Not in Abundance....

I know, I know, clergy are not supposed to talk about money and possessions. It makes people uncomfortable, and they might not come back to Church if the preacher makes them uncomfortable! Yet those of us pledged by our ordination vows to preach are asked by the Church "to minister the Word of God ... that the reconciling love of Christ may be known and received" (BCP p. 532).

Jesus wants us to be free and fully alive. He wants us to move from fear to freedom, and our attachment to our possessions is one of the things in North American culture that prohibits our receiving the fullness of life which the Lord offers to us.

As I have said many times before, we are possessed by our possessions. Think about how much time, money, and energy goes into things each day in our lives. Some we need, and many we do not. How many among us wish to win the Lottery. Why? What would winning really do in our lives? Are we equally as zealous or eager to have peace and joy and happiness in our lives? Can these be purchased with more money?

The very fact we want to answer that question with "Yes" tells us the extent to which our possessions own us. Look back on something you just had to have a few years ago. There are hundreds of examples. Now that a couple of years have passed, is that thing still so special and very important in your life? What did we see during the urban riots? We saw not only violence between persons, but also people stealing things, and even parents taking their children into stores to steal items while the police were not present to prevent it.

Unless we have done a good job in teaching our children, most believe that what a person has, i.e. many possessions, determines that person's worth. Look at our television programming. Every few minutes all the while we are watching we are presented with what we must have, and it is presented to us in an emotional message attaching the object or service to our very feelings and our very identity.

Jesus seeks to set us free from this possession: "Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one's life does not consist in the abundance of possessions..... Sell your possessions, and give alms.... Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also .... (Lk 12)"

If this sounds like a broken record, it is. Traveling to a Third World country and having two near death experiences in the past few years have given me a much greater appreciation of these words of the Lord. I now appreciate what I have more than ever before, but I also see how addicted I am to having and getting and how much I need to be set free. I now have the burden of finding ways to get rid of all kinds of things.

Try this old exercise. Imagine a tornado has been sighted and is headed right for your home. You have fifteen minutes to take whatever you wish with you as you leave. What would you take? What among the whole household of things is most precious to you, and why? The easier it is to decide, the more you are freed from being possessed by your possessions.

                                                                                                    Joseph+