Eleventh Sunday after
Pentecost, Proper 13
Year C
August 4, 2013
Hosea 11:1-11 Psalm 107:1-9, 43
Colossians 3:13-21 St. Luke 12:13-21
To
continue our discussion somewhat from the last time I preached, we
again see in the Gospel, Jesus preferential option for the poor in
his warning to those with wealth. In the parable, the rich man was
worried about how to care for all his wealth, and he learned as we
all know, that you can't take it with you.
The
story today begins with someone calling out to Jesus for financial
justice and yet Jesus dismissed him and his claim. In fact, Jesus
warned him that his attention was in the wrong place. He was focused
on his wants and his needs. His focus was inward directed.
Where
is our attention placed? I fear that it can too often be in the
wrong place as well. One lesson to be taken from the Gospel today is
a lesson concerning where we should be paying attention. Are we
focused inward on ourselves, or outward on the world around us?
An
inward focus is a selfish and self centered view. An outward focus
is a godly and god centered outlook. Outward views are healthy and
life giving, inward views are not.
There
can be several reasons for not wanting to look outward. It may be
too painful. We may think we have too much on our own plate to deal
with. And there are seeming rewards for looking inward, but this is
actually a lie.
An
inward focus is the worst thing possible for our spiritual health.
And
while our gospel lesson today is focused on an individual, the
application can be much greater. Now don't get me wrong, there are
good reasons to look inward, when we are examining ourselves and
working on improving ourselves. The the inward looking in the Gospel
today was not focused on self improvement, it was focused on self
enrichment. Not that we should not be looking at things inwardly as
individually. We should! We should be examining our lives to see
where our focus should be for self improvement.
But
when we focus on selfish things, we are looking the wrong direction.
The
same is true for organizations. Churches can either focus inward or
they can focus outward. There is tremendous pressure for churches to
focus inward. There are many difficulties. Dwindling numbers and
finances will inevitably draw the focus of those remaining inward.
And this is a terrible mistake. It is the start of the end. It may
seem counter-intuitive, but an inward focus draws our attention away
from God and the blessings that God is providing and causes us to
focus on what is lacking.
Rather
than being focused on what God has called us to do, we become focused
on what we need to survive. It is one of the reasons that I'm so
opposed to churches that post financial information every week. It
drives an inward focus and rarely solves the problem of the downward
spiral. In fact, it can have the opposite approach in the end by
driving away potential new members of the church.
So,
as much as I might sound like a polly-anna, the answer for ourselves
and our church is to remain focused outward. Asking how can we
spread the good news of what is happening in our church. Asking how
we can be Jesus to those in need around us. None of this makes sense
to the world. In the world, we are supposed to look inward, analyze
problems, and develop solutions.
However
that is not the way God works. And it is not the way churches work.
If you want to be successful, continue to focus on gratitude.
Continue to focus on what God is doing in your life and in the life
of your church community. Continue to focus on what it is you
believe what God is calling you to do.
That
is the pathway to success and growth in terms of God's kingdom.
You can find the podcast of this sermon in ITunes by searching in the ITunes store for Epsicopalpadre@gmail.com
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