Pentecost 11 C: From Isolation to Community
Dear Partner in Preaching,
What if this parable really isn’t about money? Or about wealth? Or about the need to give to the church? I know, I know, if that’s true, it robs this parable of its value as the fodder of a great stewardship sermon. (If it makes you feel any better, no one really was expecting to hear a stewardship sermon the last Sunday in July anyway.)
Yet I think we move too quickly to assume the issue here is about this farmer’s wealth, when rather I think it’s about his isolation. Consider the little conversation he has with himself. Except it’s not just to himself, it’s also about himself…and only himself. There is no evidence that there is anyone else in his life, anyone else he should care about, anyone else who might have contributed to or benefit from this bountiful harvest. Instead, confronted with the blessing of an abundant harvest, all he can think of is what he should do to make sure he gets the most out of it so that he can live comfortably into his old age.
More than this blatant narcissism – or perhaps because of this narcissism – the farmer falls prey to the notion that he can secure his own future. That he needs no one, depends on no one, and can go it alone. Which is why God calls him foolish. Because, in the end, not only is he not immune to death, but he will die alone, and all that he has stored up with not comfort or protect him, nor will it go to others who loved and respected him and can put it to good use, but instead it will all turn to dust in the wind.
In this light, I wonder how we should read the closing line, “So it will be with those who store up treasures for themselves and are not rich toward God.” I know, here’s the stewardship connection, right? Maybe. But how can one be rich toward God without also – and quite frankly, first – being rich toward others? God, to paraphrase Martin Luther, needs neither our good works nor our wealth, but our neighbor does.
So perhaps this parable is really about community, the community in which we find sustenance and comfort and help and hope, and the community in which and through which we experience life with God. Keep in mind, after all, that this whole parable is started by a break in a community, the central and primary community of society, a family. One brother comes seeking Jesus’ intervention in a family squabble about an inheritance. And Jesus will have none of it. Recognizing that what should have been an occasion for celebration, remembrance, and gratitude – the giving and sharing of an inheritance – has instead been turned into a moment of division, Jesus refuses to get involved directly, but instead tells the story of a man so enraptured with his good fortune that he ends up all alone.
Who was Jesus’ addressing, I wonder. The man who brought the complaint? The man’s brother? The disciples? The crowds? All of us today? Yes. Yet of all these options, I’m particularly interested in how we hear Jesus’ words today. Because there is, right now, a profound and increasingly shared message out and about that we should not and cannot trust each other, that the world is increasingly dangerous and we should therefore be increasingly afraid. That kind of fear will not lead us forward. The regular and relentless biblical injunction “do not be afraid” is not offered simply to bolster our individual courage but to make it easier for us to turn to one another with our fears and hopes and dreams and needs in order to form a community. The Bible warns us against fear because it’s really hard to care for your neighbor and create a community when you are afraid.
Don’t get me wrong. Community is not easy. It means putting up with people who disagree with you and annoy you and even have hurt you. Forgiveness, as well as trust, is vital. But this is God’s will, that we “not be alone.” And I think this farmer who was rich in possessions but absolutely dirt poor in relationships never got that message.
You have the responsibility, Dear Partner, to tend and nurture a community that gathers around God’s word of grace and mercy. That is important work, challenging work, and God-blessed work, and I’m grateful for your commitment to it. However you preach this sermon, know that as you do so you are strengthening the Body of Christ. Thank you. Even more, thank God for you.
Yours in Christ,
David
What a way to talk about a certain presidential candidate without mentioning his name!
Linda:
My thoughts exactly.
Which leads to each hearer considering his/her faith: in themselves or in God.
