resting on the heads of each person present.

Now, let’s turn to the matter of baptism:

St. Paul, writing in Romans 6: 3 – 9, characterizes baptism as a sort of death. We are buried with Christ in a death like His, he writes, only to be raised to a new life in a resurrection like His. So baptism is equated with death.

What could Jesus’ words refer to then, those words which say something about “casting fire on the earth,” and about having a “baptism to be baptized with”?

Perhaps Jesus is referring to His own coming death, a death which

• Demonstrates God’s judgment on the sins of the whole world,
• Purifies those who come, by faith, to claim its cleansing effects, and which
• Energizes believers down through the ages.

In His death, Jesus gives us:

• A precious gift,
• A costly gift because it entailed His own suffering and death,
• A generous gift because of the victory over death that His resurrection makes possible.

Recognizing the cost that Jesus paid, Christian believers have treasured the gift of the kingdom of God that Jesus brought. Ever since, Christian believers have been willing to accept the ending of some relationships, simply because their relationship with Jesus Christ was more important and more central to the meaning of their lives than any other relationship.

Thanks be to God, for the costly gift of the kingdom of God, which surpasses all other gifts and all other relationships.

May we, in our own day, value the costly gift of the kingdom of God, just as our ancestors in the faith have done.

AMEN.

11 Pentecost, Year C

“READY?”
A homily by Fr. Gene Tucker, given at: Trinity Church, Mt. Vernon, Illinois on Sunday, August 8, 2010.
Proper 14 -- Genesis 15:1–6; Psalm 33: 12–15, 18–22; Hebrews 11:1–16; Luke 12:32-40

Ever think about the lessons we can learn from our pets?

Consider our two Cocker Spaniels, sisters Phoebe and Zoe, now nearly eight years old (hard to believe!)….They are perfect examples of our Lord’s instruction – heard this morning - to “sell your possessions, give alms to the poor”.

 You see, whenever the food bowl is in view in the kitchen, little Phoebe will come over and bark loudly at her sister, Zoe, to get away from the food bowl, as if to say, “This is my food! You stay away.”

And if Zoe had been eating up until that moment, she will simply walk away. No growling back, no barking, no using of her much larger size and mass to push her possessive sister away from the food bowl. No, Zoe just walks away, lays down in a comfortable spot, and waits for her sister to “get over it all”.

Zoe is perfectly willing to give everything that’s important away to her sister. “You can have it, if you want it,” seems to be her attitude.
Now, you have to understand, Zoe knows that she will never go hungry. In fact, I doubt that Zoe even knows what a hunger pang is, to tell the truth.

For, you see, Mommy and Daddy (yes, that’s us) take very good care of both of these girls, whom we refer to as our “furry children”.

Whatever Zoe’s motivation is for being so gracious and generous, it’s clear that in walking away from the food bowl, she is countermanding her natural instincts, all of which would tell her to hoard that food, and keep all (or as much as possible) of it for herself alone.

So it is with us human beings.

Jesus’ instruction asks us to countermand our natural instincts, which are very much in line with many other creatures we share this planet with.

If we don’t have enough of something, then we worry about how we will get enough to manage. If we have enough for today to manage, then we worry about how we will get enough to manage for tomorrow. If we have much more than we need, then we worry about having even more (just like Phoebe).

Worry, worry, worry.

No wonder that Jesus uses the word “worry” in the verses which immediately precede today’s gospel reading. (Verses that we do not read in our Sunday lectionary cycle.) He says, “Do not worry about your life, what you shall eat, nor about your body, which you shall put on.” (verse 22).

A little later, He says, “And which of you, by worrying, can add a cubit to the span of your life”? (Verse 25).

And then, even a little later on, He says, “And do not keep striving for what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not keep worrying.” (Verse 29).

Then, He wraps up this part of His teaching by adding, “For it is the nations of the world that strive after all these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, strive for his kingdom, and all these things will be given you as well.” (Verses 30 & 31).

That brings us to today’s part of this major teaching about wealth, possessions and the kingdom of God.

So, today, we hear these words, “Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possession, and give alms….” (Verses 32 & 33).

“Wait a minute,” we want to say in response.

“We need this stuff!” we say.

“Why, we don’t have enough,” we add.

“We’re barely making it as it is, let alone trying to meet the demands that tomorrow will bring,” we assert.

