1INTRO
We just had a fascinating journey through Exodus, with so many important topics and insights. It’s interesting because there is infinitely more to say about the contemplative and mystical aspects of Exodus, AND YET any word said is infinitely less than simply being present to the silence that says more than words ever could.
And this is the humor of faith. When we think we understand it, when we believe our perspective on I AM or God is “right,” then we’ve lost it entirely. However, when we feel UN-certain and open to new mysteries, one might call this the movement of the Spirit, somehow, that is it. It is what? EXACTLY. It is I AM. I AM what? Correct.
Okay, I could do this all day. Do what all day? Kidding.
Today’s reading is:
Luke 12:13-21
13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.” 14 But he said to him, “Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?” 15 And 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.” 16 Then he told them a parable: “The land of a rich man produced abundantly. 17 And he thought to himself, ‘What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?’ 18 Then 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. 19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’ 20 But 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?’ 21 So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God.”
We are in October, which means we are in Stewardship season here at COS. This is my first time going through the process, so please extend lots of grace to me. For this month, I thought it would be good to look at money, the most comfortable of all conversations, right up there with religion and politics.
We’ve spent enough time together that you likely already guessed that I’m going to start this meditation in a very unlikely place. I’m going to share my personal issues with money and overexplain what this meditation is not.
2CONTENTIOUS
When I was talking with the Interview team about this position and amazing church, I said, quite plainly, that I have a very contentious relationship with money. You all can now serve as my therapists while I share more. I certainly hope you take my insurance!
Talking about money in church is really tricky. On the one hand, everything is spiritual, and what is more spiritual than talking about money in a culture obsessed with it?
On the other hand, though, I, as the pastor employed by the church, struggle with the complexity of the topic. I left pastoring years ago for many reasons, but one major factor was finances. I know that my role costs this church money, and while I am so outrageously grateful, I struggle knowing that all our money can’t go back into this community that has so many needs.
So, I left pastoring because I couldn’t stand up front and take up an offering knowing that much of it went to me.
You might be thinking that I had some great insight about money that changed everything, enabling me to reenter the pastoral world at this remarkable church. The one thing I can offer this community, and I know it isn’t much, is my true, authentic self, and in Truth, I have not had any insights about money, and I still struggle mightily with serving as a pastor because I want so badly to use your generosity for Knoxville and beyond.
But, here we are, living in a world that is messy and complicated and beautiful and infinite other things, all overflowing with LOVE that is God.
3NOT
So, you will not hear me implore you to give more and more and more, because I have no idea what you and your family should do. I don’t know if you should give at all, in fact. I know our stewardship team loves that sentence!
I’m not sure what your religious background is, but mine has radically shaped my perspective on money. Growing up Pentecostal, televangelists would look directly into the camera and promise a miracle with a seed offering of $1,000 or more. The suggestion was that God is somewhere, fully able to heal or whatever, if only you’d give this person working for God, like one of Santa’s elves, $1,000. God is remarkably bad with money if God’s so strapped for cash that God needs my $1,000. “Enough with the sports betting, God!”
I’ve seen ministers say they’ll mail out prayer cloths or anointing oil, ready to deploy the miracles imparted into these items, for a monetary donation. I’ve been to churches that said if you’re not willing to give at least 10% of your income to the church, then God won’t bless you. There was even this type of financial exchange, where the pastor would say that you can’t out-give God, meaning, if you give more than 10% then God will give you more than the standard 10% blessings. It’s the best Ponzi scheme I’ve ever seen.
But as you can see, I am here, and I’m grateful to be here. Unlike other churches I’ve attended and served, the finances here are completely transparent and voted on by the congregation. You can see how the money is spent and you get to determine if that is the best way to do so.
Part of my spiritual growth is resting in my discomfort with money and with receiving money from a church. Ultimately, COS felt like the right place for such a journey, which is why my family is here and is pledging money here, too.
4BARNS
Now, please remember what I just said, because what is to come is possibly going to feel like A LOT. If we can read Jesus’ teachings and easily saunter into our next activity, then we aren’t paying attention.
In our reading, a farmer receives an extraordinary blessing: a harvest that outsizes his current storage capacity! The tax system at the time was extraordinarily demanding, with everyone outside the elites barely surviving. Oh, how times have changed!
