A Homily Given by Dcn. Michael on Luke 12:16-21
Who doesn’t dream of an early retirement? For many of us older adults who have been working steadily since our teenage years, the desire to quit the 9-5 rat race is very enticing. We hope for the day when we can get out of bed after the sun comes up, take our time with the morning coffee, and think about how we want to spend the rest of the day. We dream of a retirement where every day is Saturday, and there is no reason to get up at the crack of dawn on Monday morning. In other words, we will be satisfied to just eat, drink and be merry. And if we can start this life of leisure a few years early, all the better! After all, we earned it.
That seems to be the attitude of the rich man in today’s Gospel lesson. He, too, was looking forward to an early retirement. But the rich man was faced with a problem I am sure we all wish we had: What to do with his excess riches? His solution seems to make perfect sense: Tear down the old store houses and build even bigger one to hide away his wealth. And then once those are full, he can sit back and spend the rest of his life living off the fat of land, enjoying the fruits of his labor, without a care about tomorrow. His storehouse will be full and so will his soul; filled to the brim with the satisfaction that comes with the knowledge that his future is secure.
It seems only natural to be focused on the things of this world. The Bible tells us that we can expect to live between 70 to 80 years (Psalm 90:10), which isn’t far off for the current average life expectancy in the United States of almost 79 years. While that may sound like a long time, considering that you will be dead much longer than you will be alive, the time we spend alive on earth is extremely short. And this is one of the important points of today’s parable that Jesus is trying to drive home. For as the rich man is sitting back comfortable in the thought that he will spend a long time enjoying his riches, the Lord declares: “’Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’” (v. 20). Then all the rich man’s hopes, and dreams of an early comfortable retirement will come to an abrupt end—quite literally overnight.
Something we should note in this parable is that the Lord does not condemn the man for being rich. While He does consistently offer challenges to the wealthy subjects of His various encounters and parables, it is not the fact that they are rich but rather what they do with their wealth that brings criticism. Whether it is the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19) or the encounter with the Rich Young Ruler (Matt. 9:24; Mark 10:25; Luke 18:25), it is their love for the wealth of the world that brings the Lord’s condemnation. And while prosperity is certainly a blessing from God, it can also become a curse if we do not use it appropriately for strengthening His Kingdom on earth. The false prophets of the so-called prosperity theology would want us to think that because we are successful in the worldly sense, we have somehow found favor with God. But we know that nothing could be further from the truth!
While there is no sin in being financially successful, evidence can be found throughout the Gospels that being wealthy is also no guaranty of eternal life. We have all heard Christ’s remark after His encounter with the Rich Young Ruler, “And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” (Matt. 19:24), which is very telling in its own right: Excessive wealth makes it harder for us to leave the world behind. But it is disciples’ response that is even more telling of the curse of the wealthy, when they asked, “Who then can be saved?” (v. 25) They were living under the mistaken notion that wealth and worldly success was an indicator of a person’s favor with God. If the rich, with all their power and money cannot enter the kingdom of God, then what chance do the rest of us have?
If hoarding our excessive wealth is not the solution to an early, long and happy retirement, then what is? A good place to look for investment advice of this nature is with the Church Fathers. St. Augustine, commenting on this parable back in the early 5th century suggested that the rich man should have considered using the “stomachs of the poor” as a more appropriate store house for his excess grain, therefore saving the money he would have spent on building larger storehouse but also making an investment in the heavenly kingdom. As the Lord pointed out, what we do to the least of those in need, we do to Christ Himself (Matt. 25:45). It’s just a matter of being able to see Christ in the suffering people around us. When we do then the decision of helping others becomes a little easier for us to make, and we will not be so reluctant to invest in welfare of the poor.
As we enter the Advent season, the opportunities for investing in our future, eternal retirement become more available. Last Sunday we had our first annual Ministry Sunday, which highlighted all the opportunities available within this parish to reach out to our community and invest not only our money but our time as well. We have the beautiful Angel Tree in the foyer, providing us with even more opportunities to give to those in need. And we do not have to restrict our charity to opportunities just within our own parish: The next time you see a Red Kettle, drop some money in as well. Every time we joyfully part with a little bit of our time and treasure, we increase our heavenly retirement account.
I would like to share a quote from St. Cyril of Alexandria, also from the early 5th century, that sums up our reflection on this parable:
“It is true that a person's life is not from one's possessions or because of having an overabundance. He who is rich toward God is very blessed and has glorious hope. Who is he? Evidently, one who does not love wealth but rather loves virtue, and to whom few things are sufficient. It is one whose hand is open to the needs of the poor, comforting the sorrows of those in poverty according to his means and the utmost of his power. He gathers in the storehouses that are above and lays up treasures in heaven. Such a one shall find the interest of his virtue and the reward of his right and blameless life.”
God is not expecting all of us to give away everything, but even just the excess of our time and treasure will be enough to help alleviate the suffering of many. So, let us all look to our heavenly retirement accounts with the sober realization that the time we spend dead will be much longer than the time we spend alive here on earth. We must therefore constantly prepare, using the time and investing our treasures in the things that will not rust or be stolen by thieves (Matt. 6:19-20), for this is the true spirit of the Advent and Nativity seasons: Our personal preparation for the coming of the God in the Flesh. May we all be blessed with open hands and open hearts, ready to build God’s kingdom through our work of serving those in need during Advent and throughout the whole year.