“We’ve worked hard for everything we have,” we maintain.

Does this line of thinking sound familiar?

Does it sound like us?

How do we behave when the Lord tells us to “Sell our possessions, give alms”?

Do we behave like Phoebe, or like Zoe?

As I reflect on my own responses to the Lord’s command, I realize that I have three levels of response to the command to “Sell my possessions, and give alms.” They are:

• Comfortable, optional level of giving,
  
• A substantial, though not sacrificial, level of giving,
  
• sacrificial level of giving that requires giving up things that matter.

Now, having just come back from a vacation, I have been looking around the house with fresh eyes at the “stuff” we have. And as I do so, I can see these three levels of giving at work as I consider what to do with the “stuff” we possess.

For example - and speaking just for myself – I have a lot of stuff I haven’t used in eons! That stuff just sits on the shelf or in a box, and I have no use for it, so far as I can tell. Why do I say so? Because I have no plans to use that stuff, none at all.

So why not give it away? Couldn’t someone else use those things that are obviously of little or no use to me? Why not bring it to the Undercroft of the church, where it can be put to good use in the Rummage Sale that the St. Anne’s Guild will have someday. That way, the Guild’s ministries and mission work will benefit, and someone else will be able to use (hopefully) the stuff that I can’t use. Everyone is a winner!

The next level of giving involves those things that I really value, but would involve some degree of my being willing to part with those things. These sorts of things are things that I really might use someday, but not immediately. Giving those things up would involve some level of sacrifice, but not a whole lot.

The same principles are at work in this level of giving and sacrifice, however. The Guild’s Rummage Sale would benefit, as would someone who could make use of the things that I give up.

The deepest level of giving involves giving up something that really, really means a lot to me, or things that are expensive to buy or to own.

Here, the level of sacrifice is significant. But so is the benefit….think of it: If an expensive item were donated to the Rummage Sale, the proceeds would be much, much greater for the Guild. But so would the benefit to the new owner, who would probably be able to buy this valuable item for a less-than-new price.

See how this works?

Now, two final comments:

1. Jesus asks us to trust that the heavenly Father knows our needs, and to acknowledge that the Father will see to it that our needs are filled, according to what we need, not what we want. (There is a difference!)
   
2. Recognizing that all that we have comes from God (in one way or another), we are called to mirror God’s generosity in our dealings with others. This principle can be summarized thusly: “You received without payment, give without payment.” (Matthew 10: 8b)

 AMEN.

10 Pentecost, Year C

"FOCUS"
A homily by Fr. Gene Tucker, given at Trinity Church, Mt. Vernon, Illinois; Sunday, August 1, 2010 (Delivered by Mr. Barney Bruce, licensed Lay Worship Leader)
Proper 13 -- Ecclesiastes 1:12–14, 2:1–7,11,18–23; Psalm 49:1–11; Colossians 3:5–17; Luke 12:13–21

Our gospel text for today brings to us one of the rich treasures from Luke’s record of Jesus’ teaching: The Parable of the Rich Fool (as it’s generally known).

We are indebted to Luke for making available to us so much of Jesus’ teaching, material we find nowhere else.

So, let’s turn to this wonderful parable, which was given by Jesus while He was on His way to Jerusalem.

Like some earlier teachings, this parable is told in response to a question. In today’s case, it is the request of an unnamed person for Jesus to act as an arbiter in the division of the family estate.

“Teacher, bid my brother divide the inheritance with me,” the man says. But Jesus declines the request to be the executor of the estate. Instead – and as He often does – Jesus cuts to the heart of the reason for the unnamed man’s request: It is greed.

“Take heed and beware of all covetousness,” Jesus says, “For a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

But that first line is better translated this way: “Take heed and beware of all greed.”

Scholars tell us that the sort of greed Jesus has in mind is better understood if we look into the implications behind the Greek word. In the Greek, this sort of greed is the sort that isn’t happy with just having things. This sort of greed always wants more!

As Jesus unfolds the parable and its teaching, we begin to hear a succession of self-centered words: The rich fool uses words like “my crops, my barns, my grain, my goods, my soul.”

My, my, my……

Clearly, the rich fool’s focus is on himself, his possessions, his welfare, and his future security.

The rich fool is in a relationship with himself, and with no one else.

Now, we have come to the heart of the matter. For, you see, it’s all a matter of relationships. Relationships with God, with others, and with the things we possess.

