Luke 12:13-21: 

13Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.”

14But he said to him, “Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?”

15And he said to them, “Take care!  Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.”

16Then he told them a parable:  “The land of a rich man produced abundantly.  17And he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have no place to store my crops?’

18Then he said, ‘I will do this:  I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.  19And I will say to my soul, ‘Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’

20But God said to him, ‘You fool!  This very night your life is being demanded of you.  And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’

21So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God.”

What are your treasures? 

        On and off I pick up this book by William J. Bausch, A World of Stories for Preachers and Teachers and all who love stories that move and challenge.  I would like to share the story of Gold with you.  

Once there was a man who dreamed of nothing but gold.  He was obsessed with it.  Morning, noon, and night he dreams of gold.  One day he got up from his desk and ran to the marketplace.  He ran through the crowd to the table where the man was selling gold coins.  He swept them all into his little bag and ran away.  A policeman was standing right next to the table and he nabbed him.

        He took him to the police station and as he was locking him up he said to the man, “I can’t understand it.  There you are, me right next to the merchant’s table and at least one hundred witnesses, and you steal something right in front of us all!”

        The man replied, “I never saw anyone.  I only saw the gold.”

        Wow!  In his greed his eyes could only see the gold.  This is so similar to our scripture lesson today.  For the man who stood up in the crowd could only see what is owed to him; his earthly inheritance due him by the law written in Deuteronomy.  The one that states the oldest son receives double the younger’s share.  And what of his brother – where were his eyes turned – apparently on owning all of the land for himself.  But Jesus shows no interest in enforcing the law but warns against greed and material self-satisfaction.

        I hear a story of greed with the brothers, with the gold, and with the parable that Jesus shared about the man and his crops and barns.  In all three instances, there is a taking or keeping of what each one desires or has possession of for themselves; their treasures.  I notice that there is interest in only oneself.  An air that the attitude is all about the “me.”  I noticed this in the gold thief’s phrase, “I never saw anyone.  I only saw the gold.”  I noticed this in the demand, “Tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.”  And, implicitly, in the brother who keeps all the inheritance for himself.  Then, of course, how many references do we hear of the man with the abundant crop and the barns.  We hear words such as I shall, I will do, and I will say.  We also hear words that proclaim possession such as my crops, my barns, my goods, and my soul.  Is it safe to say that people who behave with greed are blind to seeing beyond themselves?  It is safe to say, especially in the parable of the man and his crops, that he believes there is comfort in years to come by storing up earthly wealth, in this case his grains that he treasures.  Doesn’t he say, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry”?  When I think of how many things I hold onto, my basement and my stack of books immediately comes to mind, and I cringe.  It is a bit frightening to realize what holds the attention of my eyes; what I hang onto like a treasure.  I wonder, what is your reaction when you think of things that you store and hold onto?  What holds the attention of your eyes?  What do we see as treasures?

        The Romans had a proverb which said that money was like sea water; the more a man drank the thirstier he became.  Imagine if we substitute the word money with anything earthly of which we have an over-abundance or turn our eyes to.  Things that so many of us treasure.  This might be clothes, food, media for news or entertainment, or our favorite collector’s item or hobby.  Do we thirst for more?  Are we ever satisfied?  It is so easy to feel like more is never enough especially in our American culture and consumer environment.  But Jesus warns us to take care and to be on our guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.  Do you recall what Jesus said to the Samaritan women at the well?  Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty.” (John 4:13-14).  Do you recall the words at Nicole’s baptism that Jesus is the living water.  This is true for all of us.  A gift that we can truly treasure.

        I noticed another similarity with the Gold story and the scripture lesson.  The people are concerned only for the moment – for the now when they are living on earth.  It seems that the gold thief only thought about the moment when he possessed the gold.  This was his ultimate and living goal.  His eyes were so set and focused that he got up from his desk, ran to the marketplace and swept the gold coins into his bag and ran away.  It was the only thing that he could see.  He seemed to be unaware of the aftermath; of losing the coins or being imprisoned.  I imagine he thought that he would have them forever.  The brothers seemed to be thinking of only the current status of the inheritance.  The one demanding what is owed and the other clinging to what he possessed.  It is hard to imagine that they were considering the next generations or what this discontent would create when they are living on earth or no longer in this world.  And what of the man and his abundant grains stored in his larger barns?  His thought went as far as this year’s crop and many years of an easy life, but not beyond his lifetime on earth.  Did he think his day of the grave would never come?

        20But God said to him, ‘You fool!  This very night your life is being demanded of you.  And the things that you have prepared, whose will they be?’ I wonder if he was being told that his life on earth would literally end this very night.  That his storage of grains would be in vain.  Or, perhaps, it is more of a warning that the grain, the “thing” that he owns or treasures now owns him and claims his life.  What we see as treasures- might they actually be burdens? Our verse 21 reads, “So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich towards God.  (Luke 12:21).  

        When I think of greed, I wonder what lies beneath it.  I wonder if there is anxiousness or worry?  I wonder why do we hold onto things; cling to them as if they are indeed a treasure?  Do we fear being without?  Listen to the words of Jesus who told to his disciples, “Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear.  For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing.  Consider the ravens; they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them.  Of how much more value are you than the birds!  And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life?  If then you are not able to do so small a thing as that, why do you worry about the rest?  Consider the lilies, how they grow:  they neither toil nor spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these.  But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you – you of little faith!  And do not keep striving for what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not keep worrying.  For it is the nations of the world that strive after all these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, strive for his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.  Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.  Sell your possessions, and give alms.  Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Luke 12:22-34)

        To coin a phrase that Pastor Josh offered while he was our minister, don’t hear what I’m not saying.  I’m not saying that I will go home and empty my basement and walk away from my home with only the clothes on my back.  I am not calling for any of us to give up all that we have or find comfortable.  I am not saying that wealth is not good and God wants us to be poor.  I am offering that we be mindful to keep ourselves from becoming obsessed with our possessions; living for them and trying to hold onto something that we cannot take with us.  To see them as life giving treasures when they can easily become or perhaps already are life taking.  In William Barclay’s commentary, he says that Jesus never ordered any person to live in a shiftless, thriftless, reckless way.  However, Jesus does remind us that we are not to worry about what we are to eat, drink, or wear.  Most of all, we are to “strive first for the kingdom of God” (Matthew 6:33). Work for things which last forever, things which we need not leave behind when we leave this earth, but which we can take with us. (The Daily Study Bible Series, the Gospel of Luke, revised edition, 1975).

        In closing, I wonder what treasures you have?  Of those, what treasures tie you down; the treasures that are too abundant for your barns?  I wonder how you might begin to let them go; to free yourselves from them?  I wonder, what treasures do you have that give life?  Treasures that are bigger than any barns.  Treasures that are immeasurable.  Treasures that are rich toward God. Treasures like kind hearts, generous spirits, and love for your neighbors.  How might you share them?

        Generous God,

        In abundance you give us things both spiritual and physical.

Help us to hold lightly the fading things of this earth

And grasp tightly the lasting things of your kingdom,

So that what we are and do and say

May be our gifts to you

Through Christ, who beckons all to seek the things above,

Where he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.  (RCA)