​12th Sunday after Pentecost – C (Proper 17)                        LSB #’s 442:1-2, 5; 845, 813:1-3, 6-7
Text – Hebrews 13:1-2
 
Let brotherly love continue.  Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.
 
ENtErtaiNing angels
 
 
I’ll just say up front,  if you despise cats,  you’re going to struggle with this opening illustration.  A year ago, tomorrow,  Jan & I went for a walk.  In the 100’s of times  we’ve gone on walks,  not once  did we ever encounter a stray cat.  On Labor Day last year,  a stray  entered our lives in an unrelenting manner. 
It was a very scrawny, scraggly cat that kept meowing & butting his head into my leg.  He was clearly desperate.  We tried to continue our walk, but it persistently followed us & never relented in its meow.  Fearing it might be a neighbor’s cat, we stopped at the nearest house, & the woman there reported  they found the cat four days before, but she already had two of them. 
This cat was in the middle of the road  with a potato chip bag tied over its head.   Now, Jan & I like cats anyway,  but that did us in.  There was no way we could simply allow the cat to starve to death.  We began stopping by the abandoned house to feed the cat every morning & evening.  And it was always so hungry  it never stood still enough to look us in the eye. 
We couldn’t take the cat to our house because the 18-pound beast that is ours  would’ve run off that scrawny little cat the instant they met.  What do you do in a nation  where there are an estimated 60-100 million stray cats?   We had to find a home.  Once we got him to the vet, they determined he had worms.  That explained why he always seemed to be starving. 
While feeding him at the abandoned house,  he never looked up because his face was buried in his food bowl.  With Hebrews 13:2 in mind, a couple weeks into this saga, one of us asked him, “Orange Kitty, are you an angel?”  His head popped up  & he looked us straight in the eyes.  His reaction  was perfectly on cue.  I know,  it sounds ludicrous,  & I wouldn’t put a dime behind that assertion.  However,  after about a month,  we did find a home for him where he’s thriving.  The other side of the story  is that his adoptive human family, from China,  was also in desperate need of the kind of joy  & unconditional love  that a pet can offer. 
For Jan & myself,  there is no doubt in our minds  that prior to Labor Day last year,  God Himself had prepared in advance  a good work for us to do.  (Ephesians 2:10)    Whether we were entertaining an angel, by showing hospitality to a stray cat,  we can’t say for certain.   What we can say,  is that we are both amazed & grateful  for how God used us  in showing love to others. 
“Let brotherly love  continue.  Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.”  (Hebrews 13:1-2 ESV)   Much of our living  is about the routine & normal.  Yet,  sometimes,  God reaches out to us in the most unexpected ways.  It’s not every day  that we encounter strangers  whether man or beast. 
In your day to day life,  you have routines  you go through in order to show love to the people you commonly interact with.  You see them in person,  you text them or even make phone calls with them.  You cook dinners,  or clean the dishes.  You handle the laundry & drive them to appointments.  When showing hospitality to strangers there are no such routines. 
That means, you have to do it on the fly.   The whole time we were caring for the stray cat,  we had questions without answers.   Will this cat be healthy?   Where can we find him a home?  Why did someone  drop him off in the middle of a street?  Is this really God’s will  or are we just suckers  spending our time & money on a hopeless situation? 
