July 31, 2022 – Eighth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 13)

Midsummer is often a time for family vacations and leisurely coffee hours. It’s tempting to assume that the imperative of our Christian life can be relaxed a little bit while people settle into the welcome routines of rest, recreation, and travel. But this week’s Gospel reading sizzles and spits like a hamburger on a backyard grill, and that sizzling is only made worse by the temperatures we experience throughout the lazy August days we’re heading into now.

Today’s word calls us to a deeper spirituality and trust in God. But first, we have to muddle through Jesus’ exposition of our human greed and anxiety about money and then his destruction of the illusion that the godly life is synonymous with our cultural ideals of prosperity and success. Unlike Luke’s stories about the Good Samaritan, the Lost Sheep, and the Prodigal Son, this parable we hear today contains no last-minute rescue for a “happily ever after” moment, and no maneuvering room for corrections of wrong turns we’ve taken. 

I don’t think the point of today’s parable is that we can’t take it with us, so we should be generous with our assets, especially to the church. You won’t actually often hear me preach on stewardship because I can completely understand the time and talent gifts we offer as much as or more than the treasure sometimes! The story ends with “So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God.” What does it mean to be “rich toward God”? The story seems to lead us to the edge of a cliff — and then leave us standing there alone, wondering.

But perhaps we should have expected it… Not only has Jesus just declined to take up a case of distributive justice, but in the story immediately following this one, he seems to disallow resource management altogether. “Do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear” (12:22). Is there no place in God’s economy for bigger barns?

Let’s be clear — money DOES matter to Luke’s Jesus. But much more is involved here than how much one manages to make or to bank. The issue is not so much investments and dividends as it is about distractions.

Think back to our Gospel story two weeks ago, when Jesus received hospitality from Mary and Martha, where Martha apparently handled most of the logistics for his visit. Martha complained that Mary was not doing her fair share. Jesus told Martha that she was “distracted by many things.” In the midst of all of what’s going on, Martha had lost her perspective. In her multitasking, she had missed out on her one important obligation — being hospitable.

Both the man who was focused on the inheritance he DOES NOT yet have but wants to gain and the rich man focused on resources he DOES have but wants to enlarge are afflicted by a variation of Martha’s problem. The disgruntled brother and the enterprising rich man are not distracted by MANY things as Martha is, but are rather distracted by their respective fixations on one thing: the additional resources each might somehow get: “If only my brother would divvy up! If only my barns were bigger!”

When Jesus advises “not to worry” about food and clothes, he is not urging a radical lifestyle. He is addressing the pervasive human disposition to grasp after what almost always distracts our focus from what can be acquired through God’s gracious gift. 

The issue for Martha, for the discontented brother, for the rich man, and for us is CAREFUL DISCERNMENT regarding various dimensions of value. Such discernment is especially challenging when money is at stake. It can be even more difficult when the problem involves a perceived fair distribution of capital and labor. Perceptions of both are often immediate and intense. Perspective is essential in discernment, and often hard to come by.

Luke doesn’t record Jesus saying “You fool!” as an abuse. It’s used as vividly descriptive of the actual situation. Distractions occlude clear discernment and lead to choices and commitments that are often quite foolish. No one sets out to make stupid decisions. When information relevant to decision making is merely overlooked or inaccurately assessed, ensuing misperception is relatively easy to correct. Checked and prompted, we can look again and adjust accordingly. But if we have predispositions and distractions, it is hard to put things in perspective. This parable’s sharp warning is an intervention of last resort.

Jesus’ conclusion in verse 21 rounds out his words on greed in verse 15. Here is the final, fatal outcome for one whose life was the abundance of his possessions. Here is the fate of one who stockpiled for himself and was not rich toward God. While this text does not tell us what being rich toward God entails, both prior and subsequent texts within Luke provide clear insights. Being rich toward God entails using one’s resources for the benefits of one’s neighbor in need as the Samaritan did (10:25-37). Being rich toward God includes intentionally listening to Jesus’ word, as Mary did (10:38-42)). Being rich toward God consists of prayerfully trusting that God will provide for the needs of life (11:1-13; 12:22-31). Being rich toward God involves selling possessions and giving alms as a means of establishing a lasting treasure in heaven (12:32-34).

When all is said and done, today’s Gospel lesson invites us to place our trust in something more durable than the volatile fluctuations of our global economy. To enter into God’s grace, we must be rich in God, and so our guiding question for this week should be: What DOES it mean to be “rich toward God”? The good news is that we don’t need to bank on more and build larger storage barns. God invites all of us — with no exceptions — into the eternal economy of Christ’s grace and mercy.