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Pentecost XI August 7-8, 2010 Luke 12:32-40 What are you supposed to do in life? Well, according to the world, the idea seems to be to succeed, to be a success in life. Before we talk about that, maybe we should talk about what exactly the "world" is. The world is what we might call secular society, that is, life outside of the church. The values of the world, the things the world pushes are not the same values, the same things that the Christian believes, practices, extols. So back to the question. How do you succeed? How do you measure success? Well, again according to the world, the primary measurement seems to be one of "more." The more money you have, the more stuff you have, the more clout you have, the more whatever you have, the more you are judged to be successful, to be a success, to be a winner. Remember the Wall Street movie from ten or more years ago? A character named Gordon Gecko makes the statement that "Greed is good." Unfortunately, that is exactly the way the world looks at it. Greed is good, the greedier you are the better you will do, the more successful you will be. You see the evidence of this in the headlines every week, week in, week out. But last week Jesus talked about greed. Remember the story of the man with the successful harvest who decided to build more barns to keep his goods prior to selling them for a higher price? Do you remember what Bishop Aitken shared last week? He told two stories, one of the rich man who upon his death bed swallowed the only key to the safe where he kept literally millions in cash. No one was going to have what he had accumulated. I suppose he died thinking he was a success, a winner. The second story was about the young couple who bought land on Rainy Lake and wanted Pastor Aitken to bless it. But not on Friday night. Because that was the night where they visited with residents of a nursing home in North Minneapolis, and had done so every Friday night but one since their marriage ten years previous. Last week Jesus warned us to be on our guard against greed, and Bishop Aitken's stories concerned that particular battle, the young couple, giving their time every Friday night for ten years, living a life worthy of emulation. Now this week, Jesus ups the ante. Because here Jesus not only tells us to quit wanting to accumulate, but also to settle for a lot less. Sell what you have and give it to the poor, Jesus says. By worldly standards this is crazy. Just crazy. But that is how Jesus was, actually that is how Jesus is, at least in the eyes of the world. That is how we, his followers, are also to be. Then Jesus says "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." So let me ask you a question. What kind of Christian do you want to be? What kind of person do you want to be? Well, let me ask you another question. Where is your treasure right now? Is it where you want your heart to be? Mark Allen Powell tells us "Don't decide the amount of your giving by how much you care, but by how much you want to care. Ask yourself, if I were the sort of person I would really like to be, then what would I do?" Sell your possessions, give alms, Jesus says. In other words, give to the needy. Giving is good. It is good for those who receive, and it is even better for those who give. When you give you open your hands, when you open your hands, you open your heart. When you give of your possessions, your time, your talents, when you give your life as a disciple of Christ, you are suddenly open to receive even more than you give. You receive abundant life, not a life of abundance, but a life that is fulfilled, not just filled. You receive of the joy that is felt by our Lord, the Son of Man. With open hands and hearts, our treasure is indeed the Lord himself, and we are immeasurably blessed! Sound crazy? Maybe. But true, oh so true! Amen Lutheran Church of the Cross, Nisswa, Minnesota |
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