July 31, 2022

First some levity from Facebook: ‘I thought the dryer made my clothes shrink. Turns out it was the refrigerator.’ Well, that’s one mystery solved, isn’t it?

Did you notice that for several days last week, the forecast high was in the mid-20’s but by early evening it was 30 or more with an even higher ‘feels like’ temperature – like Friday evening 31 C feels like 37 – a sad sign of things to come. No wonder my brain was quite sluggish when it came to this sermon. But I thought the readings were so interesting – Ecclesiastes with his ‘vanity of vanities’ a phrase that stays in the modern lexicon as a term of futility and hopelessness. One online commentary compared this sense of futility to ‘the great resignation’ that came through Covid – with so many people quitting their jobs. Greater Victoria is among many places, where working fulltime for low wages, in many types of jobs, does not lead to earning a living. If you cannot rent even a small apartment while working full time, never mind buying food and paying for other basic necessities … then what’s the point of working?

The psalm also jumps in with this theme of futility of working, so you can leave your wealth to others (v.10). Sadly, today instead we are leaving a hopelessly damaged earth to younger generations. Sure, many offspring of Baby Boomers etc. stand to inherit a lot of wealth in our times, but again what’s the point if the earth itself is dying?

Then both our epistle and gospel readings speak of greed – which is certainly relevant to our times, given that greed, selfishness and apathy have often been identified as the real sources of environmental destruction. Those who thought that better science would open people’s eyes are disappointed that instead so many are apathetic, and greedy and selfish for their own gain, regardless of the irreparable harm done to the earth -- caused by our current industries and lifestyles, etc. For years I’ve been especially intrigued by a phrase at the end of Col 3:5 that we heard today -- which explains greed in brackets as idolatry. Here’s the whole verse again: “Put to death, therefore, whatever in you is earthly: fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed (which is idolatry).” Greed is idolatry – what does that mean?

Is that why American money has those words – In God We Trust? If they trust God so much, why do they have so many millions and billions of dollars – still the richest country on earth I think, and yet no universal medical care, no paid parental leave, etc. And why do they need all those military assault weapons in the homes of ordinary citizens if their motto is – In God We Trust? The USA has the most billionaires – 724 of them at last count. It’s difficult for many of us to grasp what a billion means, so I appreciate this comparison: A million seconds is 12 days; a billion seconds is 32 years. How then can anyone be greedy enough to want or ‘need’ a billion dollars?

And, of course, it’s precisely all this materialism in our world that is clogging the wheels of making much progress towards the mitigation of climate change catastrophe. It’s also terrible greed that has catapulted us into horrendous inequalities of income, even in Canada – where CEO’s regularly make ridiculously huge amounts of money compared to the ordinary workers in their companies. For example, we recently have all these ferry cancellations here in BC, because of crew shortages. It’s so easy to mindlessly say ‘oh, people just don’t want to work anymore’. That’s quite unfair to say given how little their wages are worth in terms of actually earning a LIVING!

“Be on your guard against all kinds of greed” says Jesus in today’s gospel. And let’s not mistakenly blame that poor younger brother as the target for Jesus’ saying. Heck, not even Jacob, grandson of Abraham, was officially entitled to receive any inheritance since he was younger than Esau – his twin brother! Younger by seconds – in fact the Bible says that Jacob was hanging on to Esau’s heel as he emerged from the womb (Gen 25:26). What an awful system, and it’s a wonder that Christians reading this same Bible forgot that the first people there in a place are the lawful landholders; so you can’t just waltz in and grab it all. But that’s what the Doctrine of Discovery said, put forth by the pope in 1493 – that since the land Turtle Island which we later called North America was ‘empty’ and the inhabitants were ‘non-human’ – then they could claim it as belonging to the European countries of the first explorers. And that doctrine has never been rescinded!! It’s so shocking that Pope Francis, who’s a good man in many ways, has so far not agreed to rescind that doctrine. No wonder our efforts at truth and reconciliation are so slow-moving … if we can’t even get that monstrosity off the table.

Well that’s all rather seriously depressing, so I’d like to end with the next part of Jesus’ teachings that come after today’s gospel and before next week’s section:

22 He said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear. 23 For life is more than food and the body more than clothing. 24 Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! 25 And which of you by worrying can add a single hour to your span of life?[a] 26 If then you are not able to do so small a thing as that, why do you worry about the rest? 27 Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin,[b] yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. 28 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, you of little faith! 29 And do not keep seeking what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not keep worrying. 30 For it is the nations[c] of the world that seek all these things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31 Instead, seek his[d] kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well. (Luke 12:22-31 nrsvue)

Yes, let us consider the ravens, which are seen as strongly intelligent, spiritual creatures in indigenous spirituality; and let us consider how beautifully the lilies and other flowers are clothed, without the vain toil that Ecclesiastes mentions. Instead of such toil we are asked to seek God’s kingdom, or rather God’s Kin-Dom – All are related, Amen.