Reflection and Prayers
“We’re gonna need a bigger barn…”
So a few weeks back, I went on a course about spirituality and leadership in which I learnt about the enneagram. Essentially, the enneagram is a model of the human psyche, which may have its origins in the spirituality of early desert-dwelling Christians, and which suggests there are nine interconnecting personality types. In other words, it’s like a clever, quasi-spiritual version of those quizzes you can take online and magazines to find out which animal, Harry Potter character, or indeed Spice Girl you are. (For those interested, I’m a monkey, Harry Potter, and Posh Spice, apparently!).
Anyway, I was so taken with the enneagram and what it says about our motivations, personalities and perspectives that I’m bringing in it up all the time in conversation. So much so that when a friend of mine said “Stop going on about the stupid enneagram – you can’t put me in a box”, I replied “But you would think that because you’re a 4”, and that was the end of a beautiful friendship!
Well, I think we all know someone who has an uncanny ability of turning any conversation around to their favourite hobby horse. You know those really annoying people who can make anything relate back to their pet shiatzu, their new partner, Strictly, or whatever else is their current obsession. Well, I imagine that the guy who prompts a story from Jesus in today’s reading is one such person, because Jesus has just been talking about the nature of God, damnation, salvation and these major things when this guy interrupts to tell tales about his brother! Let’s hear that complaint now and the teaching that follows as we listen to the parable of the rich fool…
Reading: Luke 12:13-21
So…rich guy gets his comeuppance by only thinking of himself. At least that’s what the parable seems to be saying, doesn’t it? And, as far as parables go, it doesn’t feel that shocking. There’s no ‘the Samaritan was the good neighbour?!’ plot-twist that parables usually seem to have. Which makes me think this sideways story has more to it than just a ‘you can’t take it with you’ message. And this is where I was planning on conducting a deep dive, verse by verse exegesis on the nuances and complexities of this passage…but Marcia would kill me if we were late for lunch so allow me to offer just two brief-ish takeaways!
Firstly – I don’t think this parable has got so much to do with wealth but with egotism. I mean, we know that Jesus had something to say about rich people and God’s kingdom – far, far more than he does about the sexual ethics that the Church often gets so obsessed with – but my impression is that this isn’t a general warning to the rich but to the self-centred. The very cue for telling the story suggests so – “Let me share some severe teaching about God and angels, blasphemy and the Son of Man”, Jesus says to the listening crowds.
“Sure, sure, sure,” says a man in the crowd, “But more important than all that is for you to settle a family argument.”
The man tries to diminish Jesus’ teaching and makes it all about him. Which might be why the man in Jesus’ story is solely focused on himself – saying the words ‘I’ or ‘my’ some ten times in three sentences! He’s completely self-obsessed. The crops are his. The barns are his. The grain and goods are his. There’s no mention of anyone else. No family. No friends. No neighbours or community who might well have empty-bellies and pleading smiles. No, it’s all about him. Only God’s got other ideas. So Jesus reminds the listeners that the grain and goods, the man’s barns and soul, are all from God whilst also pointing us beyond that single man in the question but who will share these things now?
This harvest-time, will we heed Jesus’ teaching to remember from where all good gifts come and thank God for them? Will we look beyond our own houses and barns to hear the stories of children going to bed hungry in Afghanistan and Madagascar; in Syria and South Sudan; even – in a country which has more food banks than McDonald’s – in Ponty and Treforest? Will we seek to see others; to listen to them, pray for them, share what we have with them…or are we too lost planning our next extension, car, holiday…? Even within our churches, are we too focused on things going exactly as we want them to go, forgetting the needs, perspectives, hurts and hopes of others?
And if self-obsession is something that Jesus warned about, solidarity is something he daily modelled. The very fact that God ‘became flesh and blood and moved into the neighbourhood’ (John 1:14 – The Message) speaks of the sacred solidarity at the heart of God’s nature and our faith. At a time when the religious leaders were comparing God to a rich man who demanded bigger barns for Himself, God-in-Jesus shared an animal’s feeding trough, a leper’s dinner table, a criminal’s cross, a fisherman’s breakfast, calling his friends to share their possessions, their time, their very lives in the same way. And when he described God’s kingdom to them, it was like a huge banquet where the lost, the last, and the least streamed in from north and south, east and west to share good food, fine wine, and great times with one another and with God Godself!
Which is one reason why it’s so good that we’re sharing bread and wine here in a few minutes before many of us from this church, Castle Square, and beyond go on to share good food, fine wine, and great times at the Heritage Hotel. In our meal of thanksgiving here, and in the communion of the shared table there, we will taste the riches of God’s harvest, hear giggles of God’s goodness, and share glimpses of God’s kingdom, where all will be found and fed!
This harvest then, may we look beyond our barns to see and respond to the needs of our siblings at home and abroad. May we be alert to our own selfish tendencies, and try to put them to one side, choosing to emulate the sacred solidarity of Jesus instead. May we be thankful to God for the gifts of the harvest and may our thanks be not just on our lips, but in our living too. Amen.
Prayers of intercession at Harvest Time ~ Mary Robins
Almighty and everlasting God, creator of all that is seen and unseen, of all that we can understand and all that has yet to be revealed, be with us as we come before you today. You have placed us in a universe of breath-taking splendour which constantly surprises us and amazes us; and so hear us as we come before you to seek your help and guidance in our troubled lives.
