"Number" - The Rev. Dr. Kurt Gerhard, August 1, 2010

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Luke 12.13-21, Colossians 3.1-11

"The Rich Fool" Rembrandt - 1627

What’s your number? Not your phone number, or your social security number, or your personal identification number. “What’s your number?” is the focus of the advertising campaign of a large financial institution. The commercials in this campaign show people, normal people doing normal things, like mowing the yard, driving a car, or playing tennis. And their numbers, actually floating numerals, like 3 million, 1.2 million and 800,000 follow them like a shadow wherever they go. The goal of the campaign is to convince people to set up a strategy that will allow their cash reserves to build to the ‘number.’ In one commercial, a man asks his neighbor what that number following him is and the neighbor explains that it is the goal that will allow him to retire the way he wants. The neighbor then asks, what’s your number and the man, continuing to clip his hedge, answers “a ‘gazillion.’”

The man looks at him and says, “That’s not a real number, don’t you have a plan to invest and save?” and the man responds, “No, not really.” We assume that he just lives day-to-day without any long-term thoughts of the consequences. And of course, those who see the commercial don’t want to be like that. We want to be in control of our future enjoyment.

The point of the series of commercials is that every person should have their number in their mind, always. The question “how much I need to save to retire the way I want?” should be asked before any decision is made. I have not met a person who has a floating number following them around but in our society, one who doesn’t care for his or her long-term needs is held in low regard. People expend lots of energy planning for a safe and secure retirement, where they expect to “relax, eat, drink, and be merry.”

Today’s gospel lesson tells about Jesus’ instruction, in the form of a parable, to a man involved in a dispute about inheritance. The parable’s only human character is a farmer. He is so successful at farming that his harvest is more than can be stored in his barns. He considers what he should do and Jesus tells us his thoughts. He thinks it best to tear down the old barns and put up new, larger ones, to accommodate his abundance. Once all of his abundance is stored, he promises himself years to “relax, eat, drink, be merry.” Essentially, the farmer has reached his ‘number.’ 

We might consider this farmer a success. After years of working long hours cultivating the land and preparing a great abundance for himself, now he can step back and enjoy his just desserts. Jesus, on the other hand, does not hold him in such high regard. He is not called prudent, smart, or disciplined, instead, God labels him, ‘FOOL.’

How could this be? Doesn’t Jesus know that humans were put here to take care of themselves, to work hard in order to ensure their future security, to provide abundance so that they won’t burden their children in their older years? Doesn’t Jesus know that the farmer was being responsible, honorable, frugal, economical, and downright normal? How could God consider such a smart fiscal decision as foolish?

We live in a world focused on possessions. We collect things like houses, cars, memberships, powerful friends, money, influence, and security. We would do anything to protect our possessions from being lost. We might even argue with our family members about who gets what in an inheritance. That is the question that led to this parable being told. But the odd setting of the question speaks to the underlying issue. In the verses immediately preceding today’s gospel, Jesus told the crowds not to worry when questioned by the authorities about their faith because the Holy Spirit will fill their hearts. Then the man, from the crowd, calls out to Jesus about his inheritance dispute. I’ve taught enough middle school students to recognize a non sequitur. The person who called out the question was obviously not paying attention to what Jesus was teaching, but instead was distracted by his personal concerns.

Jesus said to him, “Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.” Somewhere deep inside, we know that Jesus is speaking to us. As we gather more things, we become less free to seek God because we are consumed with maintaining what we have. When something new is dangled in front of us, we jump, with abandon, to possess it. No matter if we were content without it, we forget everything in an effort to call it our own. The man who questioned Jesus in today’s gospel was so consumed by the questions of the inheritance that he had no chance to really grow in his relationship with God. He was in the crowd, but his money fears distracted him from hearing what was being said.

The underlying issue is that everything that we own, owns a little bit of us. And the more we have, the harder it is to free ourselves from its control over our decisions.

The man God called a ‘fool’ in the parable was mistaken about all that he possessed. He thought he owned enough to guarantee himself years of luxury.  The reality is that he had mistaken security with meaningful living. Jesus’ parable taught that real meaning was not found in living comfortably, but in what one gives to God in love. And to give, in this way, is not dependant on how much one owns.

Wealth is not wrong or sinful, but it does anchor our hearts in the world. If our ‘number’ shadows every decision that we make, if it follows us everywhere we go, we will find it challenging to drag ourselves on a path toward God.

As we worry about the present condition of the US economy, we worry that our number will be unattainable, that our desire for future relaxation will be lost in the downward spiral of recession. But our fears of doom and destruction are relative. About a month ago, I was in Haiti visiting our partner parish, St. Etienne. Haiti, as you know, is impoverished. It has been for many generations. It is hard to recognize a recession in an economy like Haiti’s. As you know, many in Haiti lost what little they had in January’s earthquake. If Americans were left with as little as the Haitians have, we would have given up any hope of surviving, we would be wallowing in depression. But, Haitians are rooted in something deeper than a desire for financial security. Financial security is not something they can see in their future. Instead they are focused on making the most of each day, of changing to meet the demands of the times, and in putting one foot in front of the other. They live with very few possessions, and yet, they have something that with all of our possessions, we cannot have. It is a spirit, borne from their struggle, and one that permeates their soul. It comes from being free to experience God in their lives in ways impossible for those who are anchored by the clutter of possessions.

As desperate as their situation, the Haitians that I met were happy to be alive. They were making their way amongst the ruins of their previous existence. They were not complaining about the past or worrying about the future, instead they were making the most out of a little.

As Christians, we are committed to setting our “minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” (Col 3.1-11) And through our renewal, no matter what things we possess, where we live, what we look like, we are all the same in Christ. Our striving for possessions is what Paul calls idolatry. It gets in the way of what we are called to do. Be on the guard for these desires and remember to hold God in your hearts, because only then, when you are free from the abundance of possessions, can you truly be rich in God.

The Rev. Dr. Kurt Gerhard - kurt@stpatrickschurchdc.org

St. Patrick’s Episcopal Church
 August 1, 2010

Proper 13C