Hoarders Anonymous
/On the continuing journey to the cross I’m focusing on Jesus’ teachings and recorded experiences with food and coming to the table. This Sunday brings me to Luke 12 and what is often called the parable of the rich fool. It also happens to be our annual meeting as a congregation.
At first I was struggling to make a connection between the two - the parable and our meeting. But as I looked more closely at the story and the verses right after about not worrying about anything - what we eat or wear or even our lives - I started to see some links.
We often read this story through the lens of individuals. Surely we aren’t this man. None of us is as rich as that! We can always think of someone who hoards for themselves or who has far more than they should. The Elon Musks and the Galen Westons of the world have made news headlines with their sense of entitlement to make obscene amounts of money. We rue the unfairness of this in a pandemic and, of course, often consider ourselves hard done by. And yet two thirds of the world would probably look at what we have and consider it luxurious and well beyond our basic needs.
But what if we think of our congregations as being the man? Are we trying to build bigger for the sake of having more - more programs and staff and events? Are we up-sizing our buildings and seeking to grow in numbers to reach lofty goals for status and a self-congratulatory sense of God’s blessing? Are we willing to take the riches that have come our way and share them, recognizing the labour of many people who contribute so that ministry happens in our church?
We may not have lots of physical assets and we may be more than happy with the building we’ve had for over a century that may now dwarf our numbers, but what about the rainy day funds we keep and our investments as we anticipate decline and want to maintain what we’ve got? What about the church down the street or across the world that is struggling? Do we even consider taking some of the extra from our barns to enable them to survive and thrive and maybe even be in a position to return the favour one day? Or do we not want to get involved, figure it’s their fate, or not even notice because we’re so inwardly focused?
The tendency to hoard comes from anxiety and a need for control. At first I was surprised that Jesus’ words about worry follow this parable, but it actually makes a lot of sense. The man who is so self-congratulatory about all he’s accumulated is not operating out of faith but fear. He doesn’t trust God to provide and he’s worried about the future. How often are our congregations, especially as we emerge from Covid, circling the wagons and looking inward, rather than looking outward and considering the blessings we have to share with those in need around us?
So many churches are still at far less than pre-Covid numbers and capacity. The anxiety and fear still swirls around - will we make it? what will bring the people back? how come some congregations are rebounding and we aren’t? what will we have to do and what will be the cost to survive this?
And often survival is about keeping the church the way that we feel comfortable and what we’re used to. After all, we’ve been paying into and supporting it for years. The new people shouldn’t get to dictate how things are when they haven’t put in the time. We will keep these blessings as we enjoy and understand them and feast on them together, celebrating the good harvest we’ve created. We won’t invite others in personally, but if they want to help in the fields we might give them something for helping us out.
Jesus sees hoarding behaviour for what it is - lack of faith and trust in God to provide. It can be hard when God may not give us exactly what we want when we want it. Saying yes to God being in charge and deciding what is best for us and when means losing control. But how beautiful our lives are when God is driving and we get to just be along for the ride.
I hope and pray that my congregation, and many others, will see themselves in this parable, because no matter how small or new we may be we all have things that we’d rather just keep to ourselves and grow for us. We all have anxieties of some kind, though they may look different.
Instead, may we be able to hear Jesus’ words of reassurance to us - that life is more than food, and the body more than clothing and that the birds who rely on God to feed them are of no more value than us. While some people consider the worrying they do to be a badge of honour, we all need to be reminded that it doesn’t add one hour to our lives and actually deprives us of living fully.
May the church open its silos and let the blessings of harvest flow to our brothers and sisters, inside and outside the church, so that we all can enjoy a rich feast. May we trust that God has the next harvest in hand and that we will gain so much more by holding on loosely and not worrying. May God lead and guide us to lives of what is most important - faith and trust and love for God and neighbour.