In the uncertain times we live in, it can be even more tempting for some to put their trust in their financial well-being, on creating for themselves the illusion of ‘security,’ of thinking, that if I just can hide away enough surplus, well, then nothing of this world will be able to touch me.
The rich man in today’s Gospel thinks in much the same way. He says, I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.” But “Christ says of the rich man: “Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have…? So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”
It’s very challenging to die to this world and live for Christ and be “rich toward God” in a world and in a culture that emphasizes everywhere focus on self and financial security above all else. Combating this false sense of security and learning to entrust ourselves to God, demands a conscious effort and struggle, giving priority to the things of God, to bringing Christ into our daily lives, even moment by moment. If we’re filling the moments of our lives with entertainment and distraction, or even just work, or, if we are continuously filling our ‘bellies’, that is the passions, and giving God only what we each consider “His due”, then we’re going to suffer even more from the world’s temporal but powerful hold on us, we’re going to find ourselves enslaved to this world’s transitory nature and the materialism of our culture, the false sense of ‘security’ and ‘comfort’ that such self-absorption and illusory ‘security’ brings.
For this reason, Christ in His love and mercy for us, His gracious desire to save us, gives us these words of liberation:“Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you.” Christ also reminds us of this truth: “where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matt. 6:21).
The Parable of the rich man “who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God” is a warning for us, a warning of what will happen if we put our trust in ourselves instead of being, as Christ puts it to us today, “rich toward God.”
This man in today’s parable is convinced that his prudence in hording his material wealth for himself brings him security. In reality, the opposite is true: not only is this man’s physical life put to an end unexpectedly, as can happen to any of us, but Christ says that his very soul is lost, saying, “‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’”
Before we dismiss this parable, thinking it only applies to the very “rich”, we’re constrained to consider ourselves not in the light of “rich” or “poor” but in attitude of heart towards God and His Kingdom. A rich person can be generous toward God in spirit and in deed, or, he can be stingy, poor towards God—like the rich “fool.” Conversely, one can also be materially poor but also stingy towards God, or one can be poor, and like the widow in Luke 21, who is rich toward God in spirit and in deed, far beyond those with more material means. Christ says of her, the “poor widow has put in more than all; 4 for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for God,[a] but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had.”
In other words, no one is ‘off the hook:’ An account is demanded of all of us before Christ. And so, we analyze our giving toward God with the utmost objectivity and ask ourselves the following questions: Am I rich toward God in spirit and in deed, laying up treasure for myself in Christ’s eternal Kingdom? Or, am I laying up treasure for myself while being stingy toward God? If the latter, we remember what God says to the rich man: “…‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’”
It’s easy to prefer the temporal offerings and attachments of this world, to turn inward, to focus primarily on ourselves, to give into the passions! It’s easy with all the financial demands on us to forget about being rich toward God, let alone giving a “first portion” (or ‘fruit’) to Him with a spirit of thanksgiving for all that God has given and entrusted to us. But, Christ warns us that this temporal and selfish focus turns to pure poison for our eternal souls. Living in the temporal realm and focusing only on our own needs may feel right, it may seem like freedom at first, but such self-focus actually turns toxic in our souls. Why is this so? Because God created us to be self-giving, not self-focused; He created us all to be ‘priests’ of His Kingdom, that is, to receive from God’s bounty, to offer a portion back to Him in praise and thanksgiving, and then to receive even more spiritual blessings in return. Christ God created us for communion with His Body the Church and not to be ‘spiritual islands’. Ultimately, everything we have is a gracious gift from God. Our giving of ourselves to Him and to His Church reminds us of this truth and helps us to grow in faith in all aspects of our lives; being rich toward God enables us to entrust more and more of ourselves to His gracious and loving care so we build up treasure in heaven.
In the end, what do we have if we don’t have Christ? What has our self-focus, what has the world’s philosophy and materialism, or our having Christ on our terms without submission and obedience, provided for us, for our souls? We easily fall into the same trap as the man in today’s parable. Whatever our means, if we put our trust in our own resources, in ourselves, or prefer our own ideas of the life in Christ, then we’re headed down the same road to the same words of Christ: “Fool, this night your soul will be demanded of you.”
Instead of autonomy, individualism, self will, Christ offers us communion in His Body—an opportunity to love and be loved. He offers to graft us into His one body by virtue of our willingness to die to this world so that we can be raised with Christ, so that we can become more of what He is. As we submit to His life, His will, and entrust ourselves to Him, we also grow in faith and in our communion with Him and all those who are likewise in Christ, striving to submit themselves to live in Him.
Some of you have taken steps forward in faith, entrusting your ‘first fruits’ to God, giving a tithe of your time, talents, and treasure to God, that He may use them to His glory and further His work in you and through you. This is certainly an example of being rich toward God if it is done with a grateful and joyful heart.
Being rich toward God, demands that we see the temporal life we’re now living for what it is—a living death if it’s without Christ at its center, if it’s not lived entrusting all of ourselves to God’s gracious care. The lesson of the rich man teaches us that we can never think that we’ve already ‘arrived’ or that such temporal efforts toward ‘security’ is real protection. Our growth and healing is unending; it progresses only when we’re willing to put Christ and His Church first above all other earthly priorities. If we’re to inherit the Kingdom of God, we can put no other gods before Him, particularly our “mammon” or money, against which Christ repeatedly warns us in the Gospels. For this reason, Christ’s words ring true again and again: “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
As we learn to put our trust more in God for our spiritual and physical needs, our dependence on this transitory world, and its temporal hold on us weakens and we are freed more and more from the illusory and false sense of ‘security’ that its possession brings. In being rich toward God and placing our reliance on Him, God fills us to overflowing with His joy and love to build in us treasure in heaven, giving us true and lasting fulfillment through contentment in Him, peace, and participation in His eternal Kingdom. Those who sow generously will also reap generously. This is Christ’s promise to all those who are rich toward God, in heart and mind, and, in deed.
Fr. Robert Miclean
Holy Archangels Orthodox Mission
November 22, 2015
Epistle: Eph. 4:1-6
Gospel: Luke 12:16-21
