A wise older man and a young ambitious young man had a conversation. The older man asked the younger one what he intended to do with his life. “Well said the younger man, I will learn my trade.” And then asked the older man, “I will set up in business” said the younger man. And then asked the wise man, “I will find a wife and get married and start a family” and then…I will make my fortune…. And then – the younger man hesitated and bit and said, “ I suppose that I shall grow old and retire and live on my money” and then. The younger man got a little slower in his answers but he responds, “Well I suppose that some day I will die. But the wise old man asks one more question…and then?
We are all like the young man, we plan our lives, we decide what we are going to do, we plan how happy we will be when accomplish those plans, we prepare ourselves to just go forward with life. And Jesus is there to remind us that there is more to life than making a living. There is more to us than what we do – true life is about who we are. What did God bring us into the story of history to do? What is it that captures your soul? The Hebrew word for soul is nefesh, which means one’s whole being, one’s whole existence. The gospel lesson is a sober reminder that God is the one who demands our whole being. At some point in our lives, God comes to each of us and demands that we return the life that we have been given. No matter who we are, no matter what we do in life or don’t do, we will all die, and our souls will be returned to God. What is it that captures your soul? Unfortunately, that is not always a positive statement. We can be captured with the love and will of God. But the reality is that our souls are usually captured by something else – all of us get caught up in the midst of our lives – and we think that our life is the most important thing in the world.
What is it that captures your soul? You soul can be captured by fear, by busyness, by concern, by greed, by determination. There are countless things in our life that stand in our soul’s ultimate purpose to honor and praise God.
One of the most pervasive things that stand in the way of our soul’s purpose to honor God is our stuff. We seem to love our stuff. We spend our lives trying to acquire stuff. It is the stuff that we possess that gives us our identity, it defines who we are, it is our reward for doing the right thing, it is our comfort when our feelings are hurt, it is it is our substitute for failed relationships. Stuff is everything to us.
The self-storage association reported that stuff is so important to Americans that the storage industry is the fastest growing sector of the real estate industry. In other words, it is more important for people to have a storage space for their stuff, and then it is to have a house for their bodies. In 1984 there were 6,601 storage facilities, taking up more than 289.7 million square feet. In 2007, there are 59,657 storage facilities taking up mover 2.2 billion square feet. There are enough storage facilities for every American to have 17.2 square feet of storage. There is so much storage space in America that there is room for every man, women and child to stand under the roof of a storage unit. There are still to build thousands of new storage facilities in the coming years. In 1995 it was reported that in 17 people owned storage, today that number is 1 in 10 and it is expected to increase. We love our stuff!
We are so attached to our stuff that there is even a rumor that since Jesus lived so long ago and since he was such a nice person, that he always talked about our souls, but he would never address our stuff. Jesus was concerned about our behavior, but he would never address money issues. That is not true. It may not be appropriate for the preacher to talk about money issues – but the truth is – that Jesus talked about money all of the time. He was a little obsessed with it actually. Almost 2/3 of his parables had to do with money or possessions. The story in Luke 12:13-21 is one of those times when Jesus talks about money.
A man, probably a younger brother steps out of the crowd to ask Jesus to settle a dispute between his brother over his inheritance. In those days, it was the older brother who received the inheritance from his father. It was his decision to share it with his other brothers. Jesus tells him that he has not come here to settle disputes between brothers. Instead he tells the brother and all listening the story of a farmer who stored up grain for himself. He was so blessed that he had too much grain, and decided to tear down his old storehouses and to build bigger ones. God gets a little concerned about the man’s priorities, and demands his soul that very night. We are supposed to strive to be rich in God, not in stuff. Because you can’t take stuff with you when you die.
The bible calls this man a silly fool. But we are all a lot like him. He was not a bad man; he did not have evil intentions. But he was convinced that his life was in his hands. As he spoke of his dilemma of having too much stuff and needing more storage space, his whole conversation was about himself. What he had, what he could do, how it would affect him. His whole conversation was about me and mine. Jesus’ conversation is always about we and us. We are not in this world alone- there are many others in need. When we hold onto our money and possession, there are always others who do without. Jesus didn’t have any possession. He didn’t have a house, or a donkey or even a moneybag. What he did have were people – lots of people who depended upon his word for life.
Jesus reminds us that we are all just like the older brother who has been given an inheritance. We shouldn’t have to be told to share the gift that we have been given with our brothers and sisters.
We are brothers and sisters because God is the loving parent of us all. Hosea says when Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. It was I who taught them to walk, like a mother I took them up in my arms, I led them with cords of human kindness, with bands of love. I was to them like those who lift infants to their cheeks. I bent down to them and fed them. It is God who has nurtured all of us through the twist and turns of our life. It was God who supplied our needs, who loved us , who helped us to grow up. Sometimes we didn’t know that it was God who was taking care of us. Sometimes we did not know where God was leading us, sometime we didn’t know what was going in our lives or why. But God was there.
Sometimes when God led us where we needed to be, we made the decision to go where we wanted to go, when god supplied our needs, we got upset because we wanted so much more, when God asked for our love in return, we rejected God and went our own way.
