Families: however much we may love them, at times they are sources of frustration, they can argue, they can bear grudges and nearly all of them will have a good row every now and again. For some families there’s nothing like a death in the family to open old wounds and rivalries.
And that’s the sort of family we meet at the start of today’s reading. There’s a full force family row going on over an inheritance – two brothers are bickering about who is entitled to what. One thinks that the law is clear and he’s entitled to his share, the other seems to think not and is holding onto it all.
So what do they do to settle this family dispute? They take the problem to Jesus to resolve.
Well today, in one sense we might think that involving Jesus in our problems – that inviting God to be a part of our solutions would be a positive thing. And for us, this would be true; but for these two? The problem, and the difference is that they were treating Jesus like he was Jerry Springer. Their motivation is not about what is right, but their desire to be proved right. So off they go to parade their problems to Jesus – he’ll settle it; he’ll prove me right (and no doubt end up prolonging the feud between them).
But that isn’t the Jesus they meet, in fact if anything he’s more like Jeremy Kyle than Jerry Springer, because he’s abrupt, firm and lets them know in no uncertain terms what he thinks of their behaviour. This isn’t a side of Jesus we see often, the truth is that we find it uncomfortable listening because they’re words none of us would like to hear addressed to us. We don’t like the thought that judgements would be hard. We like religious messages to be comforting, affirming, encouraging.
So having torn a strip off them for trying to draw him into their feud, Jesus tells his (presumably stunned) audience a parable to illustrate his message and the values he’s trying to encourage. The Parable of the rich man is short and rather harsh, it doesn’t have a happy ending and it doesn’t have a hero. There’s just the foolish rich man. For a parable that we may gloss over, it’s a very telling story that echoes down the years to the twenty first century.
We all like to tell success stories about ourselves: we collect things, we go on holidays we aspire to better and better jobs, our measurements can become things to boast about - how many bedrooms, how wide is your TV, how fast is your car? It’s so easy to become a part of this 'keeping up with the Joneses' and no one is immune – that little knowing smile when you notice that your neighbours have copied your living room colour scheme, listening out for the little gasp when visitors notice the new car or the size of your DVD collection.
In itself, wanting to live a comfortable life is not wrong. If you work hard for your money, then wanting to spend it on nice things is not in itself wrong. It would be so easy to read this parable as an indictment on being wealthy, but this isn’t the Parable of the Rich Man – this is the parable of the foolish rich man. The man in Jesus story is consumed with his greed. He thinks of himself only. He thinks that if he can just get enough wealth he will be happy and no one can hurt him – he can insulate himself from the effects of the world, and this will make him happy – so this is his obsession. He’s never really happy because he always wants to be that little bit richer. The message from God – that his number’s up throws into sharp relief all the things he didn’t do with his life.
It’s ridiculous to think that money can be the cure to all our problems; we just need the right amount of it – ever bought a lottery ticket when you’re feeling down? I know I have, spent it in my head before I’ve even left the shop, like it would solve whatever today’s problem happened to be. The rich man’s folly in the parable is the thought that he can insulate himself from hardship – and from life. The truth is that we have to be out there living our lives, not trying to cocoon ourselves from it. What would it be like if we never risked asking someone out on a date? Sure we’d avoid the pain of rejection, the possibility that it wouldn’t work out and heartbreak, but we’d deny ourselves the joy of being in love.
Jesus takes this squabbling family and tells them to take a long hard look at their lives. Sometimes families do fall out. Sometimes it really is the best thing that two people don’t speak to each other. But these brothers, who spend all their energies bitching about money, are denying that life is about so much more, and this is the lesson they - and we - have to appreciate. We have to appreciate that we are created to be fulfilled - to live lives that experience joy and inspire love in others, because we are created to be fulfilled differently, as a person who shared more of ourselves, willingly, freely, lovingly with our spouses, our children, our neighbours and our friends. We know that there is joy in having treasures and giving them away, because it could make a difference in someone else’s life
The wealth we accumulate clearly makes a difference in our lives, everyone wants to be comfortable, but we are created by a higher being and we have to be rich towards God. Our bank accounts are unlikely to impress God. The size of our DVD collection will not make God gasp. Our lives are in God’s hands, and we have to use all of the treasures at our disposal to try and make a difference in this world. Making people gasp because of what we own, is hardly much of an achievement; typically it will produce one of two responses, either jealousy or people thinking we’re a big-head.
But showing someone love, being generous towards those people who have less than we have, giving up our time to maybe change the lives of people we have never met - these are qualities that truly impress. To give and not to count the cost is to be truly rich indeed, because it is being rich towards God.
The reading does not end with a resolution; we don’t know what the brothers did afterwards. Did they rush off and reconcile, we don’t know. I think there is a reason from this: Jesus calls us to answer out of our own souls. Jesus reminded us that whatever we do for those who are in need, we do to him. And we are blessed with so much in our lives.
This parable condemns the shortsightedness of failing to be a good custodian of the blessings that God entrusts to us. And it points out how money is not evil in itself: money can be a blessing or a curse depending upon whether it is our servant or our master, our tool or our tyrant, a means or an end. It reminds us that money cannot buy happiness.
Amen
(Dan Joseph)
This sermon was first preached in the Metropolitan Community Church of Manchester. Click here for further information.