The Tenth Sunday after Pentecost

August 5, A.D. 2007


If I Were A Rich man


“Dear God, you made many, many poor people. I realize, of course, that it’s no shame to be poor. But its no great honor either! So, what would have been so terrible if I had a small fortune.” That was the prayer of Tevye, the milkman of the little Russian village of Anitepka, which was the setting of the marvelous Broadway musical, “Fiddler on the Roof.” After praying, Tevye then bursts into a song. “If I were a rich man, all day long I’d biddy biddy bum. If I were a wealthy man, I wouldn’t have to work hard. I’d build a big tall house with rooms by the dozen, right in the middle of town. There would be one long staircase just going up, and one even longer coming down. And one more leading nowhere, just for show. If I were a biddy, biddy rich, yidle-diddle-didle-didle man.” (How fortunate you are that I read it, and did not sing it!) Today’s Gospel lesson is about a rich man. Jesus tells a story about a man whose crops reached such abundance that he had to pull down his barns and build bigger ones in order to store everything. Obviously this man had received an abundance of blessings from the hand of God. So he builds his new barns, and then, he says to himself: “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; take your ease, eat, drink, and be merry.” God responds to this by saying; “Fool! This night your soul is required of you; and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?” Jesus ends the story by saying “So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God. At first glance we might breathe a sigh of relief and find ourselves off the hook with this parable. It is certainly a far cry from the parable of the prodigal son, which makes us squirm a bit in our pews. For, we, like Tevye, more than likely see ourselves as not falling into the category of a rich person. But, my brothers and sisters in Christ, I would suggest to you this morning that everyone of us is rich beyond our imagination, and that, yes, the story Jesus told in today’s Gospel hits home in each of our lives. Listen to some things Jesus says about us: “Fear not little flock, for it is the Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” “Whatever you ask in my name, I will do it, that the Father may be glorified in the Son; if you ask anything in my name, I will do it.” Does that sound like poverty – having for our possession the kingdom of God - having the Son of God ready to hear our requests and then make them happen? And if that isn’t enough, hear what St. Paul says about us: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realm. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace” ‘Riches of his grace?” – every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realm: that hardly sounds like poverty. Then, my friends, here is the clincher: “”For it is God who said, “Let the light shine out of darkness,” who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ…..but we have this treasure in earthen vessels.” Treasure – in earthen vessels – in us? Poverty? Hardly! In baptism we became incredibly rich in the presence of Christ within us. The wealth in this room right now would stagger the imagination. Yes, my friends, in Christ, we are all rich beyond what we could ever imagine. But, back to the Rich Fool for a moment? He took the abundance of God’s blessing and locked it away so that he could sit back, eat, drink, and be merry, totally ignoring the rest of the world around him. Has the Church in this materialistic world become a rich fool that stashes away the treasures God has given it, and hoards it for itself? That’s a pretty tough question, isn’t it? We need to look within ourselves and not see poverty – not see impossibility – not see emptiness – and not say “we can’t.” The biggest insult I have ever heard to the body of Jesus Christ was the comment: “Oh, we are just a poor little church.” The body of Christ – Jesus who became incarnate – who suffered death on our behalf – who rose from the dead – who ascended to the right hand of the father. Poor? Little? I don’t think so. Christ has given us the limitless treasure of his love and grace, and everything that the kingdom of God is. He has placed the kingdom in our hands – and now the question faces us that faced the rich fool: what are we going to do with it? – tuck it safely away or give ourselves to the life of the world. One day Peter and John were on their way to the temple to pray when they came upon a poor beggar. He held out his hand for some pocket change. Peter looks at him and says: “I have no silver and gold, but I give you what I have; in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” And, that is precisely what he did. Yes, we are rich – we are stewards of the incredible kingdom of God. It is our task, yes, our duty, to offer back to God everything He has given us: our time, our talents, and our treasure. In a word, God expects total stewardship from each and every one of us. He expects a return of his investment in our lives in order that others may come to know his love and grace. That is why Jesus calls us the light of the world and the salt of the earth. So, my fellow spiritual billionaires: we don’t have time to take it easy, eat, drink, and be merry. It is time to open the treasuries of our hearts for the sake of an impoverished world.