THE FOOLISHNESS OF GREED

Luke 12. 13-21

Sometimes, a teaching of Jesus stands on its own with little need for interpretation. This teaching feels like one of those, but nonetheless, as interpreting his teaching is the task of a preacher, I’ll give it a shot.

When Jesus is asked to arbitrate an inheritance, he is quick point out that what underlies the request is greed. Jesus then illustrates the point with a parable about a man who was blessed with abundance and is so consumed with keeping it all for himself that he plans to build even bigger barns to hoard his possessions with no apparent thought about sharing with others. So, there are no hidden secrets here. No koans. No Rubric’s Cube puzzle. This teaching is simply and clearly about greed. 

Greed is second only to Pride in the pecking order of the Seven Deadly Sins – a list of vices that can be traced back to Evagrius Ponticus –  a 4th century monk, and introduced to the Western Church by John Cassian, a student of Evagrius. Although the seven deadly sins are not included anywhere in scripture, they serve as a well-known framework within Christianity for understanding and addressing the temptations and pitfalls that can lead us away from a virtuous life, all of which are believed to be the root of undesirable human behaviors that, if gone unchecked, can lead us away from what today’s teaching refers to as the richness of God.   

Jesus gives us other examples of the dangers of greed throughout the gospel narratives. We saw how fired-up he was the day he turned the tables in the temple because greed and dishonesty had turned the holy place into a den of thieves.  

And one of the most tragic encounters was when the rich young ruler, feeling as though he had fulfilled the commandments and yet still longing for something he couldn’t quite put his finger on, came to Jesus and asked what more he could do to realize the kingdom of heaven within himself. Jesus tells him to go and give all his possessions to the poor and then he would be ready. In one of the saddest moments in scripture, the young man walks away unable to free himself from the grip of wealth. His heart is bound by that which will never ultimately serve him. It is the only time someone refuses the offer to follow Jesus. The story ends with Jesus reminding us that over-attachment to wealth and possessions is one of the biggest obstacles to realizing the kingdom of heaven in our lives. This is a lesson we all must learn sooner than later, and when we do, we can experience real freedom – the freedom to live and love fully and unconditionally with no strings attached.  

The teaching today not only refers to greed of wealth. Jesus’ warning explicitly says to be on our guard for all forms of greed. What can we take from that? What other forms of greed will pull us away from the richness of God? A greedy heart is one that is ruled by selfishness and self-centeredness that disallows us to consider others. It could be an insatiable desire for power and prestige. Whatever it is for each of us, Jesus is calling for us to a higher spiritual ideal.

I think it’s helpful when considering the pitfalls of greed and striving for a higher spiritual ideal to look at greed’s opposite. The first thing that comes to mind is generosity. Just as greed is one of the seven deadly sins, likewise generosity is one of the nine fruits of the spirit from the book of Galatians that also includes love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. These square nicely as virtues opposite of the seven deadly sins.

But as today’s teaching warns of greed, let’s focus our attention on its opposite: the virtue of generosity and what that might look like in our world today. From generosity all forms of spiritual balm can flow. Love flows from a generous heart. A peaceful heart is naturally a generous heart. Kindness surely flows from generosity, as does faithfulness and gentleness.

In 12-Step spirituality, the program of Alcoholics Anonymous teaches that “Our very lives depend on constant thought of others and how we might help meet their needs,” and that to keep the wonderful spiritual gift of recovery, we must give away what was so freely given to us. This represents a fundamental shift from self-centered greed to a focus on helping others. This, I believe, is an antidote to greed that will propel us into the richness of God.

My brothers and sisters, our world is in trouble now. So many people are displaced and dismissed. So many are living in fear and trembling. So many of our friends around the world are in need of a glimmer of light. We can be that glimmer. The church has something to say and I pray for the clarity and courage of us all to bring good news. None of us can do it all, but we all can do our part to bring a spark of hope to a hurting world.

I want to close with a prayer for peace that is familiar to most if not all of us here today. And I want to encourage us all to use this prayer for peace as a guiding light for how we live, and move, and have our being in the months and years ahead.

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:

where there is hatred, let me sow love;

where there is injury, pardon;

where there is doubt, faith;

where there is despair, hope;

where there is darkness, light;

where there is sadness, joy.

O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek

to be consoled as to console,

to be understood as to understand,

to be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive,

it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,

and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

Amen.                                                                     The Prayer of Saint Francis (Prayer for Peace) 

Namaste / Shalom

Brother Dennis