“What to Do with All of that Stuff?”
A sermon by Sid Burgess for Edgewood PC, Birmingham, AL 35209
August 12, 2007, “Back to School” Sunday
Text: Luke 12:32-40
33 Sell your possessions, and give alms . . . .
Back to school means back to our stuff. You don’t need much stuff in the summer time. Just a bathing suit and towel at the pool. Shorts and tee shirts for camp. A helmet for your bike, and you’re good to go.
But come the start of school, you gotta have lots of stuff. Paper and pencils, scissors and crayons, books and workbooks, computer and calculator. So much stuff you gotta have a desk or locker to store it. Back in my daddy’s day, he had to walk to school-- five miles in the snow and ice, fording rivers and climbing mountains, quite a feat down in sandy South Georgia! He had to walk to school but he didn’t have much stuff to carry. These days kids have to carry so much stuff that they have those big old backpacks.
No matter how much stuff we gather for the start of school--supplies, clothes, lunch box, backpack--there is a legitimate concern in the mind of every child and every parent-- do we have enough of the right stuff? Will we be ready when the bell rings on that first day of school?
According to St. Luke, Jesus is all about our being ready. Today he says, ‘Be dressed for action, and have batteries for your flashlights.’ ‘Like workers at the “big house,” be focused on the task at hand, day or night.’ ‘And be alert to danger,’ he says. With all the uncertainty in the world, you gotta be on guard, be ready, come what may!
But, Jesus says, your stuff is not what’s going to make you ready.
Oh, Brother Jesus, you don’t understand. You see, they gave us this list at school. And there is a comparable list at work. Plus, there is a list of stuff we need for the house and for the yard. Always, a running list for groceries. And recreation--takes a lot of stuff to stay in shape! Parents already have list of what--and how much- the kids will need for college. Plus, there’s a list of what is required for retirement, and for the nursing home.
But, Jesus says, your stuff is not what’s going to make you ready. Faith of the matter is, Jesus says, if you wanna be ready, sell your stuff, and give the proceeds to the poor.
Okay, Jesus, if you want to get our attention--the attention of red-blooded American consumers-- you have gotten it. “Sell your stuff, And give the proceeds to the poor?” Jesus, you know we can’t do that. You know that if we did that- sold everything, gave everything away--the world would just have one more group of homeless vagabonds. And “Will work for food” doesn’t seem to be selling these days!
Let me pause here and concede that I have a vested interest in this issue. Because, like you, I have some stuff. Maybe more, maybe less, but I’ve got stuff, too. Even so, like you, I’d like to be ready. Ready for the coming reign of God. Ready for the new heaven and new earth. Ready for the day when evil will be condemned and rooted out of our God’s good creation. Ready for an end to all tears and pain. For the time when all things will be made new. When the fellowship of human beings with God and each other will be perfected. And should I die before this great day comes, I’d like to be ready to meet my judge and my redeemer.
But do I really have to sell everything, right now, and give the proceeds to Habitat and First Light and the Children’s Home?
Before we despair, let’s go back a few verses and put this divine directive in context. The issue Jesus is addressing here in chapter 12 is anxiety. Just a few verses above our present text, Jesus tells us, “Don’t worry--don’t worry about food or clothing. There is more to life than that, he says. Look at the birds of the air, the lilies of the fields; as God takes care of them, so God will take care of you.
This sacred assurance may be all that you need to live an
anxiety-free life. If that describes you--laid back, basking in the
providence of God, not a care in the world, listen no further. But
if even with this sacred assurance--as God takes care of the birds
and the flowers so God will take care of you . . . . If still you
are plagued by nervousness, racked with worry, and torn by tension
Jesus suggests you try this: “sell your stuff and give the proceeds
to the poor.” If you are
tired of being anxious . . . . If you are ready to ‘let go and let
God,’ all you’ve got to do is . . . turn lose of your stuff.
Now we are all good capitalists and we would not want to flood the
market-- selling off all of our investments, liquidating all of our
assets, turning over all of our property--all at once. So we might
consider this approach: Start giving up some of your stuff. No need
to strip the house down to bare walls this weekend, but you can
start. Like they say, Rome wasn’t built in day. But you are free to
start now. You can start now just by giving away all the stuff you
don’t need and don’t use. Start with those overstuff closets, the
crammed tight dresser drawers, the stacked to the rafters basement.
“You can’t take it with you means now is the time to begin getting
rid of it.”
Well, yes, but I might need that shirt. I might wear that jacket.
Hey, I might lose weight and be able to wear those pants again, or
gain weight and needs those skirts.
I hear ya! But there are needy people who can use those clothes right now, today. A shirt you might wear once every blue moon could well be an everyday day shirt for somebody. What’s more, remember the purpose of this exercise: it is to lessen our anxiety. Jesus says that in addition to helping the poor, getting rid of some of our stuff will help lessen our anxiety.
This is really not as hard as it sounds. In the final analysis, you already know that what you really treasure is not in your closet, or in the garage, or even at the bank . . . . What you truly treasure are your relationships--within your family, among friends, your relationship here at church. What really matters is not what you have when you die, but who is going to be at your side. And of even greater importance is Who is going to be with you on the “other side.”
As Christians we know that we are not saved by our stuff, but by the saving death of Jesus. So, let us all listen to his words: “Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom”(v.32).
Therefore, we don’t need all that stuff, for we have been given access to the reign of God--where the blind are made to see, and the deaf to hear, where there is never an infant who lives but a few days, nor an older person who does not live out a lifetime. Where justice and right-doing rule the day, peace and mercy govern the night.
I know, I know, we see only broken and scattered signs of this kingdom--what the Bible calls this “new creation.” For the most part, what we see is the continuation of cruelty and suffering in the world, even in the church. But with eyes of faith we Jesus as Lord. The day is surely coming when he will judge all people and all nations. The day is surely coming when evil will be stamped out and goodness will triumph over all.
Let’s invest our hope. Let’s pledge our hearts, and let’s put our resources to work for the coming reign of God.
Blessing and glory and wisdom
and thanksgiving and honor
and power and might
be to our God forever and ever. Amen.