Luke 12:13 - 21
We have a squirrel proof bird feeder
in our back yard. In addition to attracting birds of all kinds, it
is very popular with chipmunks, and squirrels that can't read the
little sign that says squirrel proof. It goes something like this.
The feeder is noted to be empty by my wife, who likes to watch the
birds. Several reminders later, I go out to fill it. Soon one or
two birds discover the seeds and before long there are many. This
seems to attract the squirrels, one in particular, who is very large
and likes to hang upside down on the bird feeder trying to reach in
and pull seeds out. He is big enough to intimidate the birds, who
all leave. I don't know how successful the squirrel is; I only know
that on the ground chipmunks and smaller squirrels gather. The fat
squirrel on the bird feeder eventually gets tired of hanging upside
down, or scared by one of us coming out in the yard, and he must
spend a lot of energy going up and down to the bird feeder and
running frantically away when frightened. He doesn't seem happy,
unlike the birds who share the feeder, or the chipmunks who find
seeds the birds have dropped.
Today the first reading tells us about
the futility of working for riches, and you couldn't be blamed for
thinking that Jesus is saying much the same thing. But it's an
interesting parable, because I don't think Jesus hates riches and
wants everyone to give up our wealth to the poor and come and follow
him. He asked that of only one person, the rich young man.
In the society in which Jesus lived,
the richest people were the ones who ruled, and they were so far out
of the norm that they might as well be living in another world.
Probably in the other 99% of the population, the gap between rich and
poor was much smaller; it was estimated to be about five-fold. In
other words, if you had more than one room in your house and a few
goats and a couple of acres of land and more than one change of
clothing, you were pretty well off. Jewish law said that when a
father died, his oldest son would inherit two thirds of the property,
and the other sons would share the rest. Daughters didn't get
anything; they were supposed to be married off. And indeed, rabbis
were often called upon to adjudicate disputes. I suspect the man in
question is disagreeing with his older brother (because the older
brother divided up the wealth) about the relative worth of a goat
versus a bit of land with an olive tree on it. That was when the
dispassionate wise holy man would step in and be the judge and that's
what the man expected Jesus to do.
But Jesus was having none of that. In
the parable he tells, there are several hints that Jesus is not
concerned about wealth or poverty here. First, do you notice that
the rich man talks to himself? And if you were to have too much to
put in your barn, you would probably build another barn, right? But
this man plans to tear down the barns he has and build bigger ones..
After all, when you are rich you have to show it off, don't you?
Out in Los Angeles, at least before it got ruined, the same thing was
going on; someone who struck it rich would buy a ten year old mansion
and tear it down so he could build exactly what he wanted. Our rich
man is like that. And of course, he is closed in on himself; he has
forgotten about time as he prepares for many years of eating,
drinking and being merry.
Jesus is not against wealth, he is
against greed. Greed simply means that you never think you have
enough. Our whole society is designed to reinforce that feeling.
Apple is getting ready to release a new iphone, and there will be
millions of people who will throw away their perfectly good iphones
to get Apple's latest. Someone did a study many years ago in which
people who made 25,000 a year were asked how much they would need to
live the American dream, however they defined it. The average person
felt that 54,000 a years would do it. When you asked the same
question of people whose income was 100,000, the answer was 190,000.
So we are a greedy bunch of people and everything tells us that greed
is good.
Jesus told the story of the rich man
and Lazarus, and also remarked how hard it would be for a rich man to
enter heaven. And down through the ages voluntary poverty has been
held as an ideal for Christians. But there is a lot of good that
rich people have done as well – hospitals, universities, and yes,
churches would not be around without rich people who endow them.
Jesus concern is not wealth; it's what
wealth can do. Wealth literally makes us blind, because we shift our
attention from God and our neighbor to our wealth. It makes us
unhappy, because we worry about losing it. I am retired, and I have
a certain amount of money saved up. Every now and then I worry
whether it is enough to see me through the next 15 years. As I get
closer and closer to my last day, I find that I care less and less;
but the point is, thinking about things like that makes me unhappy,
and distracts me from where my attention should lie.
Are you greedy? I think we all have a
little greed. We all think that if we had just a little more money,
more power, more recognition, more pleasure, we would be happier.
But we won't. Saint Augustine said that our hearts are restless
until they rest in God. You can be rich or poor or in between, but
if you have conquered the deadly sin of greed, you will finally find
joy, you will finally be happy..
The squirrel in my back yard can't get
enough seeds to make him happy, and he burns all his energy trying to
get more. The birds and the chipmunks wait till he's gone and swoop
in to eat enough to satisfy themselves. There's probably a lesson in
that. Jesus, after all, showed us that we are to pray this day for
our daily bread, not for tomorrow's or next week's. He told us to
trust Our Father, who cares even about the birds in the air and the
flowers in the fields, and how much more about you and I.
