Rich Toward God
By The Rev Leslie Chadwick, Guest Preacher
“Be on your guard against all kinds of greed.” Good morning! When I hear this passage from Scripture, a certain place pops into my mind [Hold up a Target bag]: Target. Tar JAY to some. I sit in my car in the parking lot, repeating to myself, ”Two items. Ten minutes.“ An hour and $200 later, I emerge from the store, reassuring myself, “It was worth it. I really needed this stuff. I just didn’t know it until I saw it.”
One of the items that recently made its way into my shopping cart was this card. It says, “It’s your birthday! Eat Drink, and be Merry: Now that’s the kind of multi-tasking everyone likes.”
“Eat, Drink, and be Merry.” Where had I heard that before? Could have been any number of places. It’s a pleasant message: hedonistic, old as the hills, older than Isaiah. And it’s the phrase verbatim that the rich man in today’s gospel says to his soul: “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry!” This phrase is the second of three responses we get in our Scripture this morning to the irrefutable fact that, “We’re all going to die and you can’t take it with you.” Our first reading from Ecclesiastes offers the response of despair. “It’s all vanity. What’s the point in working so hard? The people who come after me are just going to throw it away.” The third response comes at the end of our gospel passage and is fleshed out in our reading from Colossians: “What does it mean for us to be a people who are rich toward God?” (Patricia J. Lull, FOW, 314). Let’s focus on this last and most unusual question.
Before we can be rich toward God and be on our guard against all kinds of greed, we have to know what greed is. As one commentator explains, greed is more than just “a craving for money, material goods, and honor….It deceives us into overvaluing finite goods, thinking that this house or this car or this promotion can satisfy the soul’s deepest longings….It often disguises itself as prudent planning for the future.” (John C. Shelley, FOW, 306). Money and acquiring stuff are often linked to issues of “anxiety and control” (Lull, 212). In June, my husband and I each prepared to go away for a week without our children. His parents were staying with the children, but I was still anxious about leaving them. I bought enough food for three families to live on for three weeks. When I returned, I found dozens of snack wrappers hidden in my son’s room and asked him about them. He shrugged, “I was hungry!” He had hoarded food to feel secure while I was away, and I had set the example in my own anxiety by supplying more food than he could possibly need.
There’s a lot of anxiety in our church and in our nation related to uncertainty about the future. You are in the midst of a long process to create a parish portfolio and call a new rector. The country is stuck in an election year that is particularly nasty. Jesus warns us, “Be on your guard.” Again, commentator Patricia Lull suggests, “Where there are “anxiety and control” issues, greed is sure to follow. “When we have to wait, our worst behaviors can emerge” (David E. Gray FoW, 306). Greed can mask itself as trying to expedite and orchestrate things behind the scenes “for the good of the Church or for the party or for the country.” It can seem like a short-cut to circumvent the painful waiting and questioning involved in discernment—“Who are we? Who do we want to become?”
The rich man in today’s gospel didn’t start off in bad shape. His land produced abundantly. That abundance in itself is not a negative. It is a gift from God. The rich man asks, “What should I do?” Fair question. Who knows? If he’d sat with that question a little longer, it might have led him to some generous alternatives—sharing the abundance, finding a way for it to serve the common good, finding a way to honor the God who gave it. Instead, he circumvents discernment and jumps to action, “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.” I. I. I. My. My. My. The rich man forgets in his feverish planning that God even exists and that his own life is finite.
The author of Colossians knows how easy it is to forget those two simple things when we get into controlling and scheming for the good of whatever we’re doing. He urges his congregation who has been acting out in unhealthy ways: “Guys. We’ve already been over this. You’ve already chosen Door #3: Be rich toward God. You’ve stripped off the old self with its practices (anger, lying, wrath, malice, greed, slander, abusive language) and have clothed yourselves with the new self, which is being renewed…according to the image of its creator. In that renewal, there is no longer Greek or Jew…slave or free. But Christ is all and in all. Go back to what you know the minute you get anxious.”