We can, & should,  seek God’s will through prayer,  but  He often does not give direct & obvious answers.  Instead, He expects us to try something,  & see where He leads.   After six years of wondering  “Should be a pastor,  or not,”  & never getting a direct & obvious answer from God, I finally applied to seminary.  This is where He led me,  & 31 years after applying to seminary  retirement  is on the horizon.  After growing up in the tiny farming community of Frankentrost, MI,  I have met thousands of strangers along the way.   Many of them are brothers & sisters in Christ.  Many have already joined the great chorus in heaven. 
The rest of us  are on the way.  It’s not an easy road because it leads through the horrific landscape of a world filled with evil.  The suffering being endured in Ukraine  is beyond our comprehension.  Things like the shooting at the Catholic school in Minneapolis  are all too common.  The clear & obvious cause is the sinful heart of mankind. 
Instead of acknowledging the truth of sin,  & pointing to Christ’s death & resurrection as the solution,  some leaders in our culture are ridiculing prayer as pointless & useless.  They demand action,  as if human beings can save themselves.  Their shallow & narrowminded worldview  blinds them to the reality  that only Yahweh can save anyone from sin. 
“The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23) no matter how that death comes.  Only Jesus is the Way, the Truth & the Life.  (John 14:6)  You & I know that truth,  & we know the Way  because we are alive in Christ.  The book of Hebrews is exhorting us to share that life with others, but we don’t do that by lecturing those who don’t belong to Jesus. 
We learned of His love for us by Jesus’ sacrifice of Himself for you & me.  We share Christ’ life with others by sacrificing of ourselves.  This chapter of Hebrews, however, is not addressed to each of us as individual members of Christ’s body.  Rather, it is addressed to the whole congregation as a priestly fraternity. 
As a church we are to carry this out in ten ways: brotherly love, hospitality, caring for those in prison, respect for marriage, detachment from money, remembering former leaders, rejecting false doctrine, almsgiving, obedience to current leaders & prayer.  In these ways a congregation is to offer well-pleasing service to our heavenly Father.  However, these activities are also the lifeblood of the church & they draw people to Jesus; people who would otherwise not know  of His love for them.  At the end of the Gospel reading, Jesus illustrates it this way:
“But when you give a feast,  invite the poor,  the crippled,  the lame,  the blind,  & you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you.  For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”  (Luke 14:13-14 ESV)   That resurrection may seem a long way off to you now,  but it is the certainty of that day, & our reward, that enables us to make sacrifices today. 
Was a scrawny,  scraggly,  starving orange cat worth any time or trouble?  That question will have to be answered by you, if you encounter one.  The point of the sermon is not that everyone should work to rescue cats.  However, the story does illustrate how we as the church should be willing to make sacrifices & endure struggle as God works through us to save the lost. 
Compared to Jesus,  each & everyone of us  is like a scrawny, scraggly & starving stray cat.  Not a one of us is worth the time & the trouble to rescue,  except  that in the next life all God’s children will be glorious, holy & full of life & love for everyone & everything in the new heavens & earth.  No more sin.  No more sorrow.  No more sadness, & no more shooting. 
As V. 14 of the epistle stated, “For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come.”  Today, the Son of God offers us hospitality through His Word,  through Baptism & through Holy Communion.  Through those means,  He erases our sins again & again, in order to make us as white as snow.  And through those means Jesus is working to bring us to heaven.
In His name.  Amen.
 
