What (Who) Do You Worship?

Luke 12: 13-21

 

Idolatry can be a subtle thing. It can mask itself in concepts like duty and chores and even religion. Anything in this world can become an idol. Theologian William Barclay tells a story of a conversation between a young ambitious lad and an older man who knew life. Said the young man, “I will learn my trade.” “And then?” said the old man. “I will set up in business.” “And then?” “I will make my fortune.” “And then?” “I suppose that I shall grow old and retire and live on my money.” “And then?’ “Well, I suppose that someday I will die.” “And then?” came the last stabbing question.

If you want to get the answers you need to get through this life successfully and get promoted, instead of demoted, to the next, you have to start by asking the right questions. It’s not about what you get; it’s about what you give away. Rick Warren, author of  The Purpose Driven Life, starts his book with these words: “It’s not about you.”   Think about that. What is the object of your worship?

 Today, we take a fresh look at a well-known story from the gospel of Luke. Luke is the longest of the four gospels. It was originally joined to Acts as part of a two volume work. Luke is the Gentile gospel writer, a physician by trade. We know him as a fellow worker with Paul, probably from Antioch, and as a faithful companion to Paul in Paul’s final imprisonment.

In today’s story, Jesus is on the way to Jerusalem. He is marching to his destiny, a destiny that includes a date with Calvary. He has stopped along the way to give instruction. According to Luke, a crowd of many thousands has gathered. Jesus begins by teaching his disciples, but in our story, he has received an inquiry from the crowd. He now turns to address the question.

 “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” It sounds like a question someone might ask a lawyer. A reasonable question, as Jesus was often called Rabbi, or Teacher. It was customary in those days to take such issues to the Rabbi.  It was also the custom for an estate to be left entirely to the oldest male. So the younger brother is looking for some help from this “teacher” who advocates for fairness and generosity.

Jesus ignores the question asked and answers the deeper one. The question he wants to answer is: What is the object of your worship? To what or whom are you devoted? Beware, take care. Life is not about the stuff you accumulate.

“This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?”

          What does the man get from Jesus? Absolutely nothing. Jesus doesn’t do money questions, especially when they have to do with earthly acquisitions. To do so would be to talk about what Paul calls the “world of the flesh.” Jesus, as you know, is not “into” things of the flesh. He is “into” matters of the spirit. So instead, Jesus tells him, and the crowd, a story. It is often called the parable of the rich fool. Don’t let the title lead you to the wrong conclusion, just because you don’t think that you are rich. Jesus didn’t name the parable; he just told it.

          The ground of a certain rich man produces a bumper crop. It’s more than he can eat, more than he can even store. As Jesus tells the parable, he could be writing a magazine article today about the “Me” generation:  Luke says the rich man thought to himself. What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops. This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build larger ones. I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to myself:… Barclay says, in his commentary on Luke, that no parable is so full of the words I, me, and mine. The rich man tried to conserve his happiness by keeping, instead of finding his happiness in giving. And what does God say to the man who has it all?

“This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?”

          You have saved and scrimped for years now, because your child is going to have it better than you did. He or she is going to college. Finally the day arrives, and your hard earned savings just aren’t enough. But you’ve been paying on the house for years, and you have equity. So you go see your friendly banker, who tells you that you want a home equity line. Now anybody who has been paying down a home mortgage for very long knows that the last thing you want is to borrow more money. You might need it, but you surely do not want it. But let’s not quibble over words. The point is, you can fund your child’s education, and that’s your goal.

          Time goes by. Your child is home for a few days in between summer sessions (got behind a little bit, and the summer job just has to wait so he or she can stay on target to graduate). You ask your child about whether he has thought about a major since college is now supposed to be half over. You know this is important-- thousands of dollars a year important. When you bring it up, he says: “I don’t know yet, but don’t you think it would be better if I took the car back to school? I sure could use a car. Whaddaya think? Can I take the other car back to school?

          In an age of instant communication, your call has just been dropped. Now you know how Jesus felt when he was asked estate questions. Most of the questions he fielded were about selfish interests. Instead of being asked for the keys to the kingdom, he was being asked for the keys to the car.

          We live in a state of unadulterated affluence. I’m not talking about your neighbor or your boss or your brother. I’m talking about me and you. How many of you own your own home? How many of you own a car? More than one car? A boat? A camper? An RV? How many of you take a vacation every year? How many TVs do you own? How many phones?   

We are rich. The least of us is rich by almost any standard. Now, I don’t think that Jesus cares whether you and I are rich in worldly possessions. But I do think he cares plenty about what we do with them. There’s an old Roman proverb that goes something like this: “Money (or possessions) is like sea-water; the more a man drinks, the thirstier he becomes.”

Are you generous with your possessions or are you like the rich fool who wanted to hoard everything he had? How many of you tithe? Let’s hope you beat the national average, which isn’t hard to do. It’s 2%. 2% of those who characterize themselves as churchgoers or members are tithing their money. And then, there is our time, every second of which is a gift from God. How much time do you give to God each week? There are 148 hours in a week. That’s true no matter where you live, whether you work, are retired or in school. Ten percent is roughly 15 hours a week. Are you tithing your time? It all belongs to God, and He only asks for 10% as your act of faithfulness. If you’re not, you might want to look at where your time goes. Let’s say you average 8 hours sleep and a 40 hour work week. You’ve still got 52 hours left. Only about a fourth of that would make you a tither of your time. The way you spend your time tells a lot about what you value.

“You fool. This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself.”

          It’s hard living in the world with both feet planted firmly on the ground, and yet trying to live in the Spirit. It hard to hold on to the keys to the kingdom of heaven when your boss, your family, and your stuff are pulling you with a force that makes gravity look like a levitation act. Every day is full of pressure, some direct and some very subtle, to succeed, to acquire, to be independent. America runs on consumerism.

          So maybe you need to let go. Jesus doesn’t care about your money or your things, but he does care about your love of them. He cares about your slavery to them. He wants you to love Him. He wants you to let him in where he can love you in a way that you can feel. He wants you to live in relationship with him.

          What is the object of your worship?  The rich man never saw beyond the world he created. He never saw beyond himself. Billy Graham once said that “The smallest package I ever saw was a man wrapped up wholly in himself.”

How is your vision today? Can you see your neighbor? Do you witness to your brother in the workplace? To your sister at the cash register? Can you see God’s children at the concert? Jesus did. If we want to call ourselves his disciples, we have to live like it.

Are you storing up, or sharing?    In the 8^th chapter of Mark’s gospel, Jesus was passing through the region around Ceasara-Phillippi. He stopped to share his thoughts with his disciples and the crowd that had gathered. And he asked the question that we should constantly ask ourselves: “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?”

          Jesus wants to be the object of your worship, and not just at the appointed hour on Sunday. He doesn’t need Verizon or T-Mobile or even the Internet to communicate with you. He’s calling you…and He’s calling me. Don’t drop the call. Make God your treasure. And there will your heart be also.