The One Right ThingRev. Ann Beaty August 1, 2004
Text: Luke 12:13-21 Some time ago my mother shared with me a conversation she had with my two nephews driving them home from church. She was asking them questions trying to draw out conversation about what they had learned in Sunday School that morning. I don't know what the Scripture lesson had been about, but I guess they had had some conversation about where do we find Jesus today. Jon Michael, who was 9 at the time, reported that he had learned that “Jesus is in our hearts.” It was silent for a moment, and then, Julian, who was 4 indignantly replied, “Jesus not in my heart”! At the time, my mother and I laughed about it knowing that Julian at only 4 years old and taking everything literally, couldn't possibly understand yet the concept of how Jesus could be in his heart. I'm sure the whole thing just sounded ridiculous to him. But in reality, isn't it true that there just are times in life when we all feel closed off from God, and a little bit like Julian, wanting to proclaim, “Jesus not in my heart.” I was reminded of that encounter between my mother and my nephews when I read the Scripture from Luke's gospel because it seems to me it is a story about a man with a closed heart. The story begins with an incident that occurred in Galilee as Jesus was teaching to a large crowd. Someone in the crowd comes to Jesus asking him to settle a dispute on how to divide a family inheritance. Now, Jewish law clearly stated that at the death of a father, the elder son received 2/3 of the inheritance, and the younger son received 1/3. I would assume this is a younger son complaining about the inherent unfairness of it all. Maybe it's the older son who thinks he should get it all. But, whatever the details, this is really a family issue to be resolved among father and son, so, Jesus refused to get involved. Jesus was concerned, however, with the larger implications of what being preoccupied with the things of the world can do to your heart. He then illustrated this point by telling a story. There was once a man who had an abundance of prosperity with his crops. He became so successful that his barns could not hold all of his crops. His solution was to tear down those barns and build bigger and better barns. Then, with his financial security in hand, he could sit back and truly enjoy life. His philosophy was: “Now I've done it all. I can sit back and just eat, drink, and be merry in my self-made kingdom.” I don't know about you, but I can see some of myself in this man. Who doesn't want to achieve the financial success and security that this man did? Who doesn't want to be “set” in life so we can sit back and just “eat, drink, and be merry?” Yet, Jesus concluded the story by saying that this man was a fool. So, if this picture looks so good to us, what did this man do wrong? To answer that question we must understand that this is not a parable about money. It is a parable about what we value, what is at the center of our living. It is a parable about living with an open heart so that one can grow rich in relationship with God. With that in mind, let's look at the story again and see what made this man a fool. The man in the story became all caught up in what he could acquire, what he could store for the future, and then, it meant nothing when his life came to an end. The desire to have what others have, and to acquire money, possessions, and power is a natural human tendency. In fact, we are taught growing up, by loving parents to become independent creatures who can make our way in this world. Part of making our way includes providing for the necessities, and hopefully, the comforts, of this life. But, we have all seen in this life that having money, possessions, and power does not bring us happiness or protect us from illness, pain, or death. We already know that having all the stuff in the world does not necessarily open our heart to a loving relationship with God. I would assume that most of us here at church today are here because we know that those “things” don't give us ultimate meaning. We ARE searching for a deeper sense of value and meaning and we know building bigger barns won't give us the “one right thing” we really need…a rich relationship with God who loves us. The man in the story was a fool because he had full barns, but a closed heart. Because he had a closed heart, this man overestimated his own value. He thought HE could MAKE his happiness happen with possessions. On the outside he appears superior, puffed up, self-righteous. He was a fool in that he tried to play God of his own life, and it left his heart closed. BUT, at another level, the man in the story underestimated his value. He couldn't see his WORTH in God's eyes. He didn't accept himself as beloved and treasured by God enough to open his heart and trust that God was already there filling it with love, and acceptance, and joy, and peace. He wasn't a fool because he built the barns, he was a fool because he thought that was all he needed to be fulfilled. When will we learn that WE don't do it! WE don't fill our own hearts by acquiring wealth, possessions, or power. When we can open our hearts even a little bit towards God, we discover that God is already there. When we discover this, we can live in relationship with Jesus Christ and then our priorities, our values, and our intentions come more clearly in focus. When we live with Jesus in our heart, we trust that God does love us, that God will fill us up and when we are full of THAT; THEN we can live trusting that God will provide. When we open our hearts to a deeper loving relationship in Christ, we know that we don't need storehouses or barns full of all that ego stuff! What we have with God at the center is enough. So, how do we do this? How do we live with our hearts open and God at the center of our living? First, we recognize that it is already within us. We don't have to go “out there” somewhere to find it. God's love is already present within us waiting for us to recognize it and embrace it and offer it to others. United Methodists call this “prevenient grace”. It is that aspect of God's grace that “comes before”…God's love that is with us before we ever recognize it. A clergy friend of mine talks about each of us having a God-shaped hole inside of us. She describes it is a space inside of us that God created to be filled only by God. We may try to fill it with other things…possessions or power, even a spouse or friends, maybe our work…but the space can't be filled by any of those things because it is intended to be filled only by God. Living with an open heart…means placing ourselves in situations where we practice opening our heart to God. We do this by spending time in quiet prayer and meditation…even when we don't feel like it. We can start by using the brief moments of silence in worship on Sunday's, but that isn't enough. We need time in our daily living for prayer and I know for me, it's hard to be disciplined to do this during the week when I'm into the busy-ness of my everyday life. We practice opening our heart by being in a faith community where we are with others who help us see that we are loved, valued, and supported. When others help us see this truth in ourselves, our heart is opened more, and then we participate in helping them see this value in themselves. When we can see the inherent sacredness and worth in ourselves and those closest to us, then our heart is opened even more and we are more able to reach out in loving kindness to others in the world. Then, we can see the needs all around us and we can reach out in love because we have love in our hearts to give. One of the ways we ask God to help us open our hearts is to come to this table and participate in the Sacrament of Holy Communion. The UMC defines a sacrament as “an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace”. We come to the table and kneel…actually taking a posture of opening our heart to God, and then we eat…taking in the loving presence of the risen Christ who nourishes us. We can channel our spiritual energy into many things that won't open our hearts and plod through life unaware, wanting more, but living in our self-made kingdom. Or we can channel it into the one thing that really matters…our deepest calling as children of God to be loved and fed by God, and then to love and serve others. A young girl asked her mother, “Mom, I know that Jesus lives inside my heart. But how do I tell him I love him? Do you think if I write ‘I love you' on a piece of paper and eat it, he'll get the note?” We tell Jesus we love him by opening our heart to God's love and then sharing that love with others.
Let us pray: Gracious God, As we come to this table for this meal, help us to open our hearts to your loving presence, waiting to meet us more fully in the risen Christ. Amen. |