I suggest watching this sermon, because the meat of it is in what Becca responded to my questions - which is not included here! The interview begins around 35 minutes.
Here's my text:
Pentecost 8C/Proper 13C
July 31, 2022
Luke 12:13-21
INTRODUCTION
“Vanity of vanities! All is vanity!” exclaims the writer of Ecclesiastes. And some days, I can’t say I disagree! We work and toil so hard during this life, and sometimes don’t you just stand back and think, “What is it all for? We work so hard, and for what? Just to die and leave it all behind?”
That’s exactly what seems to happen in the parable Jesus tells today, known as “the rich fool.” Jesus frames it as a parable about greed – which, if we’re honest, is often exactly what drives us to work so hard! A desire for more and more stuff and success! Yet, as Paul’s letter to the Colossians will tell us, we ought to instead “seek the things that are above,” and “set [our] minds… not on things that are on earth.” But how do we do that, when the things that are on earth are the ones looking us in the face all the time? Apparently this was as difficult for generations far past as it is still for us. We are still tempted to put our trust not in God, but in the things that we can see right now, right here before us, thinking that they can provide us what we need, what we crave.
These are the questions our readings today will wrestle with, and I suspect they are questions we all wrestle with, even daily. So as you listen, I hope you will also wrestle. Notice what sounds like a balm to your troubled heart, and what feels more like a piece of rough sandpaper, or even a spear. Let your heart be in conversation with these texts, as we grapple together with these difficult and still so timely questions. Let’s listen.
[READ]
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
It’s hard to hear this parable and not think about minimalism. It’s a hot topic these days, one that encompasses not only decluttering, but living a simpler life in general. Most of the work around minimalism, though, is more secular in nature. But reading texts like today’s shows us that owning fewer possessions is a decidedly Christian principle. In today’s story, we see just how passionate Jesus is about the danger so much stuff poses to our well-being, our relationship with God, even our basic morality. You see, we might think that money and possessions are morally neutral, but this was a favorite topic of Jesus: he talks more about money and stuff than anything else, other than the kingdom of God. Today is one such example.
So, I wanted to dig into the topic of minimalism with you today, with an expert. We are lucky to have as our guest today a dear friend of mine, the Rev. Dr. Becca Ehrlich. In 2018 Becca and her husband Will started a journey of living more simply, including getting rid of 60% of their possessions, in an effort to find the perfect balance that allows for reduced stress and abundant life. Becca writes for a blog called “Christian Minimalism,” leads workshops on the topic, and recently published a book entitled Christian Minimalism: Simple Steps for Abundant Living. I’ve asked Becca if I could interview her about Christian minimalism, in light of today’s Gospel reading. Welcome, Becca!
To start, tell us a bit about how you and Will got into minimalism in the first place, and especially how this became a central part of how you live out your faith.
• Now let’s get to the text. Jesus starts off this parable by warning us to “be on [our] guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.” The second part seems an obvious connection to minimalism, but I’m interested in the first part. What do you think Jesus means here by “greed” and how does minimalism offer a counter to that?
• In the parable, God tells the rich man that his life is being demanded of him this very night. I think we usually take this to mean that he’s gonna die that night. But I think it also means that God is demanding our lives here and now – not just on Sunday mornings, but in the way we live all aspects of our lives, even aspects concerning money and stuff! Would you speak to how minimalism has helped you with that?
• Jesus also says, “one’s life does not consist of possessions,” I take that to mean, “your stuff is not what will bring you the life you crave” – that is, the sort of abundant life and joy and freedom we crave right now. So with that in mind, I wondered: how has your dedication to living a more minimalist lifestyle brought you to life? What new life have you found through this practice, and how has it changed your relationship with God?
Becca, thanks so much. I suggested at the beginning of this interview that many of us think money and stuff are morally neutral. You have shown us today that our relationship with our possessions (and yes, we do have a relationship with them!) is of great spiritual consequence, not at all morally neutral.
I love where Jesus ends it, suggesting that rather than being rich for ourselves, like the rich fool in the parable, we strive to be rich toward God. When we can let go of our trust in stuff, and put our trust with God where it rightly belongs, then we find the joy, abundance, and freedom that we crave! That is life, and that “richness toward God” is indeed the only richness that we will keep.
Let us pray… Bountiful God, you have given us so many gifts, both physical and spiritual, that bring us joy. But sometimes we let all the other stuff in our lives take our attention away from you. Set our minds on things from above, that we would, in all things, be rich toward you. In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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