Where charity & love prevail  there God is ever found;  brought here together by Christ’s love  by love are we thus bound.     Forgive we now each other’s faults  as we our faults confess,  & let us love each other well   in Christian holiness.     Let us recall that in our midst  dwells Christ, His only Son;  as members of His body joined  we are in Him made one.  Amen.  LSB 845:1, 3, 5. 

10th Sunday after Pentecost – C (Proper 15)                                     LSB #’s 677:1-5, 664, 677:6-8
Text – Hebrews 12:1
 
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, & sin which clings so closely, & let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. 
 
RUN THE RIGHT RACE
 
 
“Stay in your lane” has become a popular phrase.  You might use it to critique someone you think is acting outside their authority.   An umpire might say to a pitcher who’s trying to call balls & strikes, “Stay in your lane.”   A parent or teacher might use the phrase when a child is getting a little too demanding, “Stay in your lane.”   
In the world of track & field, if you’re running a race in one of the sprint or hurdle events, a lane is assigned to you.  In order to run the right race, you can’t just be the fastest runner.  You also have to stay in your lane.  If you don’t, you may be disqualified even if you finished with the fastest time.  Running the lane you are assigned is running the right race. 
In track & field that’s easy to understand & accomplish even if you are not very fast.  Living life in a broken & twisted world, with a weakened & corrupt mind, makes it difficult to determine if you are running the right race.  Deciding what career path to follow, which employer to work for, what city & state to live in, can be complicated. 
There are many different factors that play into making good decisions,  but the chief factor looming over them all  is that we cannot know what the future holds.   Often, things move along in a predictable & mundane manner.   Yet, often, Murphy’s Law kicks in & totally unforeseen events throw all our plans out the window. 
From a Christian perspective, it helps to realize that what we call Murphy’s Law isn’t just happenstance, or bad luck.   It’s a secular saying which ignores a spiritual reality. St. Paul writes in Ephesians 6:12, “For we do not wrestle against flesh & blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”  Murphy’s Law is describing what Satan & sin have done to God’s once perfect creation.  You & I struggle to run the right race because Lucifer is actively working, not just against us, but to destroy us. 
Even our weakened & corrupt mind resulted from Satan’s attack on God’s once perfect creation. Yet, the author of Hebrews encourages us   to look at the circumstances of our lives with more than just our physical sight.  The reading begins with the words, “By faith Abraham.”  Then it moves to, “By faith Isaac… By faith Jacob… By faith Joseph… By faith Moses…” 
Ending with, “By faith Rahab,” the author concludes, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, & sin which clings so closely, & let us run with endurance  the race that is set before us.”  (12:1 ESV) 
Because of Satan & sin & death, that race is challenging & difficult under the best of circumstances.  Under the worst it can be unbearable.  The only thing separating you & me from the unbearable is the faith in Jesus that God’s Spirit has created in us.   For that reason, the children of God gather in their Father’s house to have their faith in Jesus strengthened. 
I’m not saying the effect is minor, but there is only one thing that gives Satan his hold upon us – our sins.  Jesus has already paid for every one of them & all He asks is that we bring them to Him.   Then, He erases them so that Satan can no longer enslave us.   It is here that we lay aside every weight, & sin which clings so closely, through our words of confession:
“I, a poor, miserable sinner, confess unto You all my sins & iniquities…”  Some people object to the language, saying they are neither poor nor miserable.   If the sin of this world does not make you miserable, it’s difficult to understand how you can possibly know Jesus.  Even the great Apostle Paul confessed that he was the chief of sinners.  None of us are any better than he.  So, we bring our sins to Jesus & He erases them.  All our iniquities   are taken up by Christ on the cross, & when we believe that Satan is left with no hold upon our souls.  He doesn’t give up easily.  Though even the Devil knows that our sins are paid for, he continues to whisper his lies into our ears.  That’s why Hebrews reminds us of the great cloud of witnesses in heaven. 
They too lived in this broken & desolate world.  They too fought against the lies of Lucifer.  They too fought against the hopelessness of a physical world, daily being eaten by moth & rust.  That was hammered home for me in the final weeks of my mother’s life, when all the things of this world, that were hers, were reduced to the volume of four plastic bags. 
If that reality doesn’t make you miserable, how do you know Jesus?  How can you run the right race?  The world would have us chase after all the possessions of earth; to chase after all the pleasures of this world, that are here today & gone tomorrow.  Eventually, that reality, what we see with our physical eyes, comes home to roost for everyone. 
Then, where do you turn?  What hope can you find amidst the rubble of this fallen, war scarred world?  It’s to that realization that the prophet Jeremiah writes, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you & not to harm you, plans to give you hope & a future.  (29:11 NIV) 
People naturally run races to win, or to challenge themselves to do better than last race.  Races are often run against the clock even more than against other runners.  God calls us to run an entirely different type of race.  This race is more like a game of Simon Says & Jesus is Simon.  We run the right race by keeping our eyes on Jesus the founder & perfector of our salvation. 
In the big picture, Jesus has already run the race for us.  He has conquered sin, death & Satan.  Now, God has prepared good works in advance for us to do.  All He asks of us is that we run in our lane, the lane He has already prepared individually, for each one of us.  In that race, we fix our eyes on Jesus because He never takes His eyes off of us.  He never falters from exhaustion as we do when reaching the end of our race.  There are believers here, maybe every Sunday, who feel like giving up, dropping out of the race  & just being done with it all. 
The struggle & striving of the athlete portrays our ongoing repentance, spiritual revival & reliance upon the Lord for the preservation & upbuilding of Christian faith & hope.  Everyone of us needs encouragement not to drop out of the race in despair or in rebellion, but rather to continue running with patience & endurance. 
Though we don’t know what our future is here on earth, we do know who it is that holds that future.  It is Jesus & He has plans to prosper you & not to harm you, plans to give you hope & a future.  We can rest in His almighty power to bring it about.  Amen. 
 
 
 
 
Run the straight race through God’s good grace; life up your eyes, & seek His face.   Life with its way before us lies; Christ is the path, & Christ the prize. Cast care aside, lean on your guide; His boundless mercy will provide.   Trust, & enduring faith shall prove Christ is your life & Christ your love.      Faint not nor fear, His arms are near; He changes not who holds you dear;   only believe, & you will see that Christ is all eternally.  Amen.  LSB 664:2-4. 

