3/8/25
First,…Get right with God.
He was a wise, crusty old gent. Someone who had a sharp tongue and soft heart. A no-nonsense guy with few pennies, but lavish hospitality.
The first couple of times when I went to take him communion at home, I asked
“Would you like to have a chat first or communion? His repose was instinctive, forthright and confident.
“No! When we get right with God first, then we have the best chance of sorting ourselves out. And with that lovely beaming moon face of his, he would look at me with a wry grin and say, “Afterwards we can sort out the Church of God”. His wisdom was incisive and always helpful.
If you get right with God first, everything else falls into its proper place, although I have to admit that we never did quite manage to sort out the Church of God. However, I always came away with the assurance that at least my friend and I were tidy, contrite, blessed and refreshed.
Having lost money in the GFC and being diagnosed with something ugly and unpleasant, my companion knew today’s gospel very well. He also had the clever knack of putting the gospel stories into an accessible language, so here is how he would have told it to his great-grandchildren.
Once upon a time, there was a corn farmer who couldn’t help but get rich because the ground he owned was rich and fertile. It never got blown away with dust storms because it always rained exactly when it should, and the sun shone exactly when it should. All he had to do was plant seeds…. And up came the most luscious crops. The farmer had more than anyone else, even Abe next door. One year he had so much corn it wouldn't all fit in his barn. It was bursting at the seams. So he drew up plans to build a much bigger barn – I mean…really big. Bigger than a Coles supermarket warehouse. But when harvest came around next year, even that wasn’t big enough. Probably because he had also planted carrots. No problem, thought the farmer – I’ll build an even bigger barn – this one will be humungous. This was by now the biggest barn anyone had ever seen… Like ever. Even on a landline. He had a frightful time getting town planning approval, but in the end. It was still too small for the corn and carrots, and by now, the farmer was also growing a few cabbages on the side. So the farmer decided that this time he wouldn't mess about and he would build a barn so huge there was no possibility it could be filled. The barn almost touched the sky and the farmer thought to himself, tomorrow, when I bring in my huge harvest, I can simply stop and enjoy myself. From here on I will have a wild party. But that night wasn’t going to end nicely for the farmer… because that was the night God told him his time was up – his days were done, his life was over. Jesus says – how silly for the man to spend his whole life storing up riches for himself, and not having treasure in heaven.
My home Communion guy would make the obvious but necessary point that the rich farmer was so driven by accumulating his produce that he had forgotten the generous God that had made it all possible in the first place.
He was so focused on getting his planning application through the council and trying to find a way around the cyclone-proof question on the form that he had no mental space or energy for those who were sleeping rough and hungry in town. And forget about going on “Farmer Wants a Wife” and finding someone special to cuddle and share his wealth with. That was never going to happen.
Part of the sadness of this story is not the farmer’s sudden and shocking demise. The thing that makes my heart twinge and writhe is the wasted potential. There is so much that he could have accomplished and so many lives he could have enriched and changed. The rich farmer would never understand that you always get back more than what you give, no matter the commodity. Time energy, carrots, corn, dollars or cabbages.
When we read this familiar story we know how it all ends. It’s a bit like watching a slow car crash and being unable to stop the carnage and catastrophe.
So while we might be tempted to feel anger or envy towards the farmer, which is perfectly understandable, a better emotion would be compassion and pity. The farmer was not wealthy at all. He died quite poor.
Sometimes, My Home communion guy would simply say
“ First, …Get right with God”
But sometimes he would dress it up a bit more and use this prayer
Heavenly Father, when greed triumphs
And the poor are betrayed,
Come to your kingdom.
Strong and holy God, destroy the masks of selfishness and ego and fill us with the riches of your poverty
through Jesus Christ our Lord.