Sermon Notes/ Purposeful Living/August 5, 2007

 

There was this lady’s son who lived in a dimly lit and grossly un-kept dormer who never left his room.  But I began to wonder, what his life was all about? What was it that made him happy?  What was it that gave him meaning? I wondered these things because I saw no happiness or purpose within the dimly lit dormer of his life.

 

The readings today lead us to a reflection on purpose.  The first is the musings of Ecclesiastics when all is vanity— excessive pride in appearance or accomplishments or a lack of real value being worthless—that is, being without purpose. What good is life anyway? It is kind of depressing.

 

Then the Second reading from Colossians tells us to “Set out minds on things above” and get rid of self-centered, self-gratifying earthly passions of the flesh—but clothe yourselves in your new self which is putting on Jesus Christ. It is saying that we need to have Jesus Christ’s purpose as our purpose.  We need to put away all the things that hinder us from doing Christ’s work and do what Jesus wants us to do.  

 

Then in the Gospel, Jesus tells us to be on our guard against all types of greed—“Our lives do not consist of the abundance of possessions,” he says. Further, he cautions us against storing up earthly treasures, for they will be useless before God when we die. Jesus seems to be telling us that there is a greater purpose in life then just acquiring possessions. There is something more to live for.

 

The question all these readings ask is “What is life anyway?”  Is it just some game of gathering wealth and possessions for ourselves?  Like as the bumper sticker I saw once said: “He who dies with the most toys wins!” If our lives are all about us and what we can get and what we can do for ourselves then our life is really self-serving and shallow.

 

When I think of people who are only out for themselves, I think of the man who lived in that dimly lit dormer. I think of a life without purpose. I think of a life and talents that are wasted and a life and talents that are not shared.  I think of a drain on society instead of a help to society.  I think of a lack of faith instead of a hope for a future. 

 

Jesus points to greed--the greed of accumulating possessions for one self--the greed that never lets us see beyond ourselves. The greed of not sharing or doing anything that benefits others. I think that kind of greed is visible all around us.

 

 

Today, I would like to direct our thoughts to the positive. Rather then focus on greed and condemn behavior that we think is greedy and self-serving, let us think about being the opposite –that is--being more generous with our time and our resources.

 

I have heard stories about people in Smithsburg—some of our parents-- who would never turn people away who needed something to eat or some place to stay. I have heard of great acts of generosity that people in this town are doing and I marvel and am uplifted by their example—as in the example I put in the Pastor’s Letter in the Angelos. I am grateful for the all time and resources that people generously give to this church community.  There is much to be thankful for.

 

Generosity is a virtue that we all could focus on a little more.  Because when we start thinking of ways to be generous, we start doing some pretty amazing things.

 

We are not satisfied with just dong the expected. We start thinking about how we can make a change in the lives of others. We start thinking about how we can send a message of just who we are and what our values are and who Our Savior is.

 

Plus, when we think about being generous, we change.  We stop worrying about how much we have and worry more about what we are doing with it. Generosity is not a pot of gold to share; it is an attitude about sharing. If your were to ask me, the greatest joy I have had in life has been the times when I have shared my time, talents, and resources, with others--when I have helped change the lives of others. That is why I like the Group Work camps that our youth go on. They get a chance to learn the joys of sharing what they have—their youth—their time—with others who need a hand.

 

We all can reflect on someone in our life who was generous to us—that did something over and beyond what we expected. We can talk of the impact this generosity had on our lives—It gave us a new start. It built up our confidence. It saved us from disaster. We silently thank them for what they did every time we think of them. Do you want to have that same impact on others?

 

This morning, think about what we have.  Think about how we are generous.  Think about who would describe us as generous—who would silently thank us. What is our purpose in life?  What is it that we can do?  What can we share? What fun we could have? I think Jesus is right, we don’t need bigger barns.