Pentecost 8c
Luke 12:13-21
Preached at Hilldale Lutheran Church, Thunder Bay, on the occasion of a pastor’s retirement
Grace and peace to you in the name of Jesus. Amen.
In our gospel reading today, Jesus is speaking to his disciples as a crowd gathers. Jesus knows that his time with them will come to an end. The future for the community will be uncertain, and in times of loss and transition it’s really easy to develop a narrow vision focused on restoring security and protecting what is perceived as ‘familiar’ and ‘safe.’ Sort of like when a pastor prepares to retire after a long season of faithful ministry, or when a pandemic causes multiple levels of disruption that make the future uncertain.
So, Jesus is speaking to the disciples, and someone from the crowd interrupts him with a problem he expects Jesus to solve. This happens to Jesus a lot. He’s trying to teach his disciples about God’s presence in the world and how the disciples can participate in what God is doing around them, and a voice or a need from the community interrupts. This time it’s a man expecting Jesus to settle a sibling dispute about inheritance. I am not an expert in Jewish law, but I do know that inheritance was often about more than just the wealth that was being passed on from one generation to the next. There was something about blessing, honor, identity and value wrapped up in inheritance. The brother’s demand that he be given his portion of the inheritance was about something more than just following the law.
Instead of getting pulled into the argument, Jesus turns back to the disciples and begins talking about “all kinds of greed.” Perhaps he sensed that the brother’s demand was a sign of something deeper that needed to be addressed. So he tells a story about a rich farmer accumulating abundance and trying to preserve that abundance by building bigger barns. At first glance it seems like the farmer is to be affirmed. There’s no reference to distortion or unfairness in how he came to have abundance. This is not like other parables Jesus tells where accumulation is an issue of injustice or inequality. The farmer seems to be getting what he deserved in the best sense. He worked hard and his work paid off. He sought to find ways to preserve his abundance, which seems to demonstrate values we can identify with and appreciate. So why is he called ‘foolish’?
Did you notice how many times the farmer references himself in the story? When evaluating his abundance, he asks, “what should I do?” When coming to a course of action he says, “Iwill build bigger storage spaces.” There’s no indication that the farmer took any interest in sharing his abundance with others, or expressing gratitude for the source of his abundance. His preoccupation was with himself and finding ways for his wealth to secure his future. He was the only one expected to benefit from this abundance. It was all about him. This is what Jesus lifts up as foolish. The farmer shows no thought of using his abundance to bless others, no expression of gratitude, and in fact does not seem to recognize God at all.[1] The farmer is called a “fool” because when his life is demanded of him, what he has prepared for himself will prove ultimately useless.
How do we do this today? Maybe some of us have been blessed with material wealth. If we have, there is clear guidance in this text against accumulating for the sake of accumulating. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what is in our bank accounts or how big our buildings are. When we make decisions about accumulating and storing our wealth in isolation, with no regard for gratitude or generosity, a day will come when what we have accumulated no longer does us any good.
I suspect that for most of us, what we are working so hard to accumulate is the less tangible stuff of validation, identity, legacy, worth and value…all the other stuff that the biblical concept of inheritance includes. Accumulating this less tangible wealth can be just as consuming as accumulating physical wealth. Left to our own devices we can get just as caught up in the pressure to accumulate this type of wealth in isolation—with no regard for love of God and love of neighbour.
But I suspect that for most of us, a direct correlation to material wealth and abundance is harder to make. I suspect that for most of us, what we are working so hard to accumulate is the less tangible stuff of validation, identity, legacy, worth and value…all the other stuff that the biblical concept of inheritance includes. Accumulating this less tangible wealth can be just as consuming as accumulating physical wealth. Left to our own devices we can get just as caught up in the pressure to accumulate this type of wealth in isolation—with no regard for love of God and love of neighbour. Even in the church, conversations about the budget, attendance, and preserving what we think is important can be ways we seek to accumulate these non-tangible dimensions of ‘wealth.’ As one Lutheran theologian put it, the farmer is not foolish because he makes provisions FOR the future. He’s foolish because he believes his wealth will SECURE his future.[2]
If we stop reading at the end of the passage assigned for today, we might be left with a sense of despair and frustration. What does it mean to be ‘rich toward God’ as the passage recommends? How do we handle the very real and legitimate concerns about our future without falling into the trap that the farmer in Jesus’ story did?
