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.
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:
- 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!)
- 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.
