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"Dam Christians or Channels of Grace" “Watch out!” Jesus says. “Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a person’s life does not consist in abundance of possessions.” It’s a warning. This story, this parable begins with a warning. “There are all kinds of greed,” Jesus says. “All kinds.” “And you will need to be on guard—watching out!” Oh—isn’t that the case? All kinds of greed. There’s the kind of greed that is explicit and easy to identify. A miser who hoards and hoards for the simple pleasure of hoarding. There’s the kind of greed exhibited by big corporation and oftentimes, their executives. Enron. Worldcom. The names elicit images of business run amok for the good of the few large shareholders at the expense of employees and smaller shareholders. But there is more. In fact, there is all kinds of greed. The greed that seduces and sneaks into our lives when we are not noticing. The greed that will get you if you don’t watch out. Ah! Isn’t that what Jesus was saying? “There is all kinds of greed—so be on your guard. Watch out!” There is the greed that sneaks into our lives when we begin to have more than we need. It’s subtle. When Kristi and I were young, we made payments on things we truly needed. A home. Dependable transportation. Simple furnishings. But over time, as with many persons, income increased, our needs were met, and there was some left over. And…you know what happened? Let me say, we haven’t always been on guard against greed in our lives. Dependable transportation was no longer enough. We wanted comfortable transportation. Our second hand dressers and plastic bookshelves were not longer attractive. We wanted elegant furnishings. And it snuck in. It began to seduce us. Jesus says, “Be on guard. Watch out!” Against all kinds of greed. The kind of greed that causes a brother to fight with his brother over an inheritance. Ah—that was the question that started all this, wasn’t it? “Teacher,” the one brother said. “Make my brother share his inheritance with me.” And Jesus responds, “Watch out. Be on guard. There is all kinds of greed.” All kinds. The kind exhibited by a farmer. A farmer? Yes a farmer. Farmers aren’t greedy. They are the salt of the earth sort of people. They feed the world. Where would we be without farmers? True. But when even a farmer can be seduced with greed, then you know the rest of us had better be on guard. Watch out. The well-to-do farmer had a bumper crop, Jesus tells the wanting brother. And he did not have a place to store up the crop. So he said, ‘I’ll tear down my barns, and build bigger ones so I can store up my grain.’ Then, he said, “I’ll say to myself, ‘self, you’re all set for years to come. So, sit back, relax, and eat, and drink, and be merry.” Now, I notice something here in Jesus story. The man is having a conversation with himself. Just himself. “Self,” he says. “Relax, eat, drink and be merry.” And a picture comes to my mind. It’s a lonely picture. A man sitting at a table by himself. A luscious meal set upon the table, but there is just one plate. A bottle of the finest wine. But there is only one glass. A man, his wealth, and not a soul to spend it with. His only dinner companion, with whom he makes conversation, is himself. I wonder if Jesus isn’t making a point here, that that’s where greed will eventually leave us. Alone. As we push relationships out of our lives to make room for wealth. As we push people out to make room for things. “Self,” he says. “You’ve got it made.” He may have been speaking to only himself, but someone else answers in the empty room. It is God. God calls the man by name. Oh—not his birth name, but the name God has assigned him. God calls to him, “Fool—tonight you will leave this earth. What good is your accumulation now?” “That’s how it is,” Jesus says, “when folks are rich in things, but not rich toward God.” Great story. Told some two thousand years ago. I’ll bet this story has changed some folks. I’ll bet this story has made a difference. But I’ll also bet…this story has been heard by many—so many they probably cannot be counted over the centuries—heard by many for whom it made no difference whatsoever. Maybe it’s hard to fully appreciate or understand the principles at work in this parable. Tell me something. When someone wants to go dirt biking or four wheeling around here, where do they go? The river. How much sense does that make to you? A river—by definition a channel of flowing water, is for us, a place to go “dirt” biking? Four wheeling? Now, why is it that we go dirt biking and four wheeling on a river? No water. Why is there no water? How many of you have ever been north of Lamar, Colorado, to the John Martin Reservoir there? Ah—why is there a large lake there in Southeastern Colorado? Because they dammed up the Arkansas River, right? Now this is something that cannot be lost on ANYONE living here in Dodge City, Kansas. We go dirt-biking on a river, while folks in Colorado go boating in a valley. You hear how upside down that is? Because Colorado believed that the water flowing through them was their own, to do with what they wanted. So they cut off the flow. Dammed up the resources. . And they have been eating, drinking and making merry there at the John Martin Reservoir ever since. Meanwhile, a river of life has turned into a sandy roadway. It’s a perfect metaphor, for us, here, where we live. We know what it is like to be cut off when someone else has shut off the flow. And you see, here’s the thing. The same greed that has seduced Colorado into believing the water is theirs to hold back is the same brokenness that has seduced us into believing that a river is something you tear through on wheels. We don’t even think twice about saying, “biking or 4-wheeling on the river.” As Christians, seems to me we have a choice. Each and every one of us receives a steady flow of all that God pours out toward us. For some of us, that is considerable income. For others, talent. For still others, opportunities and influence. For some, time. For a few, skills and training. God has given us these things. They have flowed steadily our way. And our choice is this: We can either dam up the flow, so that we have a large reservoir exclusively for our own use, or, we can drink deeply for our own need, or then, channel the heavenly flow of the Living Waters of God toward others downstream. Do we desire to be “dam Christians, alone with our abundance?” Or do we desire to be channels of grace, in the loving community of the people of God?” You see, in the end, that’s what stewardship is about. I don’t care whether we are talking about money, about water, about gifts, about talents, about skills, about time, about influence. These are gifts that flow from God. Living Waters. They are meant for us. . . but they are also meant to flow on through us for the needs of others. It’s a fundamental aspect of being a follower of Jesus Christ, I think. As you come forward during the last hymn this morning, after we have gathered at the Lord’s Table, I invite you to bring your commitment card to the altar. To pledge to be a channel of God’s grace. And to select a stone from the living water here at the altar, to remind you of the flow of God’s grace in your life, and through your life to the lives of many. Thanks be to God. |
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