Sermon; Proper 13C; Luke 12:13-21

Today we have someone trying to draw Jesus into a family dispute, but he’s having none of it.  Instead, Jesus goes off on the insignificance of riches; or, if not the insignificance, then certainly the importance of proper balance.  He takes this opportunity to tell a parable of a rich man whose land produces even more abundantly than originally planned, making him even richer.  With that unexpected windfall, the man decides to build new, bigger barns to store it all for himself.  In the end, he dies, just like everyone else eventually will.

Let me make clear: Jesus is not addressing or attacking wealth and there is nothing wrong with wanting to be successful or financially secure.  Nobody wants to be destitute.  What Jesus is addressing or attacking is the improper place wealth holds in people’s lives.  When it comes to wealth, how much is too much?

Two chapters ago Jesus told the parable we have come to know as the Good Samaritan.  That parable is about the willingness to recognize the face of God in others and to do the right thing even at great personal cost.

Next week we will hear Jesus tell us to sell our possessions, give alms, and work for an unfailing treasure in heaven.  This isn’t about some heavenly pie-in-the-sky by-and-by, but an honest acknowledgement that where your heart is, there will be your treasure.

Throughout this section of Luke, Jesus addresses issues of money, caring for others, and priorities.

All through scripture, over and over and over again, we see God commanding us to protect and care for the weak, the less fortunate, and those in danger of being abused – women, children, widows, aliens, the poor, and other less fortunate people.

We are told to love the stranger (Deut. 10:19)

We are told to provide food for the aliens, orphans, and widows (Deut. 14:29)

We are told to not withhold justice to aliens, orphans, and widows (Deut. 24:17)

We are told to not keep everything for ourselves, but to ensure that aliens, orphans, and widows have access to the abundance we enjoy (Deut. 24:19-21)

We are told the reason Sodom & Gomorrah were destroyed was because they had excess of food and prosperity, but they did not aid the poor and needy (Ez. 16:48-50)

We are told to give to those in need, not sparingly, but generously (2 Cor. 9:6-7)

Over and over and over again we are told and instructed that, as the people of God, we must love our neighbors and care for those in need.  And today’s parable is but one more example.

A rich man, through no work of his own, had land that produced much more than anticipated.  He now has a decision to make and he decides the best course of action is to build larger storehouses in order to keep everything for himself.  Today this might be a parable about a person whose investments, through no work of their own, had produced dividends earning them several million more dollars than anticipated.  When they get the report, they say, “What will I do with all these extra funds?  I know, I’ll build a new and bigger house for myself.”

I could be wrong, but I think today’s parable hits closer to home today than at other times.  We live in a society where greed is good.  We live in a time when the less fortunate and those on the margins are treated as pariahs.  As such, we have created a system that values personal wealth and selfishness while punishing those in need.  Or, if not actively punishing, creating systems that make it hard for those in need to survive, let alone live day-to-day.

We are witnessing a socio-religious change in some quarters where it is now acceptable to elevate the wealthy to demigod status, to stratify and limit love, and to elevate ourselves over and above everyone and everything else.  But no matter how we try to justify any of it, there is no basis in scripture for these behaviors and policies.  Not only are they anti-scriptural, they are anti-Christ.

Today’s parable touches on greed, a lack of concern for those in need or less fortunate, and an unwillingness to see both people and creation as God sees them:  with love, care, and compassion.  We are called throughout scripture to give abundantly, not only as individuals, but as the Body of Christ, and this parable reminds us of that obligation.

So again, the question is, “How much is too much?”

And as we ponder that question and ponder our own mortality, may we live and die doing the good work of loving our neighbors as ourselves.

Amen.