July 29th, 2019

Rembrandt - The Rich Man in the Parable

• Ecclesiastes 1:2, 12-14; 2:18-23 and Psalm 49:1-12  • 
• Colossians 3:1-11  • 
• Luke 12:13-21

​Generally speaking, the modern world is haunted by two great fears -- poverty and violent attack. Fear of the first, curiously, has grown rather than diminished as the world has become wealthier with the consequence that promising economic growth is always a prominent feature of elections and political campaigns. Similarly, promises of greater security are responses to a widespread fear of war and terrorism in countries whose military security is greater than it ever has been.
    People in the world to which Jesus preached were far more vulnerable to both poverty and violence than we are. Even so, in several places, including the Gospel passage for this Sunday, Jesus warns against the danger of wealth, and the futility of our efforts to protect it. In his letter to the Colossians, Paul takes up the same theme - 'Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth' and then goes on to articulate a set of values that are to be preferred to the pursuit of sexual satisfaction and material wealth.

---

Burne-Jones - Love Leading the Pilgrim

     If these truly are 'Christian values', there could hardly be a sharper contrast with the values of modern consumerism. In the world of ‘Love Island’ and ‘EuroMillions’, sexual activity and material possession are rated so highly that 'other worldly' values seem to lack any pulling power. Yet Christ’s example of the rich landowner is an undeniable reminder of reality. Wealth is only as valuable as the things it is spent on; power is only as valuable as the things it secures.
     So asking what things are truly valuable is inescapable. it is a profound mistake to interpret (and discount) Paul’s phrase 'the things that are above' as referring to another world -- 'pie in the sky when you die'. The heavenly 'things' include love, truth, beauty, integrity, grace. These are values to which every human life – rich or poor, strong or weak -- can meaningfully aspire. We easily mistake means for ends. Possessed as we now are of greater wealth and power than human beings have ever known, there is an even greater risk of making this mistake.

---