9th Sunday after Pentecost – C (Proper 14)                                                  LSB #’s 610, 736, 771
Text – Luke 12:22
 
And He said to His disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on.” 
 
Xanax, valium, ativan
 
 
If you couldn’t tell from the sermon text,  you might have guessed from the title – this sermon has to do with anxiety.   In the United States,  over 40 million adults suffer from anxiety disorders.   Some experts believe it’s caused by how much information we receive on a daily basis.  We have trouble understanding what to react to  & what information to let go of. 
Research data from the year 2017 claimed that over 32 million Americans  were using some type of medication  for anxiety.  Other research claims that only 36% of people who suffer from anxiety  have sought treatment.  The numbers  be what they may,  Jesus  wants to help.  He knows that the brokenness of this world  is what tempts us to be anxious. 
There are so many things that go wrong in our lives,  & so many more things that could go wrong,  it makes for an endless number of things tempting us to worry.  Yahweh created a perfect world  but the sin of Adam & Eve brought it all  crashing down upon them.   It’s still crashing down  today,  upon you  & upon me,  & upon every living creature on earth. 
When you are struggling with anxiety, & people around you are not,  they are tempted to “help”  by freely  giving you their “advice.”  They put no time or effort into it,  & in their all-knowing wisdom  they just tell you what to do.  It’s likely, they have not experienced anxiety like you do,  yet,  if you listen to them,  you will live happily ever after. 
When someone says, “Don’t worry about it,”  doesn’t that echo  a lack of understanding, a lack of love,  a lack of care?  Jesus does not offer to help you in that way.  The Son of God  was sent to earth in human flesh  in order that He might experience the same temptations that you & I experience.  Jesus knows exactly  what it is like to feel anxiety.  Imagine how you would be tempted to worry if you knew  you were going to be nailed to a cross  & hung there to die.    In the Garden of Gethsemane, His anxiety was so great  that Jesus sweat drops of blood.   Still, He prays to His Father, “…nevertheless,  not as I will,  but as you will.”  (Matthew 26:39 ESV) 
Jesus did that  so that when you suffer the pressures of anxiety,  He would know exactly how you feel.   In that way, our perfect & holy God can help you struggle with the brokenness of our world.  Our Lord may not instantly  take away the stress  & the strain  & the worry,  but in Jesus,  you can find rest from your anxiety  even if you  are unable to “fix” it. 
Throughout God’s Word, the Holy Spirit encourages us not to be afraid.  That’s because our Savior knows from His experience on earth  that fear is a constant issue.  There are many things going wrong in each of our lives,  each & every day.  Clearly, God’s plan is not to instantly fix them all.  Rather, He uses the struggles  & anxiety  to shape & mold us.  
In the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus was being shaped & molded for you.  That’s why He turned to His Father in prayer, to confront the anxiety that comes with knowing He was going to be tortured first,   & then crucified.  Hopefully your life is not that bad,  but if it is,  your Savior has been there & done that.  There’s no amount of anxiety that Jesus does not understand. 
“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on.”  (Luke 12:22 ESV)   If you struggle with anxiety, Satan would use even those words of Jesus to drum up feelings of inferiority.  Satan loves to twist God’s Holy Word against us,  even though God’s Word is never against us. 
