How can we share our riches with God?

By Rev. Heather J. Blais, Rector


Our gospel lesson begins with someone in the crowd asking Jesus to tell their brother to split the family inheritance with them.* This was in spite of a clear and well known law from Deuteronomy which gave the oldest son a double portion.** Jesus clarifies matters by saying, Friend, you are setting me out to be a judge or arbitrator. 

He then warns the crowd against greed and from accumulating possessions. To further his point, he tells the crowd a parable. 

A rich man’s land had produced abundantly.  A truly delightful problem. As he considered how to store the harvest, the answer came to him: Of course!  I’ll take down my current barns, and build even larger ones! This would allow him to safely store his many crops and goods. Then he could finally say to himself, Now that I have ample goods laid away for many years I can finally relax. It’s time to eat, drink, and be merry!

Now, there is nothing wrong with eating, drinking, and being merry. In fact, it’s considered a proper response to God’s good gifts when we look to the Hebrew Scriptures.***

The problem with the rich man’s response was:
1 - These goods seemed to be for me, myself, and I. 
2 - It turns out that the man would die that very day. 

God showed up, and in what I imagine was a tone of sorrowful pity, said to him: You fool - this very night your life will come to an end. And now, whose will these things be?
Jesus ends the parable by saying:“So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God.”

In nearly every waking hour of our lives, our culture asks us to live in a way that is at odds with God’s values. We work, so we might earn an income that will allow us to pay for the necessities. Except we are inundated with images and falsehoods that if we really want a better life, that we need to work even harder, so we can produce even more, and earn an even higher income ... all so we can consume even more. This devastating cycle does not believe there is such a thing as “enough”, and it costs us everything. It harms our overall health and wellbeing, because it leads us to forget the Sabbath. It harms our relationships, because work and things replace quality time together. With our loved ones, and most especially with God. On top of this, the cycle wreaks havoc on God’s creation as we take increasingly more to meet the demands of this cycle. 

So how do we navigate lives of faith where we are rich towards God? We might begin by noticing just how often we are being inundated with messages telling us we need more.  Even once we notice the intensity and frequency of this messaging, we will still sometimes be compelled to buy non-essential goods or services. What if instead of clicking ‘buy now’ or ‘sign up’ we write the idea down on a list. Often when we go back to the list we realize it would be nice, but not necessary. The simple act of delaying gratification is a tool to help us be more intentional and faithful in how we use the resources we have been blessed with. 

To go a step further, how often do we go through our belongings and examine which of these treasures we need to keep? When we do, and realize something is no longer meaningful or useful, might we freely give that item to someone else in need of such a resource? We spend a lot of time buying and selling things when they can be shared and exchanged. The reward of giving our things away is a delight in knowing someone else has just found a treasure they will cherish.  Sharing our riches shows our neighbors there is another way to live, a way that points towards God’s dream for this world, where there is always enough. 

Now taking the idea one final step further, what about the precious resources of our time, energy, and money?  How are we sharing these riches with God? In scripture there is an idea that we offer one tenth of our riches back to God, often referred to as a tithe.****  Some of us tithe; others are working towards it; and still others are working towards giving a double portion back to God. 

Each individual and family determines what that looks like - and does so holding the delicate realities of ensuring there is enough food on the table, student loans to be paid, and busy schedules to navigate. We give this one tenth of our precious resources as an act of thanksgiving for God’s abundance. For the many riches and blessings of our lives. 

Historically these gifts went to our local churches, but there are now other good community or humanitarian organizations that benefit from our support as well. 
Our family primarily gives to Saints James and Andrew. But we also regularly support community organizations we care about. When we stop to truly consider God’s abundance in our lives, it is humbling, and it spurs us to offer freely of our abundance in celebration of God’s good gifts. 

It is easy to lose track of the abundance of God’s blessings as we are inundated with messages to produce and consume in nearly every waking hour.  Contrast that with the one hour we gather together for worship each week, plus our own private time in prayer. Our culture’s message is so much louder and in our faces. It means we have to be very intentional about regular ongoing reflection. Considering how we are doing at using the resources we have been blessed with in a way that aligns with God’s values; values we choose for ourselves in our baptism.  

Now, to return to the issue at hand in our gospel - the predicament of the rich man - what happens to our belongings when we die? Because let me tell you this - they don’t come with us. Will they gather dust in some barn?  Or be purchased by strangers at an estate sale? Or - might we take the time to create a will or trust and be explicit in how we will share our riches with loved ones, friends, our faith community and other organizations we care about? And if we’ve done that before - when was the last time we revisited it to ensure it reflects our values today?

When we arrived at former St. James in early 2013, we were preparing to celebrate our bicentennial. To celebrate we launched a legacy giving program called the Third Century Society, a fund to help our parish thrive in the next 100 years.  
I’ll never forget how the Chair of the Stewardship Committee, Dennis O'Rourke, asked each committee member to sign up for this society, so we could say the entire ministry team were founding members. It was a great idea. But frankly, my immediate response was not such a generous one. 

We’d been living in Greenfield for about 2 months, and I was here as part of a 3 year Priest-in-Charge letter of agreement. I was a 29 year old newly ordained priest, saddled with student loan debt, with a baby and a young preschooler at home, and our family was living on a single salary. Suddenly we had to take the time and spend the money on meeting with a lawyer to craft a will so we could remember the Third Century Society in our will? For a job at a church we weren’t sure we’d even be at in 5 years? (Obviously God has had a laugh about that!)

Deep down, we knew having a will was the responsible thing to do, so we met with a local estate attorney to create a will, and remembered the Third Century Society.  While we were somewhat resistant when we began the endeavor, by the end we felt liberated by completing our will. We were filled with peace and joy at knowing our treasures would go on to our children, loved ones, to now Saints James and Andrew, and other organizations we care about.  When we revised our will a few years back, we experienced the same liberation and joy. Creating a will also prompted us to plan our funeral services, tucking those files away and revisiting them every few years to update. 

So saints of James and Andrew, have you created a will or trust? If so, have you revisited it recently? Have you considered remembering our parish in your will? Our budget is highly subsidized by our endowment, which is largely built upon memorial gifts. Whether people set aside 2%, 10%, or 30% of their estate to the church - it has made all the difference. It pays for a portion of our staff, a significant amount towards our building's ongoing care and maintenance, freeing us up to engage more fully in mission and ministry.  When we choose to remember Saints James and Andrew in our will or trust, we are giving a gift that will touch generations of the faithful, and make a long term difference in a community we cherish and love. It is also our one final act of acknowledging God’s abundance in our lives. 

If you have questions about legacy giving, the Third Century Society, estate attorney’s, or burial planning, please reach out to me. 

As we prepare to head back out into the world today, I invite us to do some reflecting:

• How might we disengage with the production/consupmption cycle?
• What treasures are taking up space in our barns?
• How might we share our riches with God and God’s world - in life and in death?

Amen. 


*  Luke 12:13-20
** Deuteronomy 21:17
*** Eccl 8:15; Tob 7:10; 1 En 97:8-9
**** Leviticus 27:30-32

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