Proper 13 / Pentecost 11 / Ordinary Time 18
Devotional
Water From the Rock
Lectionary Devotional for Cycle C
Object:
... for one's life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.
-- Luke 12:15b
At some level, most of us know that our lives do not consist in an abundance of possessions, but we are still seduced by the possibility of gaining sufficient possessions so that we will be free to focus on other things that really count. The problem is that the measure of what is enough keeps changing. The commandment says, "You shall not covet ..." (Exodus 20:17).
In a society that is so focused on economics, that is a hard commandment to obey. No matter what we have, we are so aware of the fear of not having enough that we never feel secure. When we read this parable, it seems clear that the man in the parable was greedy, and we vow not to be that way. Is it possible that he was simply trying to be prudent with his good fortune? One year the land brought forth plentifully, but who could predict what would happen the next year? There could be a drought or blight, and there would be no crop. What should he have done? The parable does not say. Should he have given all the excess, beyond what his current barn would hold, to the poor? Is Jesus suggesting that our good fortune is never for ourselves alone?
The Bible seems to have the perspective that everything that exists belongs to God (Psalm 24:1) and that what we have is on loan to us for the sake of the whole community. In a culture that almost worships the concept of private possessions, this is a very hard concept to accept. But even if we accepted this theoretically, the problem is affected by our fears and our low concept of humanity. The theory is that if we have a lot this year, we should share it with our needy neighbors so that next year, if we are in need, our neighbor will share with us (2 Corinthians 8:13-14). Our own tendency to covet makes us fearful that our neighbor will covet as well; therefore, we enter a whole cycle of fear rather than love for our neighbor.
While we may not arrive at a state of perfect generosity, we can recognize the power of greed to distort our very nature. The alternative suggested is that we focus on being rich toward God. As we move step by step to that focus, perhaps we will feel the burden of the material lessening in our lives and our capacity to be generous without fear increasing.
-- Luke 12:15b
At some level, most of us know that our lives do not consist in an abundance of possessions, but we are still seduced by the possibility of gaining sufficient possessions so that we will be free to focus on other things that really count. The problem is that the measure of what is enough keeps changing. The commandment says, "You shall not covet ..." (Exodus 20:17).
In a society that is so focused on economics, that is a hard commandment to obey. No matter what we have, we are so aware of the fear of not having enough that we never feel secure. When we read this parable, it seems clear that the man in the parable was greedy, and we vow not to be that way. Is it possible that he was simply trying to be prudent with his good fortune? One year the land brought forth plentifully, but who could predict what would happen the next year? There could be a drought or blight, and there would be no crop. What should he have done? The parable does not say. Should he have given all the excess, beyond what his current barn would hold, to the poor? Is Jesus suggesting that our good fortune is never for ourselves alone?
The Bible seems to have the perspective that everything that exists belongs to God (Psalm 24:1) and that what we have is on loan to us for the sake of the whole community. In a culture that almost worships the concept of private possessions, this is a very hard concept to accept. But even if we accepted this theoretically, the problem is affected by our fears and our low concept of humanity. The theory is that if we have a lot this year, we should share it with our needy neighbors so that next year, if we are in need, our neighbor will share with us (2 Corinthians 8:13-14). Our own tendency to covet makes us fearful that our neighbor will covet as well; therefore, we enter a whole cycle of fear rather than love for our neighbor.
While we may not arrive at a state of perfect generosity, we can recognize the power of greed to distort our very nature. The alternative suggested is that we focus on being rich toward God. As we move step by step to that focus, perhaps we will feel the burden of the material lessening in our lives and our capacity to be generous without fear increasing.
