Away! Zoom!

Luke 12:13-21

Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.” But he said to him, “Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?” And he said to them, “Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.” Then he told them a parable: “The land of a rich man produced abundantly. And he thought to himself, ‘What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?’ Then he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, ‘Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God.”

It looks like it’s about the money! It’s not about the money. So, let’s go to the Midrash! What’s Midrash, you ask? I’m glad you asked! Midrash is a story, told by a wise and ancient Rabbi which fills in the gaps in a Bible story and helps explain its meaning. The Midrash for this story is different though… mostly because I wrote it and I’m not a Rabbi.  I also wrote it on Tuesday which doesn’t make it exactly ancient, but hopefully it will help nevertheless. It goes like this:

Chuck and Earl were brothers. Chuck was older, but only because Earl had finally succeeded in kicking him out of the womb where Chuck had hogged the warm spot for nine-whole-months! But being older, even by just a few minutes, meant that Chuck inherited the entire family property. But NOW, with Jesus in town, Earl saw his chance! If Earl could convince Jesus to get that warm-spot-hogging-Chuck there to split the inheritance… well, he had PLANS! And those plans started with a Porsche 918 Spyder. Not because it was a hybrid… even though it was… but because it went from 0 to 60 in 2.2 seconds and THAT was the speed he wanted to get away from the farm! Away from the family! Away from that little town! Away from the nosey, niggling, neighbors! And away from Chuck! Away, away, away!

Chuck, as you might imagine was not keen to divide the farm he had just inherited. He had plans of his own! A new tractor with GPS navigation, air conditioning and bluetooth! A new home on a distant corner of the estate with central air and a VERY high wall with a push button gate, so that he could be away from the farm! Away from the family! Away from that little town! Away from the nosey, niggling, neighbors! And away from EARL! Away, away, away!

So in this ancient Midrash (which goes all the way back to Tuesday) Jesus tells the brothers to divide the inheritance and Earl buys the Porsche 918 Spyder and off he goes from 0-60 in 2.2 seconds! Away from the farm! Away from the family! Away from that little town! Away from the nosey, niggling, neighbors! And away from CHUCK! Off to Vegas… to the lights, the gambling, the shows and all the rest that Vegas has to offer to a young man, fresh off the farm, with a new inheritance, a Porsche 918 Spyder, and a desire to get AWAY!

Chuck, on the other hand, couldn’t buy everything right away because of having to divide things with EARL, but he buys the GPS tractor which helps him plant bumper crop after bumper crop, which leads to needing new barns, then the new house, then his WALL… so he too, can finally live AWAY from the farm. Away from the family! Away from that little town! Away from the nosey, niggling, neighbors! And mostly, AWAY from EARL!

Well, as parables and Midrash often go, in addition to being away from his family, that little town, those nosey, niggling, neighbors and Chuck… Vegas soon helped Earl AWAY from the remainder of his inheritance and AWAY from owning a Porsche 918 Spyder. Soon, at his new job, he found himself splitting a snack with a pig, and in that moment it occurred to him that living AWAY from his family, community, the niggling neighbors, and even Chuck, didn’t really feel very much like really living after all. Earl, you see, had finally figured out he was lost… some might even say “prodigal.”

In stark contrast, as parables and Midrash often go, Chuck tended the farm and by all the world’s measures had made it an enormous success… filling up new barns and sitting in luxury behind a big wall with an automatic gate, eating, drinking and being merry in the air conditioning… away from the farm, away from the family, away from that little town, away from the nosey, niggling, neighbors and away from EARL. But he too soon discovered that EVEN with ALL that he had… he wasn’t really living either. Chuck too discovered that he was lost… some might even say that he too, was “prodigal.”

You see, both parable and ancient Midrash (which goes all the way back to Tuesday) teach us, that REALLY living is never about the destination… never about getting to a place or having a particular amount. Living life… REALLY living life, is ALWAYS and ONLY about the DIRECTION in which WE CHOOSE TO LIVE each moment of every day. Earl and Chuck, in living AWAY lives, found that they weren’t ever really living at all.

Now, real life isn’t as clear cut as parables or even ancient Midrash (which goes all the way back to Tuesday). So in real life none of us lives completely AWAY from the people we love or  what we value, or completely TOWARD them either. But the lesson from both parable and Midrash is that you and I would be wise to take time to honestly look at the direction in which we’re living as we walk through each day. In what parts of our lives are we living an AWAY life? Is it with family or neighbors? Is it with strangers or foreigners or those who are different? Where are we living an AWAY life with our money, with our possessions… or our passions, knowledge, time, or gifts? This parable and the ancient Midrash (that goes all the way back to Tuesday) makes it clear… Living in an AWAY direction, isn’t really living!

So, if you are looking to live the abundant, meaning, and purpose-filled life we’ve all been created to live… (and I hope you are!) Then the DIRECTION you are looking for is TOWARD… TOWARD what Jesus shows us and tells us is most important… TOWARD relationship with God and neighbor, TOWARD community... even community that inevitably includes those nosey, niggling, neighbors. It means generously moving TOWARD the stranger, foreigner and the different. Couragiously moving TOWARD the lost, the lonely and the last. Because when we live our lives moving TOWARD the other… we inevitably find that we are living our lives TOWARD God as well… and THAT has always been the best direction for really living… going all the way back. Even long before Tuesday. Amen.