Reverend Ref +

PENTECOST 9 - PROPER 13 - YEAR C

It was the Michael Douglas character in the 1980-something movie "Wall Street" who said, "Greed . . . is good." In some respects, he was right. Greed ultimately pulled Europe out of the mire of the Medieval era. Greed turned a fledgling country into a superpower. Greed allowed the U.S. to win the cold war. Greed allows us to keep our standard of living.

But greed has its downside also. Besides things like slavery, child labor, war and contempt for those "less fortunate," greed turns our focus inward. We begin to see ourselves as the center of the universe. Wants become needs. True charity becomes a business transaction. Looking out for #1 and "gettin' mine first" become our priorities. And it is into this downside that Jesus asks us to look.

"Tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me." We don't know why this man came to Jesus with the demand. He may have had a valid complaint against his brother. He may have been a whiny brat. He may have been . . . well, it doesn't matter. The point is that the guy is trying to use God as a weapon. "If I can get God on my side, I win." How much damage has been done by people to people who have believed that God is on their side? 9/11. Our response to that act. White Christians to heathen natives. Protestants to Romans. Catholics to Jews. Israel to Canaan. And the list goes on and on. I've got news for you: God is not to be used as a weapon. We cannot complain to God about other people and assume God will join us. We have more important things to do than trying to figure out how to get God on our side. Like what?

Like trying to figure out how to get on God's side. A rich man had a bumper crop, so much so that he had no room to store all of it. His solution? Tear down the too-small barns and build bigger ones. Ah yes, greed is good. Greed allowed this man to become rich. But greed has also caused this man to collapse in on himself. His sole focuse is to look out for #1. Like a black hole in space, he can only acquire. A black hole, remember, sucks everything around it in with a pull so strong that not even light can escape. In the same way, the farmer spends his time acquiring with such passion that not even the light of God gets passed on.

The farmer is operating from a theology of scarcity. Limited resources that, if he doesn't control, will go to someone else. That view, typical of our capitalistic society, has been around a long time. The plaintiff is also operating from a theology of scarcity -- scared that he won't get his fair share.

God, however, operates from a theology of abundance. "Well, yes," you say, "that's because God owns everything; he can afford to be abundant." And we can't? We aren't asked to give everything, we are only asked to give. What good did all the farmer's riches do him in the end? None. He died anyway. And what of his bumper crop? Was it parcelled out to the needy or did it rot in his new barns?

It takes courage to operate from a theology of abundance. It takes courage to spend a little more at the grocery store to buy food for the food bank. It takes courage to work towards God's vision, not our own. It takes courage to not allow society to determine our priorities. It takes courage to say, "God first."

And that is a courage that neither the plaintiff nor the farmer had. The plaintiff wasn't interested in working towards God's vision any more than the farmer. The plaintiff was only interested in God as long as God fit into his plans, as long as God could be used to get what he wanted. The farmer's only vision was for himself -- lacking the courage to share his wealth in case he might need it all someday.

We should read and listen to today's Gospel and ask ourselves, "Do I have the courage to put society's agenda aside? Do I have the courage to be used by God? Do I have the courage not to tell God how to behave?" If you do, then you are better off in the long run than either the plaintiff or the farmer.