He continues, “You, like everyone else, are going to die. So don’t worry about anxiously trying to hold onto life. You already have died. In the water of baptism, you were buried with Christ in his death and by it you share in his resurrection. Your refrain is no longer, “I. I. I. My. My. My.” You are a part of the family of God—the way you act in the face of uncertainty affects “we and us.” It’s our job as Christians to practice dying, the way others practice a good golf swing. We forgive; we let go of “being right” or getting our way for the sake of seeing Christ in one another; we give generously instead of keeping a tight grip on our stuff. We have something much better than business as usual in this world to follow: the way of Jesus Christ. It leads to life. So set your minds on the things that are above.”
Being rich toward God as a community and as individuals, means pausing before jumping into action. It means remembering who we follow and where we are headed. It means being generous toward our neighbors whether or not they deserve it our minds. Remembering that Christ is in all and Christ is all. Being rich toward God means that we have a choice beyond despair or numbing ourselves by living it up as if there were no tomorrow. The title of today’s Adult Christian Ed Class sums it up: “Facing Change with Courage and Joy.” Our choice is to face the both uncertainty and the givens of life with courage; we live our lives as a blessing and a gift even though there are no guarantees or exceptions. We give generously from our possessions with the freedom of those who know that they have been given all that they need and it will not be taken from them.
Some of you were present for Sue Van Meers’ funeral the Saturday before last. Sue was a member here for over 40 years and part of the Gifts to Glorify the Lord organ committee. She was always in action, rarely pausing to come up for air, giving and doing. She’d never really been sick before she was hospitalized in March of 2015. And that scared her. She told me, “You never think you could die, and then you get sick and realize how close you came to death.” When her MDS turned into leukemia last August, she grew defiant: ”I will not let this define me.” She requested prayers for strength, healing, and courage to fight the disease. She took an inventory about what she could and could not control; she was very firm about what she would not give the disease: herself. She practiced dying to those things she could not control and, to the end, was not bullied by death.
Being rich toward God is not about being perfect. It’s about remembering that we have already died in Christ and have been raised with him to new life. We cannot see the full glory of that new life in this world of shootings, division, hatred, mudslinging, and violence, but we respond in faith to God’s promise of abundant and unending life that starts now. So we pause and wait instead of hoarding and acquiring to feel secure. We pray when we feel ourselves feverishly trying to regain control in uncertain times. As we practice dying, we begin truly to live. And we remember that as a community in change, we are to ask ourselves this question above all others, “What does it mean for us to be a people rich toward God?”
Amen.
Faith and Fear
August 7, 2016 by Elaine Horsfield • sermons • Tags: Guest Preacher, Moronta •
By The Rev B. Adolfo Moronta, Guest Preacher
Faith and fear are opposites; they cannot exist together. While faith moves us to belief that God is constantly working behind the scenes in every area of our lives, on the other hand, fear, simply stated, is unbelief or weak belief. As unbelief gains the upper hand in our thoughts, fear takes hold of our emotions.
In the name of one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Amen
Good morning brothers and sisters in Christ .
There are two main topics in today’s readings, faith and fear. Fear began in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve sinned and hid themselves from the Lord. The Lord called out for Adam, and Adam replied, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself” (Gen. 3: 10). Many of the earliest followers also struggled with fear from Abraham to Moses to the Disciples. In our texts today, if we look closely, we see that the cure for fear is faith.
Faith and fear are opposites; they cannot exist together. While faith moves us to belief that God is constantly working behind the scenes in every area of our lives, on the other hand, fear, simply stated, is unbelief or weak belief. As unbelief gains the upper hand in our thoughts, fear takes hold of our emotions.
Faith is a gift of God is not just believing in Christ is much more than that. It requires our action. Paul in his letter to the Romans says: “Faith without works is dead, but faith with works is living faith.” Faith is the evidence and proof that God exists and that he will keep his promises. In the letter to the Hebrews faith is defined as the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
There are two types of fear in the Bible, the first one is fear of the Lord this first type of fear does not necessarily mean being afraid of something. Rather is reverential and brings many blessings and benefits. The second type of fear is the spirit of fear. Which overcomes us, and to overcome it we need to trust in and love God completely. With faith we can overcome fear but when we open our hearts to fear, fear can be an obstacle in building a strong faith.
What are the fears that you are facing today? Perhaps some of your fears on a Personal level – are about what do I do if I get sick? lose my job? can’t provide well for my family? don’t live up to my own expectations for myself? Family level – what if a family member gets sick or injured? My child gets into trouble? I can’t make my payments? Community level – I worry about crime? Pollution. the quality of schools and services. National level – I fear terrorism (ISIS), epidemics (Zika), war (middle east), and sometimes our own government.
