The "Things" Between Worry and Fear: A Sermon for 8C Pentecost

 

I hadn't thought about my stuffed animals in years. They're all gone now. The only ones I have were ones given to me by godmother when I was heading to college. The others, I imagine, were tossed in a dumpster when my brothers cleared out our family home. 

We won't talk about that. 

But it was interesting for me to think through my need to have stuffed animals, both ones given to me and ones that I mysteriously acquired and loved like the Velveteen Rabbit. I hadn't realized that these dozen or so toys were essential "things" that kept me feeling safe at night. 

And it made me think about classmates and friends that I knew did not have as many stuffed animals. I didn't realize that my plush buddies were a sign of privilege. It was interesting to think about in light of the Gospel reading.

What did I fear that made me need to have all those toys?

See what you think.

Text: Luke 12:13-21

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             When I was little…I had a lot of stuffed animals. I wasn’t into Barbie and Ken and those Mattel type toys…although I did have a few.

But I loved my teddy bear…aptly named Roosevelt. 

My green bunny named James…not sure why I picked that name but he was James.

Of course…I had a Raggedy Anne and her brother Andy.

Lucy Pink who was a pink poodle.

And every night…all my stuffed animal friends had to be tucked carefully around me. They were my pals…my buddies…who would keep me safe at night from whatever imaginary monsters might be lurking in the closet or under my bed. Safety in numbers I suppose.

By being surrounded by these toys…I could feel secure…and taken care of.

I often think that’s why we acquire the things that we do.

We have a deep need to have “things.”

And by having “things”…we feel more at ease and maybe even a little more confident that we’re going to be OK.

And then here’s Jesus this morning telling us, “one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.” (Lk.12:15b)

To illustrate his point…he does what he loves to do in Luke. He tells a story which we call “The Parable of the Rich Fool.”

In this story…a farmer has an incredibly good year.

Clearly…there has been no draught…and just enough rain to yield a bumper crop.

In fact…it’s more than what his barn can hold.

But instead of sharing this abundance…the farmer has a discussion with himself.

‘Gosh, I have so much. What ever should I do?’

He’s probably seen those lean years when he didn’t have as much. Maybe the rains had drowned his fields.

So he decides that he’s going to tear down the barn he has and build an even bigger one.

Now he’s set!

He can store up all his grain and live happily ever after…secure in knowing that he has what he needs for himself.

I guess he didn’t bother to think about the possibility of mold…or rats…getting into the barn and spoiling his plan to have years of leftovers.

At any rate…God looks at this situation and calls the man a fool. Why?

Because the man isn’t going to live forever…in fact his life is coming to an end that night. So what good is all this “stuff” going to be to him being stored up in a bigger barn?

And who is going to be left to deal with it all when he’s gone?

In Luke’s Gospel…our evangelist has placed this Parable of the Rich Fool between two teachings of Jesus to his followers about fear and worry.

Remember where we are in the overall story in the Gospel.

Jesus has “set his face toward Jerusalem.”(Lk.9:51). The march toward the ultimate showdown is on.

He knows what he’s getting into by going to the city.

He’s aware that things are not going to go smoothly when they arrive.

The opposition from the ruling Roman Empire is strong. Rome does not like any troublemakers…especially Jewish ones.

 And then there are those who have carved out a comfortable living and want to keep the status quo.

They don’t need anyone messing up the good thing that they’ve got going on in Jerusalem.  

With all this in mind…Jesus can sense that some in his group are going to need reassurance and a pep talk to keep them going.

And so he encourages them to fear not what might happen to their bodies…but to fear that greater adversary: those thoughts that will cloud their brains and get them to give up on God.  

He warns them not to let the “stuff” of rulers or other authority figures…intimidate them into falling away from God. Afterall… the authorities they will encounter in Jerusalem are mere mortals who will dry up and blow away like grass…but God’s Love is with them and in them.

We can almost hear him using the words of our psalmist:

“For God alone my soul in silence waits; truly, my hope is in God.” (Ps.62:6).

So that’s what Jesus advises before this particular parable.

On the other side of this story of the rich fool…Jesus again tells his followers to not get so focused on what they’re going to eat or what they’re going to wear. He talks of the ravens that don’t have barns and storehouses…and yet they’re fed.

He mentions the lilies in the field.

They flower and look pretty without worrying if and when it will happen.

He finishes by reminding them not to hold onto their possessions…but to share.

This was the ethic of early Christianity.

The community of followers were to pool their resources and distribute them among each other and to the widows and poor.

Some intentional Christian communities still do that.

But we are a far cry from that as our widely accepted Christian ethic now.

We live in a world of private property rights….where governments feud over public lands and water rights that were never really theirs in the first place.

But I think it’s still worth considering some deeper spiritual questions that this Gospel raises even for us in our 21^st century context:

What are we afraid of that keeps us from living into Love for ourselves and all of creation and makes us seek security in things?

What is it that we keep holding back…filling up bigger and bigger metaphorical…or maybe even real… barns with things…so that we don’t feel that we have to worry?

And in all our storing and saving and collecting of things…have we crammed our hearts so full that there is no room for God…for that peace and love that is beyond all measure?

I sometimes wonder about that.

I sometimes think that with all the things that can get thrown at us…at our work places…with stresses and to do lists in our homes…and definitely the flood of news stories as we doom scroll through videos and social media…all of these are taking up space…and crowding out the room for us to realize that our number one mission as people of God is to live into Love.

Our chief purpose as children of God is to remember that we are deeply loved and valued for exactly who we are…and to share that same love with others.

At our vestry meeting last Sunday…we reflected on prayer and the way we pray. And I shared the wisdom that I learned working with the brothers of the Society of St. John the Evangelist…an Episcopal monastery in Cambridge Massachusetts.

Brother Keith Nelson taught us about prayer as the dialogue we have with God…and quite often God initiates that conversation…in ordinary and simple ways.

He gave the example of being on a walk outside in a garden and noticing the brilliant color of a particular flower…or seeing a bird take flight over a pond.

These are the ways in which God begins to engage with us…hoping we will take the time to notice and enter the dialogue.

Make enough space to have the conversation.

That’s the encouragement I want to leave for us this week.

Even in these blazing hot and humid days of summer…let’s take a moment to put down phone…step away from the barrage of things that come at us…and make room for remembering that God is Love and that’s enough to get us through to the next day.

And then…pass on that feeling of love to someone else….because surely they need it too.

In the name of our One Holy and Undivided Trinity who is Love Everlasting.