Blogging toward Sunday

By William H. Willimon
Hosea 11:1-11, Luke 12:13-21    
Sunday, August 5

     As a woman was leaving church, she whispered to her pastor, “Do you have some time for me to talk with you about a matter of concern?”
    “What’s the problem?” he asked abruptly.
    “Well, it’s personal, but I have just been offered a promotion in my company. It is very flattering, and the money would be wonderful, but it requires more travel and I’m already away from home more than I would like, and. . .”
     “Jesus doesn’t have any interest in any of that!” the pastor said, interrupting. Then he turned and began greeting other worshipers.

An earnest young man comes up to Jesus asking the Lord to help him settle an inheritance dispute between him and his brother. Jesus, who has been on a negative, judgmental jag for the past few chapters in Luke, is given an opportunity to show how caring and compassionate he really is. Time to get off the prophetic high horse and get mushy, fuzzy and pastoral.

The man addresses Jesus as “Teacher,” which presumes that the man wants instruction, but in the next breath he demands that Jesus “tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” The man knows, or thinks he knows, just what ought to be done in this situation and just what Jesus will do for him.

As happens so often, however, Jesus refuses to answer the question, refuses to respond in the expected way and reframes the question, reworks the expectation. “Friend” (the word Jesus tends to use when he is preparing to thrust the dagger through someone’s heart), “who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?”—which is ironic because the man isn’t asking for judgment; he is asking for action on his behalf.

It is also ironic because even though Jesus says he is not a judge over this man’s problems, he is judging this man’s preoccupations: “Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed.” This judgment seems unfair because nothing suggests that this man is being greedy. He is asking for simple justice in the matter of an inheritance dispute.

I find it interesting that Jesus dismisses this concern over justice, refusing to arbitrate or to attempt to make peace in a feuding family, and instead tells a story about a successful, prudent rich man whom Jesus calls a “fool.” It’s hard to see how the story has anything to do with the question of inheritance since the rich man presumably didn’t inherit his wealth but got it the old fashioned way—he worked for it and earned it. Yet Jesus calls him a fool.

One reason why we study scripture, one reason why we come to church on Sunday, is so that we can receive answers to our questions, action on our petitions. We come seeking help with our daily problems, solutions to our dilemmas.

And isn’t Jesus loving and compassionate? And doesn’t he care?

Well, not always, at least that’s what this Sunday’s exchange suggests. Jesus must be about more important matters even than meeting my needs. He is also judge of my need. The questions that consume me may not consume Jesus. The matters in my life that I consider to be my biggest, most pressing problems may not interest Jesus in the least. It’s always a shock to have a conversation with Jesus and to find that he is more than the answer to my questions and the solution to my problems.
What a challenge to worship a friend and savior who is also the true and living God!

William H. Willimon is a United Methodist bishop in Birmingham, Alabama, and author of United Methodist Beliefs: A Brief Introduction (Abingdon).

Comments

[Ellie]

I spent some time in therapy when I was in my early twenties. I've always thought that my therapist did something very similar to the way Jesus interacted with people who had questions. He would ask me, "Who is bothered by that?" He asked if I thought my husband could read my mind. (I hadn't realized I did until he asked me). But his questions had the same effect as Jesus' did. They made me ponder the problem and come up with my own answers. I think that was Jesus' intent. He wanted us to come up with our own answers and he accomplished that by giving the questioner something to really think about. The "right answer" is not necessarily the same for everybody. If a brother is not dividing the inheritance there could be dozens of reasons why not. Jesus means to provoke thought. Anyway, Jesus was not about justice; he was about love.

[Gary]

If compassion is about enabling destructive behavior, then Jesus is not compassionate. If compassion, however, is about promoting the health and well being of the two brothers, then Jesus is most compassionate. The discussion over the inheritance could only deteriorate when one brother tried to triangle with Jesus to "one up" the other. Jesus knows better and keeps the discussion where it belongs - among the brothers. Jesus ends the escalation of hostilities with seemingly harsh words, but the short term pain of his response could likely lead to long term gain for the brothers. Let us all learn to keep our disputes where they belong and not let them bleed into familial, regional or national hostilities.

[Richard]

Will's reflection on the gospel lesson made me think of a passage in volume 1/2 of Barth's Church Dogmatics.
“It is not the case that the exposition of Holy Scripture must finally issue in the answering of the so-called burning questions of the present day, that if possible it will acquire meaning and force as it is able to give an illuminating answer to the questions of the present generation.” . . “We cannot know before hand what the real present is, what are its burning questions, who and what we are, “our generation” “the modern man”, etc. In a very real sense this will not appear until the Bible opens up before us, to give us correct and infallible information concerning ourselves, and our real questions, concerns and needs.” (738-739).

[Louise]

I am turned off by Will's comments (and I was full of joyful anticipation, visiting here the first time, a fan of Willimon!) I think Jesus was demonstrating a clear priority for faithfulness to God in his response. The man was demanding Jesus help him attain more; Jesus was cautioning him to not let greed rule his thinking. It may well be that the man should get a larger share; but justice is different than pure greed, and the right approach to the issue could yield in him getting more; but if greed alone drives the conversation, his life could end up bitter and bleak, in spite of the increased wealth.
I also don't like the story of the pastor cutting off the parishioner who wants to discuss an important life decision. I would have welcomed her, asked her to reflect on her values and consider what is really most important in her life, before making a move. If I were that woman and received such a slap for asking such a question, I would hesitate to ever go back to that pastor.

