16 And
he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of
a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: 17 And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do,
because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? 18 And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns,
and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods
laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. 20 But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul
shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast
provided? 20 But God said unto
him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall
those things be, which thou hast provided?
(Luke 12:16-21)
The
Collect
St.
Peter the Apostle
|
O
|
ALMIGHTY God,
who by thy Son Jesus Christ didst give to thy Apostle Saint Peter many
excellent gifts, and commandedst him earnestly to feed thy flock; Make, we
beseech thee, all Bishops and Pastors diligently to preach thy holy Word, and
the people obediently to follow the same, that they may receive the crown of everlasting
glory; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
We are
reminded in our Collect for today (St Peter the Apostle) of the great calling
and awesome responsibility given to St Peter to feed the flock of God. Though
heralded by the Roman church as their founder, I have seen no conclusive
evidence to prove that St Peter ever lived in Rome. There is no preeminence in
the Succession from St. Peter and that from any of the other Apostles. We might
recall that St Peter grievously denied Christ three times the night of His
betrayal and, yet, unlike Judas, Peter repented with bitter tears. It is often
dire failure that may precede a great calling in Christ. Once Peter had
conquered his mountain of fear, he never looked back in his Apostolic ministry.
Though we have failed and foundered in our frailty to serve, it is the
perseverance that will press our beleaguered spirits on to a grand victory in
Christ. Never give up, never give in, and never give out in serving the great
Bishop of our Souls, the Lord Jesus Christ is a mighty lesson we learn from the
Apostle Peter.
Hopefully there are none among our readers whom Christ has classified as fools,
but it is always profitable to continually examine our hearts to insure that no
trace of the foolish heart dwells there. How many nominal Christians endeavor
to balance their lives between a token eye wink toward God, and a lavish
embrace of the things of this world? They build opulent castles for their souls
upon the fault line of impoverished faith. If those castles are built upon
shaky foundations anchored in a luke warm faith, they will be far less worth
than a shanty built upon the solid Rock of Christ.
16 And
he spake a parable unto them, saying, The
ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully. Though
it is true that God causes His rain to fall upon the unrighteous as well as the
righteous, all who are so blessed by God by abundance owe a debt of gratitude
to the great Lord and Master for the increase of his crops.
17 And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do,
because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? The greedy will always looked to the
conservation of their wealth and not the benefit they could easily provide to
their fellow beings. He does not wonder "How shall I use my fruits to the
best advantage of all?" but what can I do to preserve that which I have
gained. This is a question that confronts everyone who benefits from God's
blessings of wealth and material increase. The answer to that question will determine
whether we are wise stewards, or fools who believe that we can forever hoard
our wealth. The end issues of life settle all arguments regarding the benefit
of unshared wealth.
18 And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns,
and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.
19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou
hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be
merry. This chap is not a
noted criminal – a murderer, a rapist, an adulterer, or a thief – but his one
great condemnation was personal greed, and that was enough to lose his soul. He
may even be the Rich Man who failed to share the crumbs from his table with the
beggar, Lazarus. He lived only unto himself. In the service of God, we have our
rest, our joy, and our increase in serving others in Christ. We labor and tire
not because we have known that Christ will do the labor through us. We share
our resources and suffer no deprivation because we are sons and daughters of
the King of Kings. If we grow weary in well-doing, perhaps the well doing was
our own works and not the works of the Lord. And let us not be weary in
well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. (Gal 6:9)
Perhaps we have even over-planned in our endeavor to perform our service
precisely our own way instead of upon a reliance of the leading of the wise and
loving Holy Ghost in guiding us by the compulsion of our hearts instead of
rigid plans made by our own hands and minds.
20 But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul
shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast
provided? We shall definitely share all that we
own – whether by expressions of love, or the judgment of God in taking our
lives. If we are taken in death, we no longer have the opportunity to determine
WHO will receive the benefit or our wealth. It will be left to the world and
not to widows and orphans. When God takes our souls, that is all that remains
left to us – our naked souls. Those souls will either be clothed with a White
Robe of Righteousness in Heaven, or shall be cast into Hell unclothed for all
to see our grievous sins. Surely every man walketh in a vain shew: surely
they are disquieted in vain: he heapeth up riches, and knoweth not who shall
gather them. (Psalms 39:6)
21 So is he that layeth up treasure for
himself, and is not rich toward God. Are we rich toward God by investing in love and heavenly
things; or have we heavily invested in the present and elusive desires of this
world. The entire object of the greedy man is to accrue wealth that terminates
in self. Which investment is most secure, those invested in a globe which shall
perish by intense heat, or those of heaven which are eternal? Being rich toward
God is a permanent state of privilege. Faith itself is a precious possession. Hearken,
my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith,
and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?
(James 2:5) and That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready
to distribute, willing to communicate; Laying up in store for themselves a
good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal
life. (1 Tim 6:18-19) Laying up treasure for ourselves will not benefit
beyond the last breath we take on the earth in which we have invested,
foolishly, our all. Where have you invested your increase, friend?
