Proper 13 C

Paul wrote "and greed (which is idolatry)." All three readings this week look at greed and/or idolatry, and greed is clearly an issue in our lives today.

Proper 13 C

Transcribed from a sermon given on

August 1, 2010

By the Rev. Valerie Ann Hart

At St. Barnabas Episcopal Church

Luke 12:13-21

Colossians 3:1-11

Hosea 11:1-11

I’d like you to imagine you had an opportunity to talk to Jesus. Not in prayer in an abstract sense, but that he was physically here. Or, if not Jesus, then think of whatever spiritual teacher has been most meaningful to you. Someone like a Billy Graham or a Thomas Keating or whoever it might be who you believed to be really, really wise and holy, and perhaps a healer. Imagine that person is coming to give a talk right her in Arroyo Grande and you’re going to get a chance to ask a question. To ask something of that person. What is it that you would ask?

In the Gospel reading we have someone who has a chance to ask Jesus for something, and what he asks is, “Tell my brother to share the inheritance with me.” It kind of echoes back what we heard a few weeks ago where Martha said to Jesus, “Tell my sister Mary to get in the kitchen with me.” Both are wanting Jesus to take care of a family dispute. To fully understand this you have to understand that in Jesus’ time the inheritance all went to the eldest - the eldest son inherited everything. And sometimes, if the parent wanted to, he would give a part of it to the younger children, but legally the eldest son got the inheritance. So clearly this person speaking is a younger son who is saying, “I want to get a share of that.” Of course Jesus’ response is don’t be so greedy. “Who am I to make that decision?” “Why are you asking me?” Is that really the most important thing for you right now? Jesus looks at this man makes up a parable.

A man had this wonderful harvest, more than he could fit into his barn. So he tore down his old barns and built new ones and filled them up to the brim and said, “Ah, I have enough to live off for a long time. It is time to retire. Now I can just relax and have peace of mind.” And then he died that night.

Where was the peace of mind? Or was it really greed? Jesus uses the word greed. In the second reading today, Paul is writing to some of the people he has converted. He has taught them about Christianity. Basically he says to them, “Now that you are baptized in Christ everything is different. You should be seeking that which is above, not things of this world.” And then he has a list. Paul seems to like lists of things that are not good. And at the end of the list is greed. Then it says, and this is very interesting, and then he writes “which is idolatry.” That greed, to be greedy, is idolatry.

What is idolatry? In the first reading from the Old Testament we have Hosea talking about the people of Israel who are worshiping other Gods. They are worshiping the Baals, they are worshiping idols, they are worshiping trees, they are worshiping everything except the one true holy and living God. That’s idolatry. Idolatry is worshiping anything other than the one true God. It is making anything more important than God. It is making anything in your life more important than serving God, of trying to do God’s will, of being loving and caring and a good person and all those things that God wants from you. Idolatry is making something more important than God. And Greed is making things more important than God. That is why it is idolatry. And greed of course can be for more than just money. It can also be for power, greed for possessions, greed for all kinds of different things. It is that sense of wanting more, of wanting to have it as your own. Greed is idolatry. Putting something before God. Greed is when you are the CEO of a company and you are already getting a million dollars and this year you are getting a million and a half but you are laying off a lot of people because you can’t afford to pay them. Nobody needs a million and a half. I don’t think any CEO needs any more than what the president of the United States gets paid. Four hundred and forty thousand dollars should be enough to get you through the year, don’t you think?

That’s greed. It is not wanting money because you need it to live. It is because you are looking for some kind of false security. Jesus says we are allowed to ask for what we need. In the Lord’s Prayer we say give us daily bread. Give me what I need today. But we are not supposed to be worried about a security blanket. Greed is when it is more than what I need for today. Greed is trying to make yourself safe. If I just have a little more then I won’t need to worry any more. For some people that little more is, “I’ve got twenty thousand in the bank, I need five thousand more and I’ll be set for retirement.” While others it’s, “I’ve got a million dollars in the bank and if I just have 500 thousand dollars more than I’ll have enough for retirement.” It’s that sense of needing more and more. It is when things become more important than God. It’s idolatry

Hosea says that the people of Israel have looked for their security in worshiping idols. But God wants to be like a parent. He beautifully describes God as caring for them, nurturing them, holding them up, guiding them just like a good parent. So greed is like the 13-year-old that is bothered by the fact that the parents have rules and says, “Well I’ve saved up my allowance and I stole the money out of the cookie jar and now I have this wad of money I can take care of myself. I’m going to leave home and take care of myself. I don’t need them anymore.” And of course we laugh at that. Of course you need your parents for much more than just some money. No matter how much money you have it is not going to be enough to thrive without the love and care and support of your parents. So when we go under the illusion that when I just have enough money I don’t need God, that is idolatry, that is greed.

One of the good things that came out of this recession and this economic downturn is a reality for all those people who thought that by having a house, a big house, and by having lots of good investments that they would be secure for the rest of their lives. They were placing their security and trust in that. And we discovered that that wasn’t a very good place to put your security. House, money, savings, can disappear, but your relationship with God can’t be taken away. No one can touch that. That if you put your thoughts and your mind and energy into a whole and healthy and trusting relationship with God then everything else will get taken care of.

We all know that wonderful little song, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and God’s righteousness and these things will be given unto you.” That’s the message that Paul is trying to teach the people to whom he is writing. That’s the message that Jesus is giving to us in that parable. Seek first the kingdom of God and everything else, everything else, will follow.