The Inquisitive Brother

A few weeks ago, we moved into a different house -- a rental that is considerably larger than the one in which we had been residing. There are twice the number of rooms which need to be furnished, and there is almost twice the amount of yard work that will need to be tended to. I'm not quite certain how we finaggled this deal (using our sweet, charming personalities?), but here we are!

As we packed up glasses, dishes, chopsticks, picture frames, towels, hand soaps, etc., I noted that the lectionary for the week we were moving included the text from Colossians which encourages us (me) to kill the earthly practice of greed ("which is idolatry", v.5).  Add to that, the parable from Luke reminded me that greed is truly seductive (and easily disguised -- helloooo flat screen TV!), and that I need to strive for the simple life. (Cue music for Green Acres.)

The thing is, however, after the first reading of the Luke passage, I understand the young brother's position, and can sympathize with his seemingly reasonable request. Given that inheritance laws favored elder brothers and shafted the younger brothers leaving them to practically fend for their equal shares, this young inquirer's request to Jesus sounds not unreasonable, and at first glance, the brother actually appears to be very fiscally smart -- this is sound planning for retirement. Is it not? And, if you read Jesus' parable of the farmer with the plans for the bigger barn -- doesn't that sound familiar? Like he's got a good financial consultant who's helping him with his assets -- saving up just in case the market crashes?

I've only lived 1/3 of my life, and I'm already told to think about the future: Am I investing aggressively? What's my plan for the future? Why don't I invest in some real estate instead of renting? Etc, etc, etc. [Truth be told, I'm already researching into this great retirement community that I want to join, except that they won't let me join before 65. Alas.]

You might be thinking what is wrong with doing that, wondering why I'm problematizing the move into a bigger house, the concerns for my future. Why question what seems, for all intents and purposes, like really sound fiscal planning?

"You fool!" said Jesus (v.20). [I pity the fool!]

Now, my reading of the situation here is that this fool is as transparent as cellophane, and Jesus was able to see right through this guy's seemingly innocuous question. You might say that this fellow wasn't just asking for his equal share -- he wants stuff! -- and Jesus recognizes this immediately and therefore raises this issue in the subsequent parable about the farmer. So, now we're assuming that the young brother is like the rich farmer. Now, what makes these two worthy of being called "fools"? 

1. He doesn't mention his master financial Counselor at all. No mention of the Source of all his gifts, the One who gives and gives and gives. He acknowledges nothing, and gives no praise or thanksgiving. It's all about him and what he acquired. 

2. He only thinks about himself. No mention of how he might share the blessings which he received. 

3. He seemed focused only on material "stuff" and not what was truly important -- being richer toward God.  

In the grand scheme of things, in the larger webwork of God's kingdom (which we are to strive for each day, each moment), we are to shed all these earthly things. Our lives, as Jesus reminds us, belong to God and we are to be "rich toward God" (v. 21), not be shoring up our earthly assets by shuffling them from house to house (in my case) or from account to account in order to save up only for ourselves. Our lives as faithful Christians should not be about making us comfortable and living off the wealth while there is so much suffering in the world, so much need for us to share the gifts that God has given us -- shared to us for us to share with others!

But, in this day and age, it's not uncommon to see individuals, organizations, and institutions wanting more. We see it around us all the time. And the "more" that we strive for comes in all shapes and sizes. "More" house to live in (alas, alas), more money to spend, more time to idle away, more vacation days to take, more people in our churches, more money in the offering plates, more , more, more... I myself am guilty. In planning our move into the bigger house, we began thinking about purchasing more towels (for the guest bedrooms and the guest baths), more cable TV (guilty pleasure: Food Network!), more furniture for the dining room and the breakfast nook and the upstairs family room, more dishes (in a bigger house, we'll have bigger parties, right? Right?), more, more, more... (I'm also thinking of the UMC's recent campaign to get "more" people in the pews... Read about this here.)


So much excess!! Before I know it, I'm up to my eyeballs in desire for more, and then I hardly know what to do with all the "stuff" that I've acquired, and buried in the midst of excess, I've forgotten what Jesus said:


"Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one's life does not consist in the abundance of possessions" (Lk 12:15).

So, the lesson that I'm being taught, and which I'm learning with great difficulty, is how to let go of the greed, the stuff, the material possessions, and focus myself on being rich toward God. This is what a faithful disciple needs to be -- and perhaps this is one reason why I'm still unemployed and looking for work. As Taylor Burton-Edwards said in his reflection, the lesson is "concrete learning (and unlearning) of specific patterns of behavior". This experience is helping me to rely less on earthly goods and on unlearning my reliance on material riches.

Lord, have mercy, and give me strength!