Proper 13 C Rich Toward God
Proper 13 C Rich Toward GodJuly 31, 1983By Rev. Ernest F. Campbell
In today’s Gospel, Luke is continuing his teaching on what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ.
It must have been obvious to Jesus (just as it is obvious to us today) to see the various ways we try to make our lives meaningful and worthwhile. Mankind is on a universal quest for peace – a life-time warranty with satisfaction guaranteed. The author of Ecclesiastes is no doubt representative in his efforts to discover “The Good Life” amid life’s perpetual struggle.
First, he looked for the good life in learning. Nothing must be a closed book to him. He must know everything. He wanted to be the wisest man in the world, the most knowledgeable, the most cultured. He aimed at being a philosopher and an encyclopedia rolled into one. In the end, he had to confess failure. He found, that in much wisdom is much grief, and that increased knowledge, increased sorrow.
The good life is as little to be found in amassing knowledge, as it is in amassing money. I pray that God will grant to all the ‘Spirit of Learning’ but never to the point where we seek knowledge as that which will save and comfort us in this chaotic and confusing world. A disciple of Jesus Christ must make no idol of knowledge…he must first make himself rich toward God. The Christian faith teaches that only by accepting the action of God’s love in Christ is anyone worthy. We are all made rich toward God through our Calvary connection.
When knowledge failed, the author of Ecclesiastes turned to pleasure. He ran through the list of the eternal themes of wine, women and song. He built himself houses and fancy gardens, employed a large staff, collected curios and antiques, and became the richest man in Jerusalem. Whatever he wanted, he took; whatever caught his eye was as good as his. Then came the inevitable climax -- when everything turned to ashes in his mouth.
Example) The story of “The Last Mint” from Monty Python.
The one thing that the man who has everything does not want is another THING! Lord, grant to all of us the spirit to savor and enjoy the pleasures of this world, but never to the point of making us despise life.
If we pursue knowledge or pleasure as the way to living “The Good Life,” we will be restless. “We will never rest until we rest in God” is a paraphrase of a quote by St. Augustine of Hippo, who wrote, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.” We rest in God when we accept the worthiness of Jesus Christ as our own worthiness.
When we are tempted to believe that by knowledge, or possessions, or wealth, we can accumulate enough worth to make a name for ourselves, and then, deliver to God the ransom for our own unholy defiance -- we will never be sure that we will have enough. (That explains our restlessness, as the builders of the tower of Babel learned).
Through our Calvary connection with Christ, we no longer must win God’s approval by demonstrating that we are smarter, or more important than others. In Christ we are approved! In Christ we are worthy!
In today’s Gospel, Jesus detected a coveting desire in the man who asked him to make his brother divide his inheritance. Jesus saw his desire to gain stature and recognition, by increasing his material worth. It did not seem to be a case of need, but that his brother got something that he thought he should have had.
Example) My Cain and Able theory – that to Cain, it looked like Able had the better life.
If we insist on making an idol out of our own image, if we feel we must protect that image at all costs, we will try to make ourselves look good compared to others. We will get angry, wrathful, malicious, slanderous, filled with foul talk about others, or anything that will tarnish the reputations of our brothers and sisters. We do all this…. blind to the reality that our reputation is already secured in Christ.
In Christ, we no longer have to lie to one another about how good we are compared to others. Our “new nature” in Christ is based on the assurance that through trusting our Calvary connection, we can all approach the thrown of God without shame or fear. We can read in our Book of Common Prayer, the prayer of Humble Access;
We do not presume to come to this your table, O merciful Lord, trusting in our own righteousness, but in your abundant and great mercies. We are not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under your table; but you are the same Lord whose character is always to have mercy. Grant us, therefore, gracious Lord, so to eat the flesh of your dear son Jesus Christ, and to drink his blood, that our sinful bodies may be made clean by his body, and our souls washed through his most precious blood, and that we may evermore dwell in him, and he in us. Amen.
In God’s gift of worthiness, there cannot be; conservative and liberal, fundamentalist and main-line, free-man and prisoner, rich-man and welfare recipient, Republican and Democrat – because Christ is all men and in all men. Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved; compassion, kindness, lowliness, meekness, and patience, forbearing one another – and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgiving each other as the Lord has forgiven you – so you also must forgive.
The abundant life that God desires for us is the peace of Christ in our hearts. We can never hear enough of the story of what God has done for us. The way to be rich toward God, is to let the word of Christ dwell in us richly. God’s Holy Spirit teaches us how, to admonish one another in God’s wisdom and encourages us to sing Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with thankfulness in our hearts to God.
And so, brothers and sisters, live a life rich in Christ. Not because we have earned straight “A’s,” but because we have faith that we are redeemed sinners, and are already worthy.
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