18th Sun OT-C’16
“Big Barns”
Fr. Jeff Nicolas
ME – WE – GOD – YOU – WE
[ME] Boy this Gospel makes me uncomfortable! Big Barns… of course we get this Gospel right when I have been saving up to get a new car. I don’t normally think of myself as “rich”, but I have been around enough in the world to know that I am better off than many. I have wealth in my life, I know I do, but is our Barn story written for me? Yeah, I have been thinking about getting a new car, but I have been planning for it, working for it, saving for it, and sacrificing for it for a while now. Should I rethink my plans? I’d like to think of myself as one of the five wise virgins in that scripture story that thought ahead and planned for the wedding bringing along enough oil. I’m sorry the other five don’t have enough, but does that have to affect my plans? Still, today’s Gospel makes me uncomfortable.
[WE] I bet I am not the only one. I suspect that many of us here today are doing all right as far as our “barns” go. A parishioner of mine at my last parish told me when hearing I was coming to Norton Commons that it was a community of good people who have worked hard and succeeded in life, and now want to enjoy the fruit of their hard work. What’s wrong with that? We just want to enjoy the fruit of our planning, work, and sacrifices. Lot of talk these days about the 1%, inequality, and greed… but it’s not like we created the system or “rigged” it. Anyway, there are plenty of people better off than us. I know it. Maybe we ought to just dismiss this Gospel as having nothing to do with us. But then again, maybe we should take a second look just in case…
On the surface it might not be a bad idea to look at how much “stuff” we each are accumulating. What are we stacking up? Starts with the closets, then the garage, then the rented storage unit…maybe I need to invest in a barn? St. Augustine once preached that if I have a second blanket locked away in a footlocker, then I have stolen it from the person who has none. When you think about it, each of our piles of stuff ultimately just shift from one set of hands to another, and to another, and then another, and another. Brings to my mind that scene from the play, “A Christmas Carol” when the now dead Scrooge looks on with the Ghost of Christmas Future as some women pillage his bed curtains while they dish on him. Did it all come down to this? On the surface we have to ask ourselves, “Do I own my stuff or does my stuff own me?”
But there is a deeper danger. We can get to a place where our self-worth is measured by our piles of stuff. Our egos get wrapped up with our big barns. Our treasure becomes my importance in the eyes of others, or my being admired by my neighbors who have less, or my being recognized, feared, envied. Then our crusade to accumulate becomes an obsession, which ultimately leaves us dead inside. Like someone chasing after Pokémon characters we can pour all our energy, time, and attention into gathering something that ultimately means nothing. (Know who Nick Johnson is?) If my accumulation of stuff is tied to my ego, then I can never get enough. A big barn is good, but a bigger one is better, and bigger yet is better still.
Jesus knows there is a better way.
[GOD] “Be rich in what matters to God!” The secret of stuff is this… anything we acquire needs to support our serving God. The purpose of all stuff, from Jesus’ perspective, is to help us follow him, for our ultimate purpose in this life is walk with Jesus, to be in relationship with him, and to bring him to all our relationships. And as Jesus teaches his disciples, when it comes to following him, less is more. Stuff piled up gets in the way, loads us down, and distracts us from our essential task of seeking the face of Jesus. “Take only a walking staff, one tunic, and some sandals …” For a disciple, less is more. St. Therese of Avila put it this way in her work; “The Interior Castle”… only one person can sit on the throne of our heart. Either Jesus sits on that throne or our ego does. We can have only one Lord, its either Jesus or our ego.
[YOU] Who sits on the throne of your heart? Who is the Lord of your castle? Is Jesus Christ my Lord or a block on a religious “to do” list that gets checked off each week or month? Is Jesus Christ my Lord by which I evaluate everything that I do and have, or just one more “thing” collected to shore up the image of myself that I project out in the world to make me look good? Are my hands free to embrace what Jesus wants me to embrace, or are they clutching something else?
I think of that time in the storm when Peter climbs out of the boat to walk on water to the Lord… at first he clung to the rail of the boat with white-knuckled fear, but with the Lord’s encouragement he let go and a miracle began. Then when fear again overwhelms Peter, because his hands are free, he is able to grab Jesus’ hand, which saves him. This is why Jesus wants our hands free… he wants to be able to reach out and grab us so to save us.
Where do we begin? Ask the Lord to help you. In your silent prayer after receiving Communion ask the Lord to take the throne of your heart for himself. Sitting before the Blessed Sacrament in our chapel (which is open 24/7) ask the Lord to help you take a hard look at yourself and the “barns” you are building. Pilgrimage to our day chapel any Tuesday between 1:30pm and 6:30pm and in the Presence of our Lord exposed on the altar speak the words of the saints, “Here am I Lord, I’ve come to do your will.” Physically sacrifice the precious commodity of your time, and seek the face of the Lord; make Jesus your priority and discover real strength, real peace… discover your true self; the you God has created you to be.
[WE] Imagine the immediacy between God and us if there were no big “barns” between us. Imagine what it would be like if when standing before our Lord we could say as did the faithful steward, “I did it all for you for you are the Lord of my heart.” Then will we hear words delivered with a knowing smile, “Well done my good and faithful servant, well done.”
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free