So, with such an oppressive tax system and with the uncertainty of weather, this farmer decided to plan for the future. And so, he tears down his insufficient barns to build bigger ones, able to hold enough for him to live a very comfortable life of food, drink, and merriment.
Let’s just wait a second and allow this parable to end there. Is it just me or does this sound like the responsible thing to do? If you were to give someone advice, maybe your child or a friend, wouldn’t it sound similar?
In our modern language, we might say that it is wise to open a saving account, and if they have even more money, consider an IRA or 401K at your job. We might suggest they open an education fund for their children and a few accounts for things like weddings, vacations, etc. We might encourage them to diversify their portfolio, adding in safe investments like real estate. In short, whether giving advice or considering our own finances, saving almost always makes sense. Who in the world could argue with that?!?
Alright, let’s all take a deep breath because we are about to get a gut punch from Jesus. Verse 20, “You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?
I know there are many possible answers to this question, but just for fun, does anyone know what is widely considered the most lucrative and stable commercial real estate businesses today? Self-storage. The U.S. storage industry generates between $40-50 billion dollars a year, and the U.S. accounts for about 90% of the world’s storage inventory.
That’s interesting. We have so much stuff that we need to rent space to store our extra stuff. I’m not saying this to make anyone feel badly, either. Jesus is. Okay, that’s a joke. What’s a joke? I apologize…
This isn’t meant to create feelings of shame. This is simply our reality. I know I struggle with it because my family has an amazing house that’s filled with tons of stuff. I’m both grateful and uneasy with it.
So, what do we do with this teaching? The typical path is rather than take Jesus seriously, we brush off Jesus’ teaching, calling it irrelevant to our context. Surely, Jesus would respect our financial acumen, marveling at all our savings practices, no?
Hey, either what Jesus taught means something or it doesn’t. And again, if we can hear Jesus’ teachings and then keep living life as before, then we aren’t paying attention.
5CONTROL
It’s remarkable because Jesus anticipates what’s likely our main issue with his teaching. “Okay, Jesus, let’s say I buy into this idea, won’t I suffer due to poor planning???”
In the very next verse, Jesus says, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear.”
Let’s listen again. “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear.”
I’ve written and rewritten this section of the meditation many times this week, and everything I try just doesn’t seem to work. The words I string together feel so entirely insufficient compared to what Jesus says in our reading.
And it’s funny because the standard practice for a minister is to end a meditation with something practical, but I don’t think what Jesus said is “practical,” at least not in the way we tend to imagine that word. My goodness, Jesus just told us not to worry about what we eat or drink or even wear, but instead to trust that God will provide just like God provides for the ravens and the lilies of the field. What?!?
If I were a good fundraiser, I’d say, “hey, this feels like an enormous call to live a radically different kind of life. But don’t worry, all Jesus meant was that we should give more money to the church and continue life as before.”
Whew! That was a close call! Yes, I’ll gladly give something in order to avoid having to sit with this audacious teaching.
6CONCLUSION
But I’d be doing a disservice to all of us if I find a way to make what Jesus said “reasonable.” None of us should leave here feeling like we fully understand this teaching and can easily accomplish it.
I’ve struggled with this my entire life. I’ve even wondered if my family should have a savings account at all.
Why should I save for my possible future at the cost of someone’s actual present?
That said, we do have savings, which I justify as planning for my kids’ college. Is that wrong, or is that right? I don’t know, and I don’t think it’s that simple. I don’t think any of Jesus’ teachings are or should be neatly organized and filed away easily. I think the teachings mean different things to us at different times in our lives. We should never “understand” what Jesus said. We are always “understanding” Jesus’ teachings anew
One thing I do know is that we just built a bigger barn, and I know it wasn’t to store more of our stuff. Now is the time for us to swing wide the doors, boldly and unreasonably considering ways to use what we have for the betterment of our community. I can promise it’ll stretch us and that it will create challenges, and I can promise it’s the only worthwhile thing to do in this world.
So, if you’re looking for me to help us feel comfortable with this teaching, I cannot, and I think not-being-comfortable is where we should find comfort.
May we, therefore, wait patiently with Jesus’ teaching. May we be brave enough to listen deeply to the invitation not to worry about what we eat, drink, or wear, but rather rest easy in Love’s endless supply. May we never be lured away by “reasonable” applications, and may we discover the freedom of no longer worrying about tomorrow. Amen.