Once there was a burglar who was caught and brought before a judge for trial. He was found guilty, and was asked by the judge if he had anything to say before he was sentenced. The burglar stated, “Well, you know, Your Honour, it’s like this. The more a man has, the more a man wants”. The judge replied, “Is that so? Well, I tell you what I’m going to do. I’m going to sentence you to 15 years in jail. How many more would you like?”
The brother who wanted Jesus to arbitrate the inheritance dispute with his brother in this morning’s Gospel reading is like the burglar in my story. Both of them were motivated by greed, and only cared about themselves and not for others. The rich farmer in Jesus’ parable was the same way. He cared only for himself and hoarded what he had. He did not want to share his wealth with others. He was so concerned about his earthly success that he forgot about the one person who was responsible for his earthly success-God.
Jesus is NOT telling us not to prepare for our future. In fact, it would be foolish for us NOT to prepare for our future, especially our future life after we die. If we want to have a future with God, we must prepare ourselves spiritually NOW by doing his work in this world and by following his will for our lives. In fact, I’ve been writing and preparing this sermon in mid-summer-a time when farmers prepare for the fall and winter by harvesting the crops that were planted in the spring. Just as the farmer prepares his fields before he plants his crops, we must prepare now for our next lives especially since we never know when we will die. If not, we automatically prepare ourselves for a life in hell.
Jesus is also NOT telling us to sit back and do nothing in the hope that God will provide for us. In fact, Paul says that anyone who refuses to work should not expect to eat. Jesus encourages us to keep just enough of our possessions for our own use and share the rest with the poor. In other words, we must look outward toward others instead of looking inward toward ourselves. True satisfaction in life flows out of fulfilling the purpose for which we were created; namely, to enjoy a loving relationship with God. Wealth and selfishness can never substitute for a relationship with him, and they will ultimately make the heart feel hollow.
For example, in 1923 a group of the world’s most successful men met at hotel in Chicago. The members of that group included the president of the largest steel corporation, the greatest wheat speculator, the president of the New York Stock Exchange, a member of the United States’ Cabinet, the canniest investor on Wall Street, the future director of the World Bank, and the head of the world’s largest monopoly. A few years later, this was their fate: Charles Schwab died in debt; Arthur Cutten died in obscurity; Richard Whitney became insolvent, did time in Sing Sing prison, and was blotted out of the “Who’s Who” list. Albert Fall was pardoned from prison in order that he might die at home. Jesse Livermore, Leon Fraser and Ivan Kruger, the match king, all died by committing suicide. All of these men learned how to make money, but none of them learned how to live. In 1930, Charles Schwab said, “I am afraid. Everyone is afraid. I don’t know, we don’t know, whether the values we have are going to be real next month or not”.
The same thing can be said of the current economic crisis. Most of the material I have heard or read suggests that the crisis was caused by greed, especially with the issue of sub-prime mortgages and subsequent bank failures in the United States. To make matters worse, I’m sure many of you have read about the outrageously high salaries that were paid to the CEOs of these banks. These are almost as bad as the salaries that many professional athletes are paid. At the same time, many people in society are struggling to get by on low wages, social assistance, or by being underpaid for the work that they do.
Why does such a discrepancy exist? It’s because of society. Society tells us that the way to recognize accomplishment in any field-sports, entertainment, business, etc. - is to pay these outrageously high salaries. It is disgusting when a CEO in a large corporation can be paid millions of dollars per year and socialize with the elite of society, when all of the workers who are really responsible for his or her success are paid far less that what they are worth-and in many cases, far less than they need to survive.
Have you ever had a case of poison ivy? If so, you probably know how hard it is to keep from scratching. You want relief, but scratching only makes it worse. Greed is the same way. We get excited and we want to scratch it, but we shouldn’t. Possessing more and more promises relief, but it only makes the situation worse.
