August 3rd ~ Seek the Things That Are Above

Click above to listen to a recording of Sunday's Sermon

Ecclesiastes 1:2, 12-14; 2:18-23

Psalm 49:1-12

Colossians 3:1-11

Luke 12:13-21

Sermon by Pastor Ronald Nelson (filling in for Pastor Joel)

(The content of this sermon was 100% written in Canada by a human)

We always hope, or perhaps we just pretend, that summer will be lived at a slower pace.  But the Sunday lessons and especially the gospels do not match that vibe.  If anything, they challenge us even more to look at how we are following Jesus the Christ.  Today Jesus warns us against greed and making one’s life about possessions.

Our first lesson certainly follows up on that, which is what most first lessons are chosen for, and ‘boy’ Ecclesiastes sure does that for us today.  Then Paul goes even one step further in our second lesson and exhorts us to, “seek the things that are above” and put to death whatever is earthly.  Now that I have summed up my sermon for today, you can take a nap.  “Vanity of vanities! All is vanity.”  “Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed, for ones’ life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.”

Now if you are not napping, let us dig further into today’s lessons. One of the reasons I keep writing sermons is because of lessons like today’s.  It is amazing that lessons like we have today, written thousands of years ago, are so up to date.   Maybe there is something to this Bible!  The phrases from this Sunday’s readings are a prophetic voice addressing the 1 % of people who own the world’s wealth.  It is no secret that money has power, and power is gained through money.  Look at the recent Stephen Colbert and the CBS joke.  Like a person in the CBS hierarchy said, “bend your knee or get the guillotine.”  So, CBS sold out to the bully and fired Stephen Colbert.  Some of the wealthiest oligarchs reside in the wealthiest empire nation, the United States.  These oligarchs, together with the techno feudal lords, are reshaping the global economy and the future of the planet. Just look at what is happening to our beloved country, we took the easy way out, by allowing the Americans to use us for the last fifty years and here we are in this mess.  A couple of years ago, Elizabeth Dwoskin wrote an article in ‘The Washington Post.’

Elizabeth outlined the plans of, $22 billion, billionaire Peter Thiel, longest-serving board member of Facebook, who stepped down from the social media giant, dissolving one of silicon valley’s most powerful partnerships.  [incidentally, Peter Thiel claims to be a Christian.]  Why did he step down?  Because he wanted to create a parallel economy fueled by the far-right and their political candidates to whom he contributed millions of dollars to secure successful campaigns and to win elections.  Now beneficiaries from his donations are Donald Trump, Josh Hawley, Blake Masters, J.D. Vance and Ted Cruz among others.     Some familiar names, eh?

Thiel’s aim was/is to transform American culture through “anti-woke” business ventures that would pressure CEOs to avoid environmental, social and political causes.  He did not/does not support socially responsible investing, or the reduction of oil production to meet environmental goals, or anything that will hurt “the bottom line.”  The one thing he does support is the controversial cryptocurrency.  Add to that the powerful donors like the Koch brothers, and they have five USA Supreme Court Justices being nominated and confirmed; John Roberts, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett.  The bottom line is; money has power, and power is gained through money.

Thus, this Sunday’s readings are a clarion call to realize that all efforts rooted in self-aggrandizement and enrichment are nothing more than “vanity of vanities,” steeped in political and economic greed that has funded people into powerful positions who create and support new forms of ideology and idolatry, most often sustained by untruths.  Now I know I use the USA as an example too often, but I do it, I guess, because I was born in the USA and I heard all the propaganda on how they were “one nation under God,” and “out of many, one nation.”  But in the meantime, they have moved so far from the truth as they continue to think of themselves as the “City on the Hill,” a metaphor from “the Sermon on the Mount,” and they try everything possible to punish us ‘infidels.’  Thank goodness our Biblical texts today bring us back to reality. 

The letter to the Colossians, our second lesson today, indicates that the writer, too, was dealing with many of the same issues facing people of conscience today.  Yes, I believe you will still find people with consciences today, but not in the White House.  Then and now, we continue to struggle with disrespect for diversity.  Let us be honest, often, people - even those in the church, cannot unreservedly believe that Christ is all, in all, and for all.  Racism, sexism, and homophobia continue to fuel laws that divide us instead of unifying us.  The writer reminds us in Colossians, “there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free,” gay, straight, rich, poor, black, white, indigenous, male, female, only Christ, only the divine in us all.  The Pauline Disciple responsible for the letter to the Colossians writes as timely today as it ever was. We are told, two-thirds of the world’s population is living in poverty, many living right here in Canada.  Today’s parable in Luke highlights the folly of selfishly hoarding wealth that cannot secure life, which, as the reading from Ecclesiastes and the Psalm, “Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations.”, reminds us that, life is short and whose end humans have no control over.  What matters in life is having a generous and open heart.

Finally, if the gospel of Luke is read from a perspective of the disenfranchised and from the margins, then this parable presents a stirring challenge to all of us who profess to be Christian.  The challenge is to tear down the “barns” of all who greedily amass more and more power and wealth at the expense of the world’s most vulnerable, human and nonhuman alike, whose lives and countries’ resources and habitats are repeatedly exploited, leaving all species and the world devastated.  Today more than ever the world is in turmoil, we are experiencing seismic shifts.  But as long as people of conscience are breathing, hungering for and committed to a new justice, hope remains alive and negates that “all is vanity.”   It takes time to make changes in the world and in ourselves.  Today many still struggle with recognizing Christ in gay, lesbians and transgendered persons, add to that the perennial problem we have with recognizing Christ in women, as we have just seen in news, and we have a long way to go, and a lot of contradictions still to explore.

Yes, today’s counterculture message about possessions is not new.  But it has a special meaning for us focused on consumerism and led by the Trumps, Bezos, Musk and the like.

How can we tame our own wants?  How do we reconcile our role in our economic successes, our membership in a capitalistic society, and our concerns about our financial security, with the scriptural messages of today?  Quite frankly, the writer of Colossians tells us to be ruthlessly honest in discerning whether we have taken off our old selves and put on our new selves in Christ?  So once again, our lessons for today, like most weeks, interrogate us; What is truly important in our life?  Some say we can discern a person’s most honest answer by observing how they earn and use their money.  For others, it is the way they spend their time.  Jesus said, “take care!  Be on your guard against all kinds of greed…  One’s life does not consist of possessions.”  Today’s lessons invite us to learn how to take hold of the freedom we have and to help it grow like bamboo, the fastest growing and one of the most useful plants on the earth.  To do this, we need to cultivate new attitudes through asking and answering serious questions.  Our lessons today are invitations for us to be gutsily free to make our life as meaningful as our baptism promises it can be. To be brave, courageous and determined to stand up to the bullies of the day.