Aspects of Greed

Luke 12:13-21 „Someone in the crowd said to him: „Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” Jesus replied: „Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you? Then he said to them: „Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a mans life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” And he told them this parable: „The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. He thought to himself: „What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.” Then he said: „This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I'll say to myself: „You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.” But God said to him: „You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you.” Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?” This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself, but is not rich toward God.”

You surely have heard many sermons or read Essays about Greed or on this parable. I want to address it in a slightly different fashion. I want to talk about motivation. What is it what drives you to become a better person? You don't get it, huh… What has it to do with greed, for you have to want money in order to be greedy – just like in this parable. At least, that's what we have been taught to read into it. The first thing what triggers this story, is that an unknown man startles Jesus, and calls him “Teacher”. Jesus doesn't like titles, so that's already going very well… Just like, as the sons of Sebedee asked for something, or let their mother ask for something, depending which gospel you read. The unknown man, wants his brother to share the inheritance with him. Judging from that, he must have been the younger one, because normally older ones don't need the aid of a “holy-man” or “teacher” to get his rightful share. So it is quite understandable why Jesus hates such inquiries there he is called something in order to get something out of him. Somehow this man assumes, that if Jesus but say a word, he would have a better life! While a woman could touch his garment and get healed, that one was rebuked,… Why? That person was greedy – and his greed was in the assumption that he can seek out the divine for his own gain. While it seems obvious and many might want to agree with that rebuke, then the concluding parable is troublesome. Also the remark that he is not the appointed judge nor arbiter, then he came to be such a guy for our sins. So why not do a tiny miracle and grant one wish so all brothers would share they things? The parable speaks of a rich man, who's field has produced GOOD CROPS! Not just a great junk of it, and you have to throw some of it away or waste a lot of money to either dry or clean it up – high quality crops, you can quickly change into hard currency!! I mean, all our lives spirals around establishing ourselves. Some do it better and others worse, but now Jesus calls on all that and says – it ain't worth much if you died on such a bounty. You can't take anything, what you own to your grave nor into afterlife… And that's a bitch thing to say! The fact, that the crops there so great, that he couldn't collect it to his older barns, suggests, that the quality was also exponential, not only incremental. Every straw must have been heavy of corn. I don't even know how to imagine it – what did the workers say, then they harvested it?? It must have been a nightmare to them. And Jesus doesn't utter a single notion about that. What an incredible story! Shouldn't our objective be, to be happy about what we have done well? How does it make us fools, then we build bigger barns for our unexpected victory? Because it ruins our motivation in our lives to fight on the same hard, as we started. What makes a big mega-church differently from a small church? He doesn't know, what he is working with! Even if he has distributed all his church members into different groups, it is really hard to keep track about every single one of them and not get drunk about Your success – because You did it! I know it is a low thing to say, for who does that – but the rich man didn't thank God for this obvious miracle, but complimented himself.

