Life, Possessions Means to an End
Rev. John Davis
Friday, August 10, 2007
By the Rev. John Davis
St. Mark’s Lutheran Church
“One’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.” (Luke 12:15)
Perhaps it’s not surprising that Jesus spoke more about money and possessions than any other topic in the Bible. Why did Jesus talk so much about money? Certainly, one reason must be that our relationship with God is affected by our relationship with money and possessions.
The gospel of Luke not only tells how Jesus brought good news to the poor, but also how he sought to save those who were rich. The difficulty of that task of saving the rich was given a rating equal to getting a camel through the eye of a needle, but certainly not an impossibility for God.
The 12th chapter of Luke records Jesus’ concern for those who would make money or possessions a standard for measuring the worth of any human being, and for anyone who depends on their wealth to give them security and well-being.
It’s not uncommon to hear a person’s societal value or worth expressed in terms of the sum of their material wealth. “What do you suppose he was worth?” is a question pondered by some when a well-known member of the community dies, as if the size of one’s estate is a measure of their value as a person.
Ranking the importance of one vocation over another according to salary is another way in which a value system based on possessions sneaks into our thinking. Is a trader in stocks and bonds actually more important to society’s welfare than a teacher, or nurse or social worker? Is what a person “makes” a standard by which to measure his or her value? Or is that contrary to the vision of the Kingdom of God as Jesus expressed it?
Judged by this world’s material standards, Jesus had virtually no value. He once noted that even the foxes who had their dens had more material wealth than he. At the time of his death on the cross, even the clothes on his back had been taken from him. He had to impose on a faithful disciple to provide for his mother. Yet, his life and his death was of inestimable value in God’s sight, so valuable that it suffices to pay the debt of sin for the whole of humankind.
Jesus told a parable about a rich man who was extremely savvy when it came to accumulating lots of possessions. Amid barn busting wealth he announced that his future was now secure. He was able to store up enough to make his life easy for many years in the future — the problem was that, for him, there was no future.
“You fool!” God said, “This very night your life is being demanded of you.” As an addendum to the parable, Jesus added that this is the way it is with those who accumulate treasures for themselves, but are not rich toward God.
Behind this warning is an amazing and wonderful reality — all that we are and all that we have really belongs to God. We never own anything, even our own lives. Our life and our possessions are means to an end — the glory of God and the good of our neighbors.
The secret of finding joy in this reality is knowing the difference between ownership and use. Life and possessions are given to us to enjoy for ourselves and to use for the good of others, never as an end in themselves.
F “Sunday Sermon” is a forum for Emporia area ministers to share their sermons, thoughts and observations. This week’s sermon is from the Rev. John Davis, pastor of St. Mark’s Lutheran Church.