I encourage you to read on in Luke 12 for the rest of Jesus’ response. I’ll give you a clue—it has something to do with gratitude and generosity. Gratitude and generosity help us place credit for our abundance—both material abundance and abundance of other kinds—in the right place. Gratitude and generosity remind us that God gives us what we need for each day, so we don’t need to focus in on ourselves and fixate on storing and accumulating for our own benefit. Instead, we can generously share what we’ve received through our words and actions.
I would imagine that if we went around the room today, each of us could tell stories about being surprised at how what we perceived to be insufficient became abundance when mixed with gratitude and generosity. I know I have those stories…stories of days or situations where I was tempted to hold on to what I thought I was owed, but then discovered that when I recognized what I had as a gift to start with, I was able to share it and watch it bless others. I would guess that the stories that will be shared about the influence and impact of Pr. Jari and his family and their time here at Hilldale will far exceed the physical limits of time, skills and resources. Gifts shared out of gratitude and generosity have a way of multiplying.
This congregation is in a season of discernment and transition as you celebrate the time you’ve shared with Pr. Jari and look forward to welcoming Pr. Sirpa into the ongoing ministry of this community. There are things about the future—what is being left behind and what will be created—that are uncertain and unknown at this time. In those moments where fear and anxiety tempt you to put your hope in material resources, remember that true value is often in things that cannot be measured. True value—the riches that you inherit, accumulate and hopefully pass on to others–is not the programs you create or the number of people you attract to your building. The riches that you and I have as the body of Christ are the promises given to us in Christ. You are a beloved child of God. This is my body, given for you. This is my blood, shed for you and for all people for the forgiveness of sins. I will never leave you or forsake you. Do not be afraid, I am with you. Behold, I am doing a new thing. You have been raised with Christ. These promises that we receive and remember as we gather, pray, sing, read, learn and serve together are gifts that we have in abundance. Today we give thanks especially for the way that Pr. Jari and his family have been part of demonstrating and sharing these gifts with you. As you plan and discern your future, these are the gifts you can generously share with others.
Today is a day for gratitude and generosity. Things about tomorrow might be uncertain and unknown, but today is a day for gratitude and generosity.
Today is a day for gratitude and generosity. Things about tomorrow might be uncertain and unknown, but today is a day for gratitude and generosity. Through the joyful gathering of worship and fellowship throughout the day, I pray you experience a glimpse of the ways this community is abundantly blessed. Pr. Jari and Liisa, as you hear the words of thanks and affirmation lifted up by this community, I pray you will feel just a portion of the blessing you have been to this community in all the ways that matter. Thanks be to God for the gifts you did not keep to yourself, but generously shared with others. As you became aware of your gifts and strengths you could have chosen to use them to secure your future in material ways working for the church never would. But you stayed open to the Holy Spirit and responded to the call to ministry, affirmed and ordained through the laying on of hands and prayers, and you shared your gifts with others. For the last 20 years you have shared your gifts with the community of Hilldale Lutheran Church in Thunder Bay. As you reflect on the work you’ve been able to do and the legacy you are leaving behind as you take the next step in your life and faith, thank you for not keeping your gifts to yourself, but rather graciously and generously sharing them with others. To all the things people will say about you today, I just want to add, “in all the ways that matter, he was not a foolish farmer”.
And people of Hilldale, there are things about tomorrow that might be uncertain and unknown. But in the richness of God’s grace and through the abundant gifts God gives us, you have been given an inheritance that is beyond anything that might cause division or strife between family members. As you stay attentive to this inheritance, and as you celebrate your many gifts with gratitude and share them with generosity, you, too, might be surprised at where and how you discover abundance.
Thanks be to God, who gives us immeasurably more than we could ever ask or imagine, and to God be the glory.
Amen.
[1] Lose, David “Commentary on Luke 12:13-21,” August 1, 2010. Workingpreacher.org. Accessed July 19, 2022.
[2] ibid