Loving God, you have entrusted us with many good gifts, including our very lives. By the power of your Spirit, teach us to glorify you in all that we do; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

In the Psalms, a fool is described as one who denies the existence of God: "Fools say in their hearts, ?There is no God'" (Ps. 14:1). The rich man in today's gospel is described as a fool (Lk. 12:13-21). In the parable, the man does not say that there is no God. Rather, he lives as if there is no God. Do you see how this is true?

The rich man is faced with a very pleasant problem: His land has produced abundant crops, and his barns are not big enough to hold it all. However, the man does not thank God for this abundance. The man does not ask how God would want him to use this abundance. In fact, the man does not consult with anybody other than himself! And after his little conversation with himself, he decides that his best course of action is to tear down his barns and build bigger ones.

Truthfully, how many other options are there for what this man could have done with these abundant crops? For one thing, it is not true that he has no place to store them. The mouths of the hungry poor would have been all around him. With such abundance, how many mouths could this man have fed?

In the same way, this man could have relieved himself of at least 10 percent of his crop right away, by bringing the tithe into the Lord's storehouse (Mal. 3:10). People of faith would have given 10 percent of their crops to the priests and the Levites as a means of supporting the Temple and the worship leaders. And, they would not lack anything by doing so, for God's promise to them is "an overflowing blessing."

And what about sharing with family and friends? Wouldn't this have been another option for this man, assuming that he actually had any family or friends to share with? Yet, the man seems to be all alone - presumably by choice, given his self-centred approach to life.

Do you begin to see how he lives as if there is no God? We see it, too, in the man's sense of ownership. He speaks about my crops, my grain, my barns, my goods, and my soul. He simply doesn't realize that none of these things belong to him. They are all on loan. They all belong to God. And that very night, the loan on his soul is to be paid off. The time is up. God needs it returned to him. "Fools say in their hearts, ?There is no God.'" And Jesus says, "Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one's life does not consist in the abundance of possessions" (Lk. 12:15).

We are warned over and over again against greed. We are warned that you work hard, you accumulate things, and who knows what happens to them after you are gone (Eccl. 2:18-23)? We are warned that true and lasting riches are only to be found with God. We are warned that we can't take it with us (1 Tim. 6:7). Yet, how many of us continue to be possessed by our possessions? How many of us worry constantly about money? How many of us live as if there is no God?

Of course, we need to be asking some of the opposite questions, too. - Like, How do we live as people of faith? How do we live in such a way that God is glorified? How do we live as people who belong to God? How do we live as disciples of Jesus Christ -- especially when it comes to what we do with what we have?

One distinction that is often made and is to be found in the Scriptures as well is the difference between needs and greeds. How much do we actually need, and how much is just greed? When we search the Scriptures, we find some guiding principles for how much we actually need. First of all, each of us needs enough to be able to provide for ourselves and for our families (1 Tim. 5:8;2 Thess. 3:10-12), and each of us needs enough for food and clothing (1 Tim. 6:6-8). According to the Scriptures, we also need enough to pay our taxes (Mt. 17:24-27), enough to help those in need (1 Jn. 3:17), and enough to help spread the gospel (3 Jn. 5-8).

Additionally, there are at least a couple of different places where Paul writes about reasons for us to work. Apparently a number of people in the early church had decided that because they were part of the Christian community, and because Jesus would be returning any day, they no longer needed to work for a living. However, Paul reminds them that it is their job to provide for themselves in order not to be a burden on other people (2 Thess. 3:7-12). He also encourages people to work in order to be able to share with the needy (Eph. 4:28).

In all of this it is acknowledged that some will be able to provide for themselves, and some will not. Those who are able to work are encouraged to do so, not only to provide for themselves and their families, but in order to share with those in need and in order to help spread the gospel.

I need to mention here, at least in passing, that there are many different ways to share with those in need. Certainly, there are the obvious things like donations of food or money or clothing. There are cooperative efforts like community gardens or Habitat for Humanity or community kitchens. However, as North Americans we also make an impact by what we choose to purchase and from whom.

The truth is that every time we make a purchase, we are choosing to support that particular business or company. At the same time, our decisions affect other people. For example, consider the coffee that we buy. For a number of years now, the Mennonite Central Committee, Canadian Lutheran World Relief, and other organizations have been promoting fair trade coffee. This is coffee that generally costs a little bit more than other brands, but the people actually growing and harvesting it reap some of the benefits. With most coffee, our purchase goes to support a large corporation rather than the actual workers. This is simply one example of how the decisions that we make affect other people.

So do we make our decisions based on what is cheapest, or on who is supported by our purchase? Do we support small local businesses or multi-national corporations? Do we refuse to buy things from companies if we disagree with their business practises? There is so much more to think about than simply, "What's in it for me?"

And isn't this true of our whole life as disciples of Jesus Christ? Our lives are not just all about us. Our lives are not our own. We belong to God. In fact, everything that we have comes from God in one way or another. It is on loan to us - given in order to be used wisely and to the glory of God.

The rich man in the parable had totally missed this truth and was looking at locked barns and lots of goods for his security. However, he had put his faith in the wrong place, for true security is only to be found in God. Goods can disappear. Barns can burn down or be broken into. Man-made structures can collapse. Storms can come and destroy. Lives can come to an end. In fact, if we really wanted to, we could spend our whole lives in fear of what might happen to us or to our possessions.

However, as people of faith we are set free from this kind of fear. We belong to God, whether in life or in death, and so does all that we have. For those who live as disciples of Jesus Christ and who seek to glorify God with their lives, God will provide. For those who live generously, God will be even more generous. For we are called to make wise use of all that we have been given, seeking always the welfare of others, and the glory of God. Amen.

Lectionary 18(C) Luke 12:13-21

August 5, 2007 Psalm 49:1-12

St. Luke's Zion Lutheran Church

Pastor Lynne Hutchison Moore

? 2007 Lynne Hutchison Moore All Rights Reserved