[Heidi]

I agree with Louise. Such an account of a pastor being so uncaring and publicly unkind seems so rare as to likely be made up. And whether made-up or not, it casts a very disparaging shadow over a profession that the vast majority of us sweat blood and tears to carry out as a true ministry, with the utmost care and integrity possible. I can't imagine ever talking that way to one of my parishioners, and if a pastor ever dismissed my genuine concern so, I would not only never approach that pastor again; I would probably not go back to that church again. And if I thought Jesus didn't care about my personal value-choices, I would not seek him in prayer again either.

Most pastors would be absolutely delighted to see a parishioner taking her faith so seriously that she looks at a lucrative career move from a faith-perspective. Hmm...come to think of it, maybe I'll adapt that story and use it as a POSITIVE illustration as I preach on the present Gospel text. It is a fine example of being "rich toward God."

[Jason Byassee]

Ya'll check out what happened in last week's lectionary commentary blog when folks started picking at Willimon; others snowed them with support of his view.
You've got to realize Willimon's a great lover of Flannery O'Connor. When Christ works it's generally abrupt, almost violent, funny, and also life-changing. It's been no secret that Will's unsympathetic with the reduction of the gospel to the therapeutic in our churches over the last few generations. But a little secret: he's a terrific counselor himself...

[David]

Willimon seems to be in the spirit of Milton Erikson as a pastor. His technique might have something to say for it in getting the persons attention. However, I agree with the comments that challenge the pastor's abrupt resoponse. Its one thing to say in a counseling session with chance for further conversation, but quite another in a casual reponse leaving church. In my lectionary the passage begins with verse 16 the parable not the inheritance question verse 13. I think Will missed the core point of the text concerning true wealth. The parishoners question is all too real in our world and a very relevant one.

[Rev. Carol]

Our Wednesday Bible study caught on to this pericope in a way that astounded me. The story is more together than we think, and Jesus is in fact answering a very burning question. If he does so obliquely, such is the way of God, not to spoon feed us, but to encourage a reordering of thought. People are always looking to inherit. Jesus is always looking to bequeath. The man concerned with the inheritance thinks only of what is coming to him, as does the rich man contemplating his barns. The point is not that the rich man will die this very night -- death is the legacy of all -- but that it has not yet occurred to him that his bountiful harvest is intended to feed others than himself. Will there be a dispute among his heirs?

[revcm]

I can empathize to some extent with Willimon's example. Some years ago a woman asked for an appointment time with me, the chaplain, to talk about a problem. Her problem was that she was not sure if God would want her to have a microwave oven or not. She had already been to her parish priest for counsel. He had told her, in his blunt provacative manner, that with all the war, famine, disease, hatred, etc. that God had to deal with, did she seriously think that God cared whether or not she had a microwave? I told her, with sympathy and graciousness I think, that I tended to agree with that conclusion. She left our conversation still perplexed over what she should do. I'm not sure she was ready to listen to any answer, regardless of how it was framed.

[Grace]

I truly enjoyed the story of the Pastor and his surprising answer. Sometimes, we need a wake-up call to help us get to the heart of the matter. I had a similar experience with my Pastor. I was talking to him about a dispute between my husband and my mother, who was living with us at the time. I thought my husband was being pigheaded. The Pastor asked me who I made my "for better or for worse" vows to. Of course, I said I made those vows to my husband. The Pastor then reminded me that my husband was the one I was to support. I thought maybe the Pastor didn't really understand the situation, so I reiterated my position, and he responded, with love, but saying once again, that I was to be on my husband's side. Of course, he was right and the following of his advice made my situation much better for all of us.
This portion of scripture is so jam-packed with stuff - it is so deceptively simple, but there is so much to get out of it. I don't think Mr. Willimon missed the point. He just looked at this scripture from only a few of its many angles.

[Grace]

One more thing. I absolutely love the phrase "The questions that consume me may not consume Jesus". I think it will be my new mantra, if I had one. Though God does encourage us to come to him with every little thing in prayer, I also believe that he is less concerned about the details and more concerned with our hearts. Rich or poor, in ministry or high on the corporate ladder, whatever situation we find ourselves in, do we use it to glorify God and step out in faith? Our anxieties over worldly matters can imply that there is a part of us that does not trust God to provide. Where is my hope? Let it be in the Lord alone.

[Chris]

I guess I came at Willimon's opening story from a totally different place, but I saw it as a story intending to cast a negative light on the pastor's response. One of the many points of the parable, it seems to me, is to show that Jesus is precisely interested in such matters. Perhaps the pastor in question should have taken the opportunity to help this parishioner reflect on what it might mean not to "build a bigger barn" in the matter of the promotion. By saying that "Jesus does not care about any of that," the pastor gives up the chance to allow the parable to do its work in this very specific life.

Could that have been Willimon's purpose in using the story? Who knows? But it is one way to read it.

[Ted Michael Morgan]

Taking part in prayer groups, I often marvel at the narcissism evident in our prayers. One recalls Kierkegaard’s parable of those who consume the husk but throw away the nut.