With respect to our relationship to God, Jesus sums up the parable with this final statement: “So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”

Put another way, Jesus says that, while the rich fool was making provisions for himself, he made no provision for God in his life.

You see, it’s all about relationships: relationships with God, with others, with the things that we possess, and, oh yes, with ourselves.

Are we – each of us – islands, apart from the main (I refer here to the famous poem, the first line of which says, “No man is an island, apart from the main.”)?

Jesus makes it clear that no one of us is an island, apart from God. That’s the point of the last line in our gospel for today.

If we were to trace the rich fool’s relationships, they would have to begin with God, wouldn’t they?

Notice that Jesus begins the parable with this sentence: “The land of a rich man brought forth plenteously.”

How could the rich fool’s land produce such a good crop, if it weren’t for the goodness and the bounty of the land, which ultimately comes from God?

So, to begin with, God’s goodness lies behind the rich fool’s blessings. All of our blessings come from God, a reality we affirm each Sunday morning as we present our tithes and offerings. We sing, “Praise God from whom all blessings flow.”

But then, if we use our common sense a little, we can also imagine that the laborers who planted the rich fool’s crops, who cultivated them, and who harvested them, are also due some credit for the bounty that has been brought into the rich fool’s barns. Though Jesus doesn’t say so, common sense would tell us that the rich fool didn’t do all of that work by himself.

But the rich fool’s laborers are also left out of the man’s assessment of his situation. “My crops, my barns, my grain, my goods,” the rich fool says.

The rich fool, immersed as he is in himself, is in for a rude shock: “Fool! This night your soul is required of you,” God says, “And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?”

A rude shock, a complete reversal of roles, is what awaits the rich fool. Not the secure retirement he seems to have envisioned for himself, no, that won’t be the rich fool’s future at all.

The truth about our relationships to our possessions rings out in today’s parable, and in our reading from Ecclesiastes. There, King Solomon reflects on his life, and the sum of his life’s work, saying, “I hated all my toil in which I had toiled under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to the man who will come after me; and who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool?”

Solomon tells us, as Jesus does today in our parable, that everything we own will, someday, no longer be ours. Someone else will possess them, all of them. So, the saying is true, “There are no U Hauls in heaven.”

At death, all we will have left, all we will possess, is our relationship to God. Everything else will fall away.

Jesus’ parable about the rich fool has a lot to say to us today. The attitudes we hear the rich fool express in his private thoughts are attitudes that tempt every human being, down through the ages.

But the rich fool’s attitudes are particularly tempting, and are particularly evident, in our world today.

We, as 21st century Americans, live in a culture of extreme self-centeredness, and in a culture of out-of-control materialism. We pride ourselves on being self-made men and women. “Be independent, be a hard worker, and you will reap the benefits of all your efforts.” That would be a good way to characterize the attitudes that our society values.

These attitudes are the same ones we see in the rich fool.

Like the rich fool, we can easily think that our success – which is often measured in material terms alone – is all due to us, and to our hard work.

If we are tempted to follow the rich fool’s example, and to allow the culture around us to shape our values, then we might be tempted to leave God out of our lives.

But Jesus’ teaching tells us to make room for God now. “Cultivate your relationship with God while you still have time,” might be a good way to summarize Jesus’ intent.

So, while we still have the time, we cultivate our relationship with God. That’s one of the main reasons we are gathered together this morning in God’s house. Being together to worship God is the right way to start the new week. Hearing God’s word, offering our praises and our prayers, and sharing in the Sacrament of the Eucharist, are some of the ways that we build our relationship with Him.

Then, we are called to go out from this place to share the Good News of God in Jesus Christ. He, who loves us and who gave Himself up for us as a sweet offering to God the Father, demands that we share the love He has poured into us with those around us.

The command to share that divine love with others means we cannot subscribe to the rich fool’s vision of the future. For the Christian, there can be no secure, self-made retirement from the command to love and to serve our neighbor, as our Baptismal Covenant makes clear (see the Book of Common Prayer, page 305).

The work that our Lord Jesus Christ gives us, to share the blessings that come from God, and to share His love, never ends, no matter what age we are, no matter what our life’s circumstances might be.

May the Lord God almighty correct our ability to see the future as God sees it, and to strengthen our hands for service to others in His name.

AMEN.