The prophet Hosea lets us know that in those times the battle of how to respond was in God’s heart. Does a loving parent give us the punishment that we deserve or the compassion to give us a second chance? God agonized over whether to give us judgment or grace. Even though we are all sinner, we have all done wrong – God chooses to give us the grace to allow us to go on. When we suffer. God suffers and does all that God can do to make it better.
The words of the prophets can be very cruel sometime. They can speak of a terrible judgment on the people of God. And yet their words always end with hope. The words of Hosea end with God’s children finally coming home. It is interesting that in history, the doom that Hosea spoke of did come true. The Israelites were defeated and taken away from their land. They did suffer. But they also came home.
I started this sermon with the story of an ambitious young man. I want to end with the story of an ambitious young girl.
One could say that she was very rich. Very rich indeed. Her gifts were great. From the very moment of her birth her intelligence, and tenacity were quite evident. As she grew she became in succession, ruler of her nursery school, monarch of day care, student council chairperson, and valedictorian of bother her high school and college classes. Then not being content with her Harvard bachelor’s degree in business administration, she graduated at the top of the best MBA program in the country. No one was surprised when half the companies in the fortune 100 actively courted her. a major manufacturer finally won the competition for her skills. The company’s president proudly told the Wall Street journal about how she would transform the firm. It wasn’t too long before he realized that complete accuracy of his statements. But unfortunately his business savvy didn’t foretell the way she deflated his golden parachute as she almost literally shoved him out the executive suite door. In doing so, she became the youngest CEO in the history of the firm. The firm she took over was no ordinary firm, of course. You could see that from its balance sheet. But you could see it even more in the faces of its employees. For while the firm was immensely profitable, it had the reputation of being even more immensely honorable.
Over its hundred year plus history, its officers had always treated their employees and customers, as they wished to be treated themselves. Even more impressively, in this day and age, they’d always refused to do business with any company that treated their customers or employees with anything but the same level of honor.
After she’d installed herself in the corner office, the firms new CEO carefully examined this well crafted tradition of honor. At least she examined it before she tossed it our. Then her drive to success led her to a search for a new tradition. To keep on top, she thought profit must rule over anything else.
It wasn’t long before the firm’s workers were hit with massive layoffs, and plant closures. In their place came factories in countries that were less picky about labor and environmental issues. The average age of those employees was about 12. and it suddenly didn’t seem too important when the firm’s child laborers developed many cancers never before seen in their country. Soon the firms share price climbed through the roof. With all of her stock options the new CEO seemed set for life. After all, she more money, more possession. More power then she could ever possibly use or spend. Her life seemed perfect.
But her perfect world began to unravel after her visit to the firm’s new factory in Thailand. She’d gone there to assure herself that everything was being done to maximize its profitability. She was quite pleased by what she saw at the plant. Her young workers there were laboring at a feverish speed. And no funds were being spent to provide them any unnecessary frills; frills like safety equipment.
Then just as she was leaving the plant, she heard a hissing noise. Before she could even turn to locate the source, she found herself enveloped in a cloud of foul smelling fumes. Quickly she ran from the plant and stood grasping for breath beside the main door. When at last she could speak she questioned the plant manager about the fumes source. Don’t worry, he told her. The holding tank for our processing chemicals springs a leak now and then. The workers are used to it by now.
Satisfies by the explanation, she returned to the firms New York headquarters. There she threw herself into her latest effort; a hostile takeover of a major competitor. But after a few months, she began to feel strange. She tired easily, became nauseated frequently. And began to loose weight. At first she thought that it was just a virus. But why didn’t the symptoms go away? Then she notices a lump on her neck.
For the first time, she was scared. She made an appointment with the best doctor in the city.
After being poked and prodded, and tested the doctor looked at her in silence. His eyes seemed to pierce her soul. I am so sorry he said, her death would come very quick, within a month. She was confined to her home, as hospice took very good care of her.
Dying is a very lonely affair. None of her employees ever came to visit. She heard that they celebrated when they heard the news,
She had not friends, and she had alienated her family. Weeks went by with no one, until one day an unexpected visitor why knocked at the door.
It was her former boss; the one she had fired. He sat with her that day, and came back every day to visit. He often bought flowers or other gifts to cheer her up. She began to look forward to these visits and to wonder why he was so nice to her.
One day she asked him. Why are you visiting me – took everything away from you. After I fired you , you were so poor.
Her former boss smiled at her for a moment and then leaned forward and took her hand. You could never make me poor. As long as I can do something for someone else I can never be poor.
You see, the secret of being rich, isn’t gaining possessions, it isn’t winning the rat race. For I found out early in life that no matter who well I did in the rat race, I was still a rat.
The secret of being rich is using your gifts and whatever you gain from those gifts to help others. We have a choice in life he said – you can be rich in ourselves, and build up money and things, but in the end no amount of money or things will matter
But if we use what we have to enrich God’s people, we’ll have created things that matter. Only in that way can we be rich toward God.
Her life ended painfully, but the pain was lessoned by a sense of awe. For at least she’d met someone who was rich. Very rich indeed. To God alone be the glory.
Amen.
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