Like It Or Not--August 12, 2025

Like It Or Not--August 12, 2025

[Jesus said to his disciples:] "Sell your possessions and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (Luke 12:33-34)

We Respectable Religious Folks have a way of putting our words into Jesus' mouth... and then ignoring things Jesus actually taught when they don't suit us.  

I've heard lectures on why Jesus must surely endorse late-stage free-market capitalism, along with implications for which tax policies Jesus would support, despite the fact that Jesus says no such things in the Gospels... or anywhere else.  

I've heard folks lament how sad or angry Jesus must be "ever since they took prayer out of the schools," even though historically, Jesus had nothing to say on a subject like that, which predated him by two thousand years, and despite the fact that in his own time and culture, Jesus would have had no expectation at all that the Empire would give preference to Christian prayer in public places--it just wouldn't have made any sense at all to him.  

And I've heard lots of folks who were absolutely certain that Jesus would condemn same-gender couples seeking to be faithful to each other and spend their lives in committed and loving, promise-bound relationships to one another, even though Jesus never weighs in on the subject, not even once, in any of the Gospels.

It turns out that there's quite a number of things we could have sworn "Jesus clearly said," that turned out to be our assumptions, preferences, or agendas that we have projected onto Jesus.  For that matter, Jesus never gave his endorsement to your political party, your nation, or your favorite sports team.  You might have personal affinities on all of those, but we don't have a word from Jesus on any of them.

And on the other hand, sometimes when Jesus is utterly clear and unambiguous on a subject, we modern folks will bend over backwards looking for ways to pretend he didn't say it... (and if he did, he certainly couldn't have meant the thing he clearly seems to be saying).  We have a way of inserting our own view of the world into the sayings of Jesus and then putting Jesus on mute in our minds when he says things that would disrupt our routines or force us to re-examine our perspective.  And we definitely don't want to acknowledge the things Jesus says that will make an impact on our pocketbooks and bank accounts.

But being disciples of Jesus means that we don't get to silence the parts of Jesus teaching that challenge us, and neither are we given permission to put our words in his mouth.  So here in these verses from Luke's Gospel, which many of us heard in worship this past Sunday, we are going to have to deal with Jesus challenging us in our relationship with our possessions and money.  Despite the fact that we live in a culture where success is often measured in terms of who has the biggest pile of stuff, the highest bank balances, and the newest merchandise in the largest houses, Jesus directs his followers to get rid of "stuff" in order that we can give more to people who are in need. (We don't use the word "alms" as much these days, but the word refers to money given to people in need, simply because of their need, and it comes from the same Greek root as the word for "mercy."  That is to say, alms are given without regard to being paid back, whether the person receiving is "worthy," and without concern for what you "get" out of it in return.)  Undeniably and irrefutably, Jesus directs his followers to be less tethered to money, possessions, and profits, in order that we can be more connected to the most vulnerable around us--and thereby to God.  Whether we like it or not, Jesus has something to say about our culture's insatiable quest for "more," and we don't get to ignore him just because we are accustomed to being good little consumers.

I don't know that we really give enough consideration to how much following Jesus really will orient us against the grain of the culture in which we live, but these verses make it unavoidable.  We who live in the age of rented storage spaces, paid security systems, property insurance (and its related premiums), and one-click shopping are constantly being molded into people who want more... buy more... store more... and then expend more and more resources ostensibly to protect all the stuff we have wanted, bought, and now have to store.  And if we have built our lives on having more stuff--and needing more money to get more stuff, newer stuff, and bigger stuff, all on endless loop--we will tell ourselves (and believe it) that we simply don't have enough disposable income left to help out the kids who don't have enough food at home over the weekend when they're not at school, or the mom who is working two or three jobs but still struggles to pay the bills, or the migrant workers who are harvesting produces in the fields around us with threadbare gloves and worn-out tools.  

Every day we hear more messages reinforcing our identity as consumers who need to acquire, and those voices make it harder for us to see ourselves as neighbors who show up for one another, as givers who share with one another, or as beloved community bound together with those around us in compassion.  If we are going to listen to Jesus and actually follow his direction for us, we will have to learn to say "No" to the influences that push us to want more, consume more, and hoard more, so that we can say "Yes" to the sort of life that is open to sharing--even if it means "having" less.  Following Jesus is going to mean that we no longer define our worth in terms of the money in our bank accounts or the stuff in our houses (and storage spaces), but rather in terms of how we receive and give love, which allows us to give and receive the things we all need for life as well.

If we are ready today to stop putting our own words in Jesus' mouth and to start listening to his actual words, we should be prepared to be changed.  It will be a good kind of change, but it will also mean letting go of the old definitions of success we had been dragging along with us for so long.  Jesus dares us instead to live with open hands, so that we can love people and use things, rather than the other way around.

Lord Jesus, give us ears to hear your word to us that lets go of the need for more and embraces the calling to share with others.