Peace. I’m always suspicious of first world theologians trying to diminish this parables’ indictment on greed, materialism, and individualism. I appreciate, Dr. Lose, your words about the need of community and the importance of justice in terms of good works for the sake of our neighbor, not salvation. My only critique, is that in my humble opinion, isolation is not the main issue; greed is. Isolation in the parable is a by product of greed. I think this is important because we live in the first world, where greed, power, money, and success are glorified even when those who have these “virtues” destroy community and do not care for the others, specially the vulnerable members of society. A sanitized version of this parable will try to universalize its message and make it about something we can all experience, as it robs it from its strong indictment of certain immoral and unjust economic and social practices that not everyone participates in or has the power to enact them. This parable, first and foremost is an indictment on the powerful. The social background of this text is agrarian societies from the first century, which viewed landlords and wealthy patrons as thieves (Social Science commentary on the Synoptic Gospels by Bruce J. Malina). Most of the world, particularly economically disadvantaged people, cannot relate to this type of power and wealth. I lovingly and respectfully disagree with your premise that the parable is not about wealth. Albeit, I completely agree with your insight and explanation of isolation as one of the themes of this pericope. Looking forward to your next posting. Blessings.
This is an incredibly important and helpful comment, Pr. Gonzalez, and I appreciate the corrective and deeper engagement with the social context you are offering. Thank you – David.
What a timely insight. Much fear has been stirred over the past several months in particular. Would it not be easier and safer to shut ourselves off from the rest of society? But that is not how we are called to live. We are called to live in community, sharing God’s grace freely and abundantly! We are called to be the voice of peace where there is unrest, the voice of hope amid hopelessness, the voice of forgiveness where there is hatred. We are called to love one another as God has first loved us. This certainly is not always easy, but it is our calling as Christians, as God’s people. Hopefully we can plant some seeds this weekend that will grow and reproduce abundantly!
David, I just want to leave a note and thank you for all your work on these texts even in the midst of such a busy schedule — I say a prayer of thanks for you every week when I turn towards your thoughts on the Gospel! Also, I can’t thank you enough for this take on the text — the week we will be hosting our Community Picnic! Grace and Peace be with you!
What about a Pokemon go connection? All this talk of being alone and not in community makes me think of the crowds of people gathering to catch em all and the potential for community building. Our church is a poke gym so random people are coming all the time to stand outside and stare at their phones and do a little poke battle… “You fool, you may catch them all but this very night your life will be demanded of you…”
Fr. Sean, I encourage you to be gentle on the Poke crowd. They are building community – it may look different that what you consider community but it is there nonetheless.
In light of the RCL texts for this Sunday (track 1– Hosea and especially Psalm 107), your reading really fits well. God longs to gather us in “from east and west, from north and south.” Thanks!
Thank you all for your thoughts, and especially Rev. David for starting it all off with his thoughts. I cannot add anything to this but I want David to know how much I so value this column each week for its insights and the further comments of others. It has provided inspiration for reflections and hope in the midst of much change, especially this today as I struggle with many hospital pages to write something meaningful for tomorrow morning.
How often do we pray that Jesus will just go ahead and fix things according to our personal desires? While we focus on greed and money, we’re just as greedy in our prayers, and perhaps in our expectations of what we’ll earn by going to church regularly. Each focus erodes community by taking our attention away from what we give and receive from each other in this journey and placing it on what we’ll get individually in the end. I don’t think Jesus would be any more accepting of our focus on a heavenly reward than he is of wanting an inheritance. Creation is here and now, and in process of becoming the fulfillment of God’s plan. Our focus on things above becomes real when we make room for it in our lives and in the world around us.
So … a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions, but in his willingness to share those possessions in a community, because we have a God-given responsibility to use our lives, including our possessions, for the benefit of others and the glory of God. Thus we love both God and one another. In another parable in Luke – 16:19-31 – another rich man did not see this point. He too neglected to use his wealth to help another.
Barnabas, right at the beginning of the church, shows us how God’s people should give their lives to help their community. Acts 4. Not only did Barnabas sell his land and give the proceeds to the church, but later he counts his life as less important than that of the apostle Paul as he helps ease him into the Jerusalem fellowship. Acts 9. Then he is sent to Antioch to help encourage the welcome of Gentiles, before fetching Paul from Tarsus and bringing him into the Antioch community. Acts 11. It is the Antioch church that will become the community that sends the like of Paul and Barnabas to spread the gospel to all the world and cause the growth of God’s community.
Fast forward to 2019 (I did a search for your previous commentary on this gospel, David!). Your insights are very helpful to me, so thank you. I would only add that this does provide fodder for a stewardship sermon, just not the kind that says “give to the church”. 🙂