Some of you might have seen a movie that came out in the 1980s called “Wall Street”. In that movie, Michael Douglas played an investor named Gordon Gecco. In one scene, he launches into a defense of greed in which he claims that greed is good. While money does indeed make the world go around (as the old saying goes), greed is one of the main causes of problems in our society today, especially the current economic crisis. Greed comes from a lack of moral, spiritual and ethical understanding of what is right and what is wrong. Some of the most miserable people are extremely wealthy, and some of the happiest people are extremely poor. Some of the snobbiest people in the world are extremely wealthy, and some of the nicest people are dirt poor. I know, because I’ve seen both, especially when I worked at a local lumber mill.
Billy Graham tells the story of how years ago he and his late wife Ruth were on a Caribbean island. One of the wealthiest men in the world asked them to come to his lavish home for lunch. At that time the man was 75 years old, and throughout the entire meal it seemed he was very close to tears. He finally said, “I’m the most miserable man in the world. Out there is my yacht, my plane, my helicopters; I can go anywhere I want to go when I want to go there. I have everything I want to make me happy, and yet I am as miserable as hell.” Billy Graham talked to him, had prayer with him and tried to point him to Christ, but the man would not be saved.
Billy Graham said they then went down the hill to the small cottage where they were staying. That afternoon the pastor of the local Baptist church came to call. He was an Englishman, and he was also 75. He was a widower, and he had spent most of his free time taking care of his two invalid sisters. He was jumping up and down, full of enthusiasm, full of love for Jesus and love for others. They were talking and the Baptist preacher said, “You know, Billy, I don’t have two cents to my name, but I am the happiest man in the world.” Billy Graham said that after the pastor left, he turned to Ruth and said, “Ruth, of the two men we have met today, who was the richer man?” Billy said “We both knew the answer”.
Life is more than material goods. Materialism is often a symptom of buried emotions, especially the emotion of wonder. Instead of finding fulfillment in the wonder and beauty of creation and nature, we get wrapped up in things. As the old saying goes, instead of loving people and using things, we end up unhappily loving things and using people. Our relationship with God is much more important than our possessions. When we bring our problems to God, he shows us how much we need to change and grow in our attitude toward the problem.
In 1888 Alfred Nobel picked up a French newspaper and read his own obituary. His brother had died and by mistake the newspaper printed Alfred’s obituary instead. In it, Alfred Nobel was remembered as the dynamite king, the merchant of death, a person who had amassed a great fortune out of explosives used extensively in wars. Alfred Nobel didn’t like what he read, and set out to make a better name for himself. He established the Nobel Prizes, including the Nobel Peace Prize, which today continues to honour people around the world who have championed the cause of peace. Alfred Nobel moved from success to significance.
Jesus condemned the man because he forgot that he was going to die some day. What would happen then? Someone else would have all that he owns. We are the same today. We don’t want to think that we will die some day and that someone else will get our possessions. That’s why some people die without having a will, not realizing that the law will then determine who gets what-and sometimes the law’s decisions might not be what the deceased person wanted. Someone once said, “Be interested in your future, because you are going to spend the rest of your life there”. We need to be concerned about preparing for our soul because it will be spending eternity wherever it is sent, and it is better to spend it in heaven than it is to spend it in hell. If we forget about death and God because of our greed and our self-centered attitudes, we will be condemned. If we want more of anything, it should be of everything God offers to us. All we have to do is accept it in faith and submit to his will for our lives.
Jesus called the man to think about others instead of just himself, and he issues the same call to us today. Poverty did not come from God. God created enough for everyone. We are called to put others above ourselves, especially the less fortunate in society. For example, our church lay readers are encouraged to become involved in issues relating to social justice. That’s one of many reasons why I work with the local food bank. Our rector answered the same call when he was the Chaplain of the Missions to Seamen in the Port of Halifax, and he continues to answer that same call today as the Honorary Chaplain of the Missions to Seamen for the Port of Liverpool and Brooklyn.
If our chief goal as humans is to glorify God and enjoy him forever, we will achieve this by feeding our souls on spiritual food and serving others that will, in turn, make our life matter. The point of our Gospel reading is that God sees life from a totally different perspective. Do we share God’s point of view?
As I close my sermon this morning, I want each and every one of us to think of the impact we as Christians would make on today’s world if every one of us would make and pray the following commitment. “Dear God, I am available today. Please use me today to be ‘as Jesus’ in some way, first to my own family, and then in some way to every life I touch. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, AMEN”