God comes to us today, speaks to us and says, “Fear not, For I am with you always.” Jesus came once to the disciples when they were in a storm and said “Fear not, it is I.”
365 times the phrase “Fear not” or “Do not be afraid” show up in the bible. You can google it. With this God is reminding us that he is in control. That you are going to be ok. “Do not be afraid” is an order not an option. God knows that fear is so much a part of our human experience, and that we struggle with fear in our daily lives. God knows what keeps us up at night. That is why when we are facing fear Psalm 23:4 reminds us: “Even when I walk through a valley of deep darkness, I will not be afraid because you are with me. Your rod and your staff—they comfort me.”
In 2012, after completing my studies in Virginia Theological Seminary, I went back to work to the Dominican Episcopal Church which was a big change in ministry. In the Dominican Republic, the role of a priest is very different from the U.S. – a major change. A Dominican priest is a people’s advocate, hero, and pillar of the community. The priest is the voice of the voiceless. We advocate to authorities for needed services like roads, water systems, healthcare, and for justice. We find funds to repair and built houses, to get food so that the poor can eat, and buy prescriptions and other necessities. In our interpersonal relations, we mediate disputes, encourage and discipline children, and comfort the afflicted.
Upon my arrival in the country I was told by my bishop that I was going to be the rector of three congregations and that this special assignment also included supervising the construction of the building of one of them; but that was not all he also warned me that among the three there was one congregation that needed “extra care”. I was in total disbelieve I was thinking I just graduated couldn’t I at least start as an associate?
When I stepped out of his office I said out loud: “How in the world I am I going to be able to do all this? Clearly, in that moment fear stepped in but at the same time faith came into my heart and gave me a peace which I had never felt before. Immediately I visited all 3 congregations and sadly found out that the one that needed extra care was a congregation that was about to close. That congregation had just two members the lady in charge of cleaning the building and another who helped her. Thus, the challenge was to grow this faith community from virtually nothing.
With Christ as my lead, I developed a strategic plan for growing the church. I visited former members of the congregation and possible new members. I organized weekly prayer group meetings in the parishioners’ homes. I scheduled sports activities to attract the youth. As a faith community, we shared the weekly celebration of the Holy Eucharist. With a lot of prayer and effort I immediately started seeing results after the second week. Within three years, there were more than 90 active members in the congregation. During my second year we completed the new church building and the bishop proudly dedicated it.
Throughout it all the voice of fear always visited now and then, she would stop by whispering in my ear: “do you know what you are doing? you are not capable or equipped to do this. why don’t you just tell the bishop that you can’t do it? This is too much just let it go. It was only with my constant prayers and trust in the lord that I was able to overcome my fears and I remember that every day I kept telling myself: “I work for the Lord and He is going to be with me.”
People of God the key to overcoming fear, then, is total and complete trust in God. Trusting God is a refusal to give in to fear. It is a turning to God even in the darkest times and trusting Him to make things right. This trust comes from knowing God and knowing that He is good. We can overcome our fears, by facing them and not by running away from them.
It makes me wonder – fear is constantly with us, it’s a part of life. Fear can either paralyze someone to inaction, or it can motivate one to overcome it and accomplish something. Isn’t overcoming fear one way that faith works in our lives? If I have to deal with my fears, I don’t want to do it alone and having the Holy Spirit beside me makes it a lot easier.
So how do you deal with fear? I found a good quote from Nelson Mandela that I would like to share with you: “I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but triumph over it. I felt fear myself more times than I can remember, but hid it behind a mask of boldness. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.” Isaiah 41:10 encourages us, “Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” Often we fear the future and what will become of us. But Jesus reminds us that God cares for the birds of the air, so how much more will He provide for His children? “So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows” (Matthew 10:31). Just these few verses cover many different types of fear. God tells us not to be afraid of being alone, of being too weak, of not being heard, and of lacking physical necessities.
In summary I would like to end with the words that the psalmist writes in Psalm 56:11: “In God I trust; I will not be afraid.” Regardless of what happens in our lives, we must always trust in God and in his power and remember Jesus promises to us: “…And surely I am with you always, to the very end of time.”