Our Lord challenges us  in order to strengthen us,  & to grow our faith in His promises.  Learning how to deal with our fears & anxieties,  is part of God’s plan for us here.  We can’t learn  if we never have to deal with it.  We won’t learn well,  or grow strong,  if the challenges are light & weak.  Due to sin,  we see many failures in everything we do,  but in God’s sight all things are being worked together for good.  Someday,  His children will see that with clarity & with a joy  we cannot begin to comprehend for now.  Until then, as Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane,  He also taught us to pray: “Give us this day our daily bread…”  
As Martin Luther sought to explain that petition, he wrote, “God certainly gives daily bread to everyone without our prayers,  even to all evil people,  but we pray in this petition  that God would lead us to realize this  & to receive our daily bread with thanksgiving.” 
All God’s children struggle with the effects of sin in this world.  For some that means dealing with anxiety.  When Jesus says, “…do not be anxious about your life…” He’s not trying to tear you down.  He’s trying to help you realize that in spite of anxiety,  & even through anxiety,  He is still at work  giving daily bread to you  even without your prayers. 
We cannot learn that truth  if we never struggle.  And once the Holy Spirit leads us to realize it,  then we can receive our daily bread,  & each of our other blessings,  with thanksgiving.  Anxiety can blind us to those blessings,  but the heavenly Father does not stop sending them to you  because you are anxious.  He sent His Son to pay for & erase our failures. 
Because of Jesus,  even in this broken world, Yahweh Himself is in the process of giving you, along with your daily bread, the kingdom of heaven.  It’s been happening every moment since the Holy Spirit began calling, gathering, enlightening & sanctifying you.  All the anxiety of this world cannot prevent our Lord  from giving us His Kingdom. 
When any of us have trouble understanding what to react to  & what information to let go of,  we can be certain that Christ Jesus wants us to let go of our guilt over our failures.  Hearing the words, “…do not be anxious about your life…” may highlight in your own mind  your failure to follow those words of Jesus.  But Jesus isn’t speaking those words to beat us into submission.  He’s sharing them to help us realize that He is in control & He is watching over us as our Good Shepherd.  Jesus never fails.  Even in His death on the cross, especially in His death on the cross,  Jesus was not a failure.  He was actually achieving victory over sin,  over death & over the devil.  God is also achieving victory in our suffering, whether from anxiety  or anything else. 
It is easy to say, “Don’t worry about it,” when you have no skin in the game.  Jesus, however, is God’s skin in the game.  And at the resurrection, Jesus brought a new, perfect & holy skin into existence.  It’s a skin that is now ours to live in for all eternity.  At the final resurrection God’s Spirit will recreate us in that skin, that flesh & blood as our own. 
Sometimes, people say, “Don’t worry about it,” as they are walking away.  It is their parting gift to us, a sometimes cheap word of encouragement,  as they leave.  Jesus, however, says this not as He is walking away  but as He is walking toward us.  That’s what makes Christmas so special.  It reminds us again & again,  that Jesus is always coming to each of us. 
He comes to rescue us from all our sorrow & He is leading to a place where there will be no anxiety, no more fear & no more tears.  “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”   (Luke 12:32 ESV)  Amen. 
 
