Luke 12:32-40
Have you ever received a gift that you didn't want? We’re probably all privileged enough to have had that experience. Maybe in our younger years we might have shown our disappointment, but hopefully by now we have all honed the craft of opening up a gift and in a split second registering in our minds we don’t like it, but without missing a beat put on a happy face and exclaim something along the lines of, “Oh, how nice! Thank you so much!” Only to tuck the gift away never to be seen again.
I wonder if something similar is playing out in our gospel reading when Jesus tells us that it's “[our] Father's good pleasure to give [us] the kingdom? Here we are being handed this kingdom gift and we were raised with enough manners to say “thank you,” but, really? Are we thankful? Do we even know what this gift is or what to do with it? Does this kingdom gift have something to do with royalty, wealth, palaces, and power? Or is Jesus talking here about entry into heaven? Or maybe the kingdom is like a reward from God - an ideal world or a stress free life. But what if it's not? What if the kingdom is not any of that, not something to be possessed, but instead it’s a different way of being?
I wonder this because right after Jesus says that “it is your father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom," he tells us to sell our possessions, give alms, and make purses that do not wear out. He talks about thieves that do not come near and moths that do not destroy. Now I don't think he's talking about rules for getting into the kingdom. These behaviors aren't prerequisites. Rather they are descriptions of what the kingdom life is like.
Because when you think about it, what's the best way to keep a purse from wearing out? Don't put anything in it. What's the best way to keep a thief away? Don't have anything worth stealing. What's the best way to keep moths from destroying? Don't have anything that can be destroyed. So what if receiving the gift of the kingdom is about living a non-possessive life? A life in which we sell all our possessions and give alms? Life where our purses are empty? A life in which there is nothing to steal or destroy?
But before you completely tune me out, let me just say that I realize that Jesus is using metaphor here. He is using metaphor to call us into a new way of seeing and being and living. I'm not suggesting that we all need to be poor or go without. And I don't think that Jesus is saying we shouldn't own or have anything. In and of itself, there is nothing virtuous about poverty or insufficiency. The world does not need more poor people. What the world needs is more people who are not possessed by their possessions.
For when I live a possessive life I am more focused on me than we. More passionate about my rights than yours. More concerned about being right then doing what's right. Living a possessive life means that I worry about the thief that steals and the moth that destroys. I fear not only about having enough but that I am not enough. I'm always striving for more of something: more money, more stuff, more status, more success, more control, more power. More, more, more.
Perhaps you’re familiar with the story about a reporter who years ago asked John D. Rockefeller, “How much money is enough?” To which Rockafeller responded, “Just a little bit more.” Now whether or not that exchange actually happened I think the story lives on because it resonates with us. Whether we are Rockefeller or not, what we have never seems to be enough. We cling to what we have while striving to possess just a little bit more - to our detriment.
Because the things that we possess often end up possessing us. And it’s not just things, but also beliefs, opinions, status or power. I mean have you ever felt like you were possessed by your work, your success, your house, or your stuff? Do you ever feel like you spend more time and energy creating or maintaining your life than living it? Have you ever felt possessed by your position, or another’s approval, or the need to be in control? And if so, what did it cost you? What did you lose? Is that how you really want to live? Left to our own devices we tend to be possessive people which is really no way to live, at least not the way our God intended us to live.
That’s why it is God’s good pleasure to give us the kingdom - the gift that seeks to transform our lives. A gift that sets us free to live non-possessive lives because that is when we are at our best. We become more welcoming and hospitable. We forgive more freely. We are more generous with our time, money, and resources. We love more extravagantly. We are able to see more clearly our deep connection with others. A non-possessive life is a life lived with open hearts and minds and souls. When we are not possessed by our possessions we discover that life is full of riches but it’s not the kind that a thief can steal nor moth can destroy. That's how I want to live and I would imagine you do too. We want to live in God’s kingdom of life.
But fear is probably the greatest impediment to a non-possessive life. Most of us live in fear, consciously or unconsciously, fear of losing what we have and not getting what we desire. Maybe, instead, we should be more afraid of what we already have, of being owned by our possessions and our desires. Maybe that's what Jesus is talking about when he says, “Do not be afraid.” Do not be afraid of a non-possessive life. So what is possessing you today? What owns your life? In what ways are you being possessive of things, opinions, resources, other people, even yourself? What would a non-possessive life look like for you?
“Do not be afraid…for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” Don’t just politely receive the gift and tuck it away. Receive God’s gift and live.
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