The Episcopal Church of the Epiphany

Proper 24–B

Gracious God, help us to learn to trust in you with all hearts; for as you always resist the proud who confide in their own strength, so you never forsake those who trust in your mercy and abundance; we pray this through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Jesus told his disciples, "whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all."For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many."

There are several markers or measures by which we determine who is the greatest among us, and most of the time they are not the same ones that Jesus was telling His disciples about. We tend to think, just like Jesus' disciples did, that those with the most power and prestige, those with the most money, those who were famous and influential were considered the best among their fellow humans. And like them, many people clamor, desire or admire those with great power, wealth and fame. They believe that if they had those things, life would be good. But Jesus was warning, that is not what we should be seeking. Jesus told his disciples that followers of his must seek something very different. Now, I want to make it clear that I don't think Jesus was saying that if a person has power, prestige or wealth, that then that person is by definition opposed to Jesus' way.

When Jesus said, "It would be easier for a rich man to go through the eye of a needle than it would be to enter the Kingdom of Heaven,"or when he instructed the rich young ruler to give all his wealth away and follow Him, He was not saying to be rich is automatically a bad thing.

He was also not saying that powerful, prestigious and influential people are necessarily self-seeking sinners. What Jesus was saying is, it depends on what you do with power, prestige and wealth that is important. It depends on where your focus and desires are; it depends on where you heart is. Compassion, generosity and mercy doesn't have to do with what political party you belong to. It doesn't necessarily have to do with your station in life. And it doesn't have to do with how much you have. It has to do with what you do with what you have. I would like to give some examples of what I am trying to convey. This first story I'm going to tell is an extreme example about the type of person Jesus was definitely warning us not to emulate.

Doris Duke was the daughter of American Tobacco Company founder James Buchanan Duke. When she was fourteen, her father died leaving her a fortune of $133 million. She became the richest girl in the world and she took to heart her dying father's advice, "deny yourself nothing."

She entangled herself in numerous affairs, alcohol and drugs. She paid millions to purchase the world's greatest artwork, but refused to replace broken toilet seats for the workers on her estates. "Be a user, not a loser" was a favorite expression of hers and she hoarded her money to exploit others. She manipulated others to pay her taxes, she often skipped out without paying her bills and she took advantage of numerous "freebies. She believed money had its "rightful value" and she used it to lord it over others. Money brought Doris Duke every tangible thing in this world. When she died on Oct. 28, 1993, she was 82. She left with no family or heir, there wasn't a cause that she had devoted her life to, and she didn't have any true friends. Few mourned her passing. The beneficiaries of her wealth were charities she had little connection to while living, her butler and her dog. A quote I recently came across said, "The real measure of our wealth is how much we'd be worth if we lost all our money."

Now contrast that story with this one: Stanley Kresge was born on June 11, 1900 in Detroit, Michigan. He graduated from Albion College in 1923 and went to work for his father's company, the S.S. Kresge Company; later this company changed its name to K-Mart. For much of his entire life, Stanley Kresge was a very wealthy man. But he was not spoiled by his inherited wealth. He was a Christian philanthropist who maximized that fortune. During his lifetime he gave away hundreds of millions of dollars to others, especially to his church. When he died in Detroit at the age of 85, his pastor said this in the eulogy: "He considered what he had as a trust from God, and that he was a steward of all that God had given to him." Before his death, Kresge told a newspaper reporter why he never let it be known how much of his personal fortune he had given away. He said, "I'd be embarrassed to have anybody think I was bragging about charity." But quietly and consistently, all of his check payments and charitable contributions were signed exactly the same way: "In the name and for the sake of Jesus Christ, Stanley S. Kresge."

Jesus certainly was not saying that the poor are, by definition, better people; they are not less fearful about money, or more generous by nature. We can certainly see the truth in that. But what Jesus was saying is that when a poor person is generous, it shows phenomenal trust and love of God and neighbor. It is a beautiful and inspiring example of the kind of heart that rich and poor alike are called to develop and embrace.

Eddie Ogan tells the story of his family, entitled, "The Rich Family in Our Church." In 1946, Eddie was 14 years old and he lived with his two sisters and his widowed mother. He said, "A month before Easter, the pastor of our church announced that a special Easter offering would be taken to help a poor family. The pastor asked everyone to save and give sacrificially. When we got home, our family talked about what we could do. We decided to buy 50 pounds of potatoes and live on them for a month. This would allow us to save $20 of our grocery money for the offering.

Then we decided that if we kept our electric lights turned out as much as possible and didn't listen to the radio, we'd save money on that month's electric bill." For a month, Eddie's family sacrificially saved and they offered $70 that Easter morning. But that evening they were stunned when the pastor drove to their house and gave them an envelope containing $87. It was the first time they realized they were poor. Eddie didn't know how to react. He felt embarrassed and hurt. "At church that next Sunday there was a missionary speaker. He talked about how churches in Africa made buildings out of sun-dried bricks, but they needed money to buy roofs," recounts Eddie.

"He said $100 would put a roof on a church. Our minister said, 'Can't we all sacrifice to help these poor people?' We looked at each other and smiled for the first time in a week. When the offering was counted, the minister announced that it was a little over $100.

The missionary was excited. He hadn't expected such a large offering from our small church. He said, 'You must have some rich people in this church.'" "Suddenly, it struck us! We had given $87 of that 'little over $100. We were the rich family in the church! Hadn't the missionary said so? From that day on I've never been poor again. I've always remembered how rich I am because I have Jesus!"

Richard Foster said, "When we let go of money, we are letting go of part of ourselves and part of our security. But this is precisely why it is important to do it. It is one way to obey Jesus' command to deny ourselves. When we give money, we are releasing a little more of our egocentric selves and a little more of our false security. Giving frees us to care. It produces an air of expectancy as we anticipate what God will lead us to give. It makes life with God an adventure in the world, and that is worth living for and giving for." Amen.