Getting Rich

Getting Rich
Emmanuel Episcopal Church, Greenwood, Virginia
August 4, 2019
Proper 13, Year C
The Rev. John Taliaferro Thomas


Thursday, my first day as Rector at Emmanuel, was also my birthday.  People were really nice about that, and I loved the poster-sized card many of you signed and left on my new office door.  When I was growing up, having a birthday that falls in the dog days of summer meant that not many folks were around to celebrate.  Often we were at the beach and when you are at the beach, every day feels like your birthday.
 
I do not have too many memories of big birthdays as a child, except of course for when I turned sixteen and went on that very day to the State Patrol’s office and got my drivers license, which meant that I could finally do legally what I had been doing for a long time anyway… but that is another story.
 
My first experience driving happened when I was three years old.  You hear that correctly: three years old.  While my father was clipping the holly bushes around the side of the house, I climbed into the front seat of our new and only family car: a lemon yellow Ford Fairlane 500 station wagon.  It had black vinyl bench seats, lots of push buttons on the dash, and a gearshift on the steering column. It still had that new car smell.
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Once in the front seat, I played like I was driving, reaching forward and pulling down the gear lever so that I got it into neutral.  Did I mention that our driveway had a slight incline?  It did.  So, I went from playing like I was driving… to rolling backwards and driving for real.  I sat down hard, grabbed the wheel, and held on as I gathered speed.  My father’s concerned face came into view of the windshield and he had charged around the side of the house to give chase.  But it was too late.  I had gained enough speed to roll all the way down the driveway,  across Westview drive, and had come to rest tailgate down and hood up in a deep Georgia red-clay ditch. I sat there in Mercury Astronaut pose, awaiting my fate, as my father came to get me, his second son, who had just wrecked his new and only car.  I felt sure that wrath would come.  I had been warned not to play in the car.  I began to wail.  Mightily.
 
My father tore open the door and grabbed me.  He pulled me out of the seat.  And then… he hugged me close, he checked me out from head to toe, and wiped my tears with his shirt.  And to my utter shock, he turned around, left our new car in the ditch, and carried me into the house for a Popsicle and proper nose blow.
 
To this day, I do not know how or when the car was hauled out of the ditch, where it got fixed, or how much it cost.  It is not part of the family lore.  The only thing we remember is the comedy of my three year old driving experience that arose from potential tragedy.  And I count myself fortunate and blessed and in some awe that early on in life, I learned an important lesson about the immense value of love and humanity over against material things.
That very lesson is one that Jesus pounds home in the gospel lesson for today.  As Jesus traveled around and embodied the love of God in his person and work, people come to him with all kinds of oddball tests and requests.  Today, we hear of a man asks Jesus to intervene in a family inheritance squabble.  Jesus will not go there, rather, he uses the encounter to shift the focus from insignificant material things to a generosity and abundance of faith, imploring those listening to consider what it means to be to be rich toward God.  And he leaves us with that as question and challenge.
 
Like I said, I just began my role as Rector at Emmanuel on Thursday.  Friday, we celebrated the life of Elizabeth Pinkerton Scott: a 104-year-old matriarch and pillar of this parish.  Talk about hitting the ground running!  But then, why not start there?  Mrs. Scott was legendary church person here: bright, prayerful, loving, hospitable, and generous.  She was all about being rich toward God and everything I learned about her made me that much more glad to be among you.  If that is the kind of person you see as leader, friend, and pillar, Emmanuel has a solid legacy, sound priorities, and a giving spirit.  You all know what it is to be rich toward God.  I know this because you celebrated that on Friday and you are back here today to do so again.
 
Throughout the process of discernment, and in starting this new role in this new place, people have asked what I plan to do, what I plan to accomplish, and where I will lead the parish.  And today, (as it will every day) the Gospel of Jesus establishes and controls that narrative.  We will be rich toward God. 
 
In the midst of a world that has skewed and varied priorities, we will put love and compassion first.  In a world that too often measures people by what they have and what they do, we will focus on who we are.  In a world that desperately needs to hear of forgiveness and grace, we will practice the presence of a living God among us.  Emmanuel means: God with us.  And that is not a conditional statement: may God be with us… it is a fact:  God is with us.
 
And contrary to the ways of spin, sales, labeling, and the branding of things, we will not get rich quick just because we follow some three point plan, nor will we grow in richness toward God because we are inherently neat or industrious.  We will grow in richness toward God through abiding relationship with The Generous One who gathers us for good.
 
I started as your Rector on my birthday.  You were all very kind.  My mom sent me pictures of me as a little boy to remind me of my life.  My children drove many hours to surprise me and come see our new home.  We feasted and laughed and reconnected.  I can say honestly that I felt born again with new energy and a new adventure for me and us.  It is good when you find your people and they find you.
 
So let’s be born again and again and again together in the life and ministry of Emmanuel.  Let’s get rich slowly.  And for God’s sake, let’s have a good time.  Amen.