The same way with the stranger, who asked about his brother to share the inheritance. He wanted to compliment himself, although for one word, he remembered to call Jesus “Teacher”. Before that incident Jesus talked with Moses and Eliyah on a mountain – although he denied his disciples to talk about it, some rumors about it must have oozed out still, for people there like glue on everything related to Jesus. And an event, there people “don't talk what happened on a mountain” sounds ominous and raises interest. The ten commandments came from a mountain, then Moses was away for 40 days, so people expected from that already a lot, especially then coming down from the mountain, Jesus healed a possessed child, who couldn't be healed even by the followers of Jesus. Then Jesus said that such feats are doable with fasting. That stirred up ambition amongst the followers of Christ and the question, who is the greatest in Heaven – and the remark, that they should be like servants of servants!! Lets elaborate now, that this stranger knew, what had previously happened – even the resurrection of Lazarus and everything else, what has happened. Why not assume, that if we are servants of servants, our older brother should share his stuff. Mi casa est sui casa?! Why did Jesus use that kind of parable, to say, that we must have stock on Heaven and not on ourselves? Because we don't own our lives!! It is very hard to remain just and loyal to the teachings of Jesus Christ or even any kind of teaching, if you assume, that you own your intellect and stuff – why? Because, it makes sharing so hard. You get so easily offended, if you have a right for something, and that right gets tarnished in any way. God owned everything in this world, including our hearts and souls, and had the right to demand fielty and reverence – instead he chose to be born into this world as a mortal being, who could be crucified!! Have you ever pondered, in what context Jesus said all that? That he is not an arbiter nor judge to give someone inheritance, then his mere thought keeps us from vanishing out of existence… The inheritance, we always use, but never realize is, that we exist – that we can think – that we can love and feel! And although this stranger must have seen many things what Jesus did, all he could care about, was that his older brother dost not share the will. – Daddy must have just died, and instead of mourning about it, he seeks out Jesus, to get an edge on the law and his possibility of having to leave home or start working for older brother – and he probably didn't want that… Our ambitions make things so much easier. Why did you became a Christian, or if you're not – why did you choose your job or your education? Was it not, so you could prevail in this world and have a nice life, just like in the ending of the parable? Doesn't it sting a little – ok a lot – doesn't it wound, that the life is required of that lucky man in such an unlucky time? Who wouldn't wanna be at his place – obviously this stranger wanted to be in stead of his older brother… The same way Cain killed Abel, for his sacrifice was accepted and Cain's was not! Ambition can make you druncate your actions in order to go over bodies and make your dreams go true. Sometimes it means, you thing outside of the box – and box someone else in. You never lust for money per se – nobody is that stupid to fall out of graces amongst culture and other people. Even before Jesus there was King Solomon, who inquired on the same problems in Ecclesiastes – especially Ecc 5:16,17 and around it already King Solomon said, that life is more than fine garment and fancy living in splendor – but he didn't stay in this “Wisdom”. Being the richest man in the world who made 666 sheckels of gold every year, he forgot how he was born, what his name was and what his youthful dreams and prayers there. He didn't have to worry, like the bastard son of King David, for he was conceived with Batsheba, the wife of Uriah the hettite!! That was the very reason, why Solomon, who was called “Jedidja” – “In the name of Yahweh or by order of Yahweh” by his tutor, who was sentenced to look upon his education, who was no other than Nathan the prophet and brother of David, who rebuked the King for such a relationship with Batsheba. And this humble prayer, when Solomon – renamed to Jedidja – asked for wisdom to govern Israel and be a good servant of God, while not being first in the lineage! That was a rather audacious thing to ask for – it is true that God commended his heart then, that he could have asked the deaths of his enemies (for instance, the deaths of the other royal blood successors, just like his older brother, who came first from Batsheba, died of a curse of God – and he didn't ask for such). Maybe somehow, this stranger felt it the same way, like Jedidja and meant no disrespect – BUT Jesus didn't like it anyway. In this story, the problem is not, that something is wrong, because it appears wrong – it is wrong, because Jesus says! In real life, then you do something, you gain the fruits of your labor, but as Christians we ought to act like we never even gotten them or wanted it in the first place… That's something tough not many people can achieve!! How to venture ahead in your life, if you cannot lust for it? How to live your life, then you can't be greedy – even King Solomon failed in his holy life! How should we succeed, there he did not?! How on earth is it even possible?!!? The answer is in humility – then a humble man dies, he doesn't pity himself, that he left all his riches back, like Ecclesiastes laments, for his heart is not with his riches – he owns them, but it doesn't own him!! Don't forget it – humility is not the opposition of pride; shame is the opposition of pride! Wanting to be successful and victorious is the opposition of humility – for what goes up, must come down, and no “attitude” can change that law. Everything has it's beginning stage and end – successful people don't like that, for their addicted to luck. They can't loose, for then they encounter the “cold turkey”. Expecting something makes it so perilous to be rich and successful for you always want more and don't want to stop while you're ahead! We want, because we're afraid of life – we assume, it be hard, so we want to back it up as much as possible – mostly not asking about, what God has to say of your life… And mostly we don't live, because we have to stage our lives first through various practices like school or going to a guru, like this stranger did – would it have been any different, then he had asked for wisdom! Don't forget King Solomon!! We just would have had a harder time in understanding the perils of greed! Greed with money or gluttony on food or fine tasteful items is so understandable, but why stop there. How about your fine tact and etiquette your ability not to drink nor excess with anything – that can be also a vice if you're proud of it… For Christian pride is always directed on highlighting how awesome it is that something gets done for Christ, not necessarily that it got done by ME! We are greedy of attention – that our senpai notices us… Sometimes the real joys of life begin then we let others get to be noticed by Senpai, and not us – at least that's how Jesus did it, then he came into this world, and how he taught it!! Have you already renounced your greed in all its aspects or are you still trying to white-lie it into a more accepted form? Give up your life and follow Christ, Jesus Christ! Halleluyah Amen!