 
Consider how the birds above  feed day by day with carefree ease – does God not keep them in His love?  Are we not worth  much more than these?     Set not your heart on food or drink,  nor be weighed down by worldly care;  about such things the godless think,  yet never thank the Lord in prayer.    Be not afraid to suffer loss  of all the things for which you pray.  For He who faced  for you the cross  will give you strength to live each day.    Seek first God’s reign, His boundless grace,  His holy name in all you do: Christ first & last in every place;  all else will then be given you.  Amen.  LSB 736:1, 3, 5-6.  

11th Sunday after Pentecost – C (Proper 13)                                      LSB #’s 732:1-3, 6; 850, 842
Text – Luke 12:13
 
Someone in the crowd said to [Jesus], “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”
 
DIVIDING THE INHERITANCE
 
 
Two weeks ago we heard Martha say to Jesus, “Tell my sister to help me.”  (Luke 10:40c ESV)     Today, it’s someone in the crowd saying, “Tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”  We learned from Jesus that Martha had her priorities wrong, & He makes clear that so does the ‘someone in crowd’ who is seeking help this time:
“He said to him, ‘Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?’”  (Luke 12:14 ESV)   This demand placed upon Jesus presents Him with a perfect opportunity to give instruction on the importance of money & wealth.  To be more explicit, I should say Jesus is actually pointing out the lack of importance of money & wealth.  
Financial security is far & away the lesser thing when compared to matters of the soul.  So, today’s teaching actually has a lot in common with Mary & Martha.   It has a lot in common with you & me.  What things take priority in our lives?     How have your priorities changed over time?   Has the Son of God had an effect on the way you focus your time & your energy? 
Are you all about faith in the powerful working of God?    That was last Sunday’s message.  Did you do anything with that last week?        In studying for this sermon, I came across a quotation that seems to hit the nail right on the head:
“It’s good to have money & the things it can buy.  It’s good also, to check up once in a while & make sure you haven’t lost the things that money cannot buy.”    That’s from a man named George Lorimer.  He was editor of the Saturday Evening Post during its heyday.  He put the 1st Norman Rockwell painting on its cover.  At one point during his tenure the Post went from $2000 in sales per week to over $1 million per week.  That was 1908 dollars.   As popular, pervasive & profitable as it once was, the Post has not been published weekly in 62 years.  “So is the one who lays up treasure for himself & is not rich toward God.”   (Luke 12:21 ESV) 
George Lorimer knew a thing or two about wealth,   yet he realized there are things that money cannot buy.   Money & possessions can be wonderful gifts from God, yet we easily turn them into false gods & then they take possession of our soul.   Though he didn’t have a clue, that is exactly what happened to the rich man in Jesus’ parable. 
The man thought it was his wealth that was providing him with all he needed.  You’ll find these verses instructive, “He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do,   for I   have nowhere to store my crops?’  And he said, ‘I will do this:  I will tear down my barns & build larger ones, & there   I will store all my grain & my goods.  And I will say to my soul…’”  (Luke 12:17-19a ESV)  
In less than three verses, one particular word shows up 6 different times.   Did you notice which word it was?     It’s a common problem among sinners.   In fact, Martin Luther taught that, as a result of the fall into sin, all human beings are curved in upon themselves.  It’s the perennial problem of ‘me, myself & I.’ In other words, life is built up in me, rather than built up in Christ. 
Martin Luther wrote in his Lectures on Romans: “Our nature [is] so deeply curved in upon itself  that it not only bends the best gifts of God towards itself… but it also fails to realize that it so wickedly,  curvedly  & viciously  seeks all things,  even God,  for its own sake.”   The rich man was all about me, myself & I.   Unfortunately, so are we.   That is God’s diagnosis. 
The cure, very fortunately, is not all about me, myself & I.   It is   about Jesus.    Me, myself & I is nothing but sin.  Jesus is nothing but perfect harmony.   That’s what draws people to Him.   The event of today’s Gospel reading occurs on Jesus’ way to Jerusalem where, at Golgotha, He will atone for every one of our failures.  There are no more reasons to be afraid of confessing our failures or sins.   Emotionally,  yeah,  that’s still difficult at best,  but rationally, spiritually,  confession of our sin  allows the Holy Spirit to reconnect us to living forever in paradise.   The rich man was trying to create his own paradise here in a twisted & evil world:
“And I will say to my soul, ‘Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years;   relax, eat, drink, be merry.’”  (Luke 12:19 ESV)    That’s not the kind of life I’ve known,  but if I look at the rich man as a “one percenter,”  it’s easy to write off this parable  as not about me.   It’s painless to rail against & slam the wealthy as evil & corrupt. 
Sadly, many preachers have built up this rich man into a monstrous form of selfishness & greed.  Jesus says nothing of the sort.  In that day, being wealthy was seen as a sign that God loved you.  Unlike today, having wealth was not something that people criticized a person for.   Being in the top one percent of wealth today is increasingly being called out as evil. 
Here’s what Jesus does say about the rich man: “So is the one who lays up treasure for himself & is not rich toward God.”  (Luke 12:21 ESV)  Jesus does not angrily shout the man down for being greedy or selfish or even a ‘one percenter.’  He just points out that this man is not rich toward God.  The man has more faith in his wealth than he does in his heavenly Father. 
So   how do you & I fight against the temptation to put faith in our possessions rather than in our Father, who created everything that exists in the 1st place?   One step we can take   is to regularly give away some of our money.  If you find that difficult it presents an opportunity to ask yourself if you are trusting in money more than in God.   