We come to you in simple trust, and as Jesus taught us, that you are our heavenly father and will listen to the prayers of us , your children.
At this special thanksgiving time of the year we pray for all who work so that we have food to eat and share. Lord, bless all who labour to satisfy our needs, and we pray that all trade between peoples may be done openly and fairly and with due regard for the environment and for human dignity.
Lord hear us.
We pray for areas of our world where hatred and wars make the efforts of daily life even more difficult. We think particularly of Afghanistan and Madagascar. May all hear and respond to the words of Jesus who spoke of peacemakers being blessed and of treating our neighbours as ourselves.
Lord hear us.
We pray for our own country and for all in authority, that they may govern wisely and with due regard to the needs of all people.
Lord hear us.
We pray for all families; each one is made up differently and faces the normal ups and downs of family life in different ways. We think particularly of those families who are deeply affected by the current economic situation, where there is unemployment or fear for the future, and where benefits are being cut. We pray for the homeless and those who depend on the kindness and charity of others, and we give thanks for the work of the Food Banks who provide sustenance and support for those in need. We pray that each family will keep a place in it for the love of Jesus and that special peace that he brings
Lord hear us.
We pray for the sick, whether at home, or hospital or hospice. We think of the elderly, the housebound and those in care homes and we pray for all those who minister to their needs. Lord Jesus, who responded to the needs of all those who had faith, comfort and support those who are in need of your grace at this time.
Lord hear us
We pray for those who mourn the loss of loved ones, whether recently or long ago. May the knowledge of your resurrection be a comfort to all those who mourn.
Lord hear us.
Merciful Father, accept these prayers for the sake of your son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Amen
Harvest Communion
Come one, come all.
Come you who are hungry for bread and wine, and you who are tea-total and gluten intolerant!
Come you donning masks in this building, and you in pyjamas at home.
Come you who have been to church since birth; and you who have somehow stumbled here today.
Come you know the enneagram and you who couldn’t care less.
Come you Posh and Sporty; come you Gingers, you Babies, and the Scary!
Whoever we are. From wherever we have some. Whatever our story – come to the feast where there’s always a space for you. This morning, we have remembered how Jesus spurned self-obsession and embraced sacred solidarity. With outcast men and forgotten women, he ate and drank and lived out an alternate world where all are welcome, worthy and wanted – God’s kingdom of justice and joy where lost children would be found, a couple of fish could feed thousands, and the likes of you and me can feast with God.
But some aren’t keen on sharing food so they pointed to these meals of plenty and called Jesus a glutton, a drunkard, a friend of sinners! Some got so angry with Jesus’ life of love that they wanted him gone forever!
And it was on the night he was arrested that Jesus shared yet another meal with his friends. They remembered God’s goodness in the past as they shared good food, fine wine, and great times. Then, when they had finished eating, Jesus took some bread on the table. He blessed it, and broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “This is my body which is given for you. When you do this, remember me.”
Then he picked up the cup left on the table and after giving thanks he shared it with his friends saying,
“This cup is the new relationship with God. Take this and share it.
I shall drink wine with you again in the coming kingdom of God.”
So now, following Jesus’ example, we remember the past and reincarnate it in the present. We take and share this bread and wine, these gifts of the harvest through which God continually blesses us. And, as Jesus offered thanks for the gifts of the earth, let us also celebrate God’s goodness. Let us pray…
Once again today, we praise you, God of the harvest for you bless us with food, drink, and community. You forgive our selfishness and invite us back onto the path of sacred solidarity.
Today, we remember we remember the past to help us see more clearly your presence in the present and your promises for the future.
We remember the stories of Abraham and Sarah, of how you gave them bread to strengthen their family on their journey, and wine to make them glad.
We remember the story of how you liberated Moses and his people and refreshed them with food and water in the wilderness.
We remember stories of how you gave to Mary, Joseph, and Jesus food and drink to share on their journey. Stories of how, in every age you have nourished and sustained your children and how you have called us to have care for the land, to plant vineyards, reap the harvest and hold on to hope.
Now here at your table, you once again offer us bread and wine for the journey, to nourish us as companions on the way.
So come, Creator God, we pray: renew the face of the earth; come, eternal Saviour: remake us in your likeness; come, Holy Spirit, transform these gifts: that Christ may be known to us in the breaking of the bread and that we may be strengthened to serve him in the world.
All this we pray in the name of our brother and saviour, Jesus Christ, who taught us to pray, saying,
Our Father, Who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name;
Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory.
Forever and ever. Amen.
The body of Christ broken for us – we do this in remembrance of him.
The blood of Christ, given for us – let us drink and give thanks!
Jesus Christ, friend and saviour, You have met us at the table
to unite us with you and with brothers and sisters around the world.
Go with us now into that world,
that we might be a living sign of welcome among refugees,
of freedom among the oppressed,
of hope amid persecution,
of peace amid violence,
of living faith amid a culture of scepticism,
and of loving kindness toward the earth and all her inhabitants. Amen.
Dismissal
The earth is fruitful may we be generous.
The earth is fragile may we be gentle.
The earth is fractured may we be just.
And may the God who gathers and scatters us as seed,
bless us and all whom we eat with and meet with this day and forevermore. Amen.