How healthy is your faith in our Lord’s promise to provide?   In next Sunday’s Gospel reading Jesus draws the conclusion for us to the parable of the rich man: “So is the one who lays up treasure for himself & is not rich toward God.  Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on.  For life is more than food, & the body more than clothing.”  (Luke 12:21-23 ESV)   Money can buy food & clothing.  Have you done inventory lately on the things in your life that money cannot buy?   How healthy is your faith in our Lord’s promise to provide everything you need?  Giving back to God, a portion of what He’s given you, is to exercise your faith in the powerful working of God. 
Exercise is good for the body & for the soul.  The rich man in the parable didn’t make that effort.  His life revolved purely around the stuff that he had.  Jesus calls that man a fool because the rich man thought only of his worldly possessions.   Jesus rebuked Martha because she was overly focused upon her earthly good deeds.     Is our focus any different? 
When the ‘someone in the crowd’ says to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me,” Jesus warns him against the temptation to think that life consists in the abundance of possessions.   Do you remember how Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness?  One temptation is to turn stones into bread.   Jesus responded:
“Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”  (Matthew 4:4 ESV)   People who reject the Creation narrative of Genesis are denying the power of God’s Word to give, & to sustain, life.  People who refuse to give offerings that are a sacrifice often struggle to trust the power of God’s Word to give & to sustain life. 
Like the rich man in the parable we try to create our own paradise in order to protect ourselves from the danger we see in so many aspects of our world.   I’m not saying that trying to protect our lives is wrong.  Neither is cooking a meal wrong, nor building larger barns nor seeking to divide an inheritance fairly.  Each of those can be godly stewardship. 
The problems arise   when we do any of those things to the exclusion of our Father in heaven.  Problems arise when we do those things in such a way that our Lord & Savior’s work is minimized.  Jesus didn’t come to earth to arbitrate financial disputes.   He didn’t come to earth to spend His days eating & drinking.   Jesus did not come to earth to build larger barns.   Human beings can do those things, however, not a one of us can dispel the darkness & death of sin for the purpose of bringing the light & life of God’s perfect kingdom. 
There are things in this life that are of a far greater priority than money, wealth & possessions.  Shortly before today’s parable, Jesus teaches us to be afraid, not of “…those who kill the body, & after that have nothing more that they can do.  But I will warn you whom to fear: fear Him who, after He has killed, has authority to cast into hell.”  (12:4-5 ESV) 
The far & away greatest purpose for which Jesus came is to rescue each of us from hell, yet, He does not save indiscriminately.  He comes to save those who know His voice & follow Him.  Jesus took on human flesh in the womb of Mary so that He could take our place, earn our inheritance, & then divide it with us on the Last Day of time. 
Two Sundays ago, Martha chose to do a good thing, but she still had her priorities wrong because she chose the lesser of things.    She spent her time in preparation for entertaining Jesus when it would have been far better for her to spend that time listening to Jesus   as her sister Mary had done. 
Jesus teaches these things in order that we will set our mind on things above, not on earthly things.  He knows that our inheritance in heaven will last forever.  He is totally aware of how moth & rust destroy the stuff of this life.  Of what does your life consist?  Around what does it revolve?  What is the focal point of your living?    Repentance should be! 
Our lives should be built up in Christ.  If we want to love Jesus more, we should give away more of the things we have.  Stuff is intrinsically dangerous because it takes our eyes off of the Author & Perfector of our faith.   The focus of our time & energy is frequently narrow & limited.  Certainly there are details that need to be accomplished, but they should always be done in God’s scheme of things.  Already when Jesus was still on earth, He was teaching that the Last Days are here.  Do not waste your time on trivial things that are here today & gone tomorrow.  If your house is burning & the fire department shows up, you don’t complain that the carpet cleaner is late for his appointment!    Keep the main the main thing.  
Jesus would say, “Repent, for the reign of God is at hand.”   In the remainder of Luke 12, the Son of God stresses preparation for His 2nd coming, because that is the main thing.  Be watchful,   & be ready!  Do not allow the distractions of these temporary earthly things to take your eyes off of Jesus. 
St. Paul’s letter to the church at Colossae perfectly complements Jesus’ teaching in Luke 12:
“If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.  Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.  For you have died, & your life is hidden with Christ in God.  When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.”  (Colossians 3:1-4 ESV) 
Being a ‘one percenter’ is not evil or greedy.  What is foolish & caused by evil is to spend your time & energy ignoring God because your focus is so locked on the things that money can buy.  Then you certainly will lose the things that money cannot buy.   Our calling in this life is to confess our sins, & to receive the merciful forgiveness that God offers. 
Jesus’ sheep know His voice & they follow Him, thus receiving His inheritance.  Amen. 
 
 
Cure Your children’s warring madness; bend our pride to Your control; shame our wanton, selfish gladness, rich in things & poor in soul. Save us from weak resignation to the evils we deplore;  let the gift of Your salvation  be our glory evermore.         Lo, the hosts of evil round us scorn the Christ, assail His ways!  From the fears that long have bound us free our hearts to faith & praise.  Grant us wisdom,  grant us courage for the living of these days.  Amen.   LSB 850:3, 4, 2.