A Sermon About Stuff

Our Gospel reading this morning kicks off with a pretty common request. Someone in the crowd blurts out to Jesus, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me!” It’s that age-old human problem: fights over property, money, who gets what. We’ve all seen it, maybe even been there ourselves. It’s the kind of thing that can tear families apart, cause endless headaches, and just generally make life a lot harder than it needs to be.

But Jesus, like he always does, doesn’t just deal with the surface issue. He doesn’t jump in to be a referee. Instead, as Jennifer Wyant points out in her commentary on this passage, Jesus flips the conversation on its head to get at a deeper issue. He sees past the squabble over land and possessions, right to the heart of things. He’s not interested in settling a legal dispute; he’s interested in transforming hearts. And what he shares is a huge truth, a real eye-opener: life isn’t about possessions or just accumulating stuff. It’s about something much, much bigger.

Think about it. We live in a world, a culture even, that’s totally obsessed with “stuff.” From the moment we wake up, we’re bombarded with messages telling us what new gadget we need, what trendy clothes to wear, what kind of car we should drive. We work super hard to get it, we store it, we insure it, we worry about it. The late comedian George Carlin had this classic bit about “stuff”—how we gather it all up, how we need bigger houses to keep it, and how we even have these special spots, like self-storage units, just for our extra stuff! It’s like we’re constantly on this treadmill, acquiring more and more stuff, thinking it’ll make us happier, more secure, more complete. We spend a massive chunk of our lives just managing our relationship with things. Not managing our relationship with God and people, but managing our relationship with things, with stuff. It’s exhausting, and often, it leaves us feeling emptier than before.

This leads us straight into the parable Jesus tells, which you’ll only find in Luke’s Gospel. It comes right after the request, almost as if Jesus is saying, “You want to talk about inheritance? Let me tell you about a different kind of wealth.”

“The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.” (Luke 12:16-21)

Let’s be honest, at some level we can relate to the rich guy. He’s not a villain. We’re not told anything bad about him. We’re not told that he got his money by cheating or that he was mean to people. For all we know, he was a perfectly decent person, a hard worker. All we know is he had a great harvest, a truly bumper crop, and he planned for the future. He probably thought, “Hey, I’ve worked hard, I’ve been smart, I’ve been blessed with this abundance, now I can just kick back and enjoy what I’ve earned. I’m set for life!” We do the same thing! We’ve got savings accounts, retirement plans, we invest for our future. There’s nothing inherently wrong with planning or being responsible, is there? In fact, it often feels like the smart thing to do.

So, what was the guy’s mistake? It wasn’t having wealth. It wasn’t even planning for the future. It was where he put his ultimate trust. He trusted his stuff, his possessions instead of God. His heart was totally set on earthly treasures, on the things he could see and touch, count and feel, not on God. He genuinely believed his “ample goods laid up for many years” would keep him safe, secure, and happy, letting him “relax, eat, drink, be merry.” He built bigger barns, sure, but he didn’t build a stronger connection with God. He forgot who the true provider was, and he mistook security in possessions for security in life itself.

And then comes the super harsh, sudden judgment from God: “Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?” Whoa! That’s a gut punch, isn’t it? It’s a chilling, undeniable reminder that we can’t change the future. We don’t know when our time on this earth will end, when we’ll “cross over the Jordan,” as the old saying goes. And in that moment, our stuff won’t save us. Our savings, our retirement funds, our giant barns – totally useless. They can’t buy us another minute, another breath, or a place in eternity.

The Hebrew word for ‘vanity,’ found in our reading from Ecclesiastes this morning when it talks about “all is vanity”? It can also mean a mist or vapor – something fleeting, not really solid, here one second and gone the next. Our earthly treasures, no matter how solid they seem, how much we accumulate, are ultimately just like that mist. They vanish, or we vanish from them. What then?

This whole question about greed and collecting stuff, even though the guy in the crowd didn’t realize it, is something Jesus talks about all the time. It’s a recurring theme in his teachings. What he says here isn’t new; he’s said it before, and he’ll say it again. It’s not just a passing thought; it’s a core truth of God’s kingdom, a fundamental principle for living a life that truly matters. Jesus is trying to wake us up to what’s truly valuable.

Where does that leave us? If life isn’t about piling up stuff, what is it about? Jesus tells us, plain and simple: Seek the kingdom of God.

We’re asked to trust not in what we can see or build with our own hands, but in God who provides everything. It’s a call to a different kind of security, a deeper kind of peace. We’re invited to follow God and chase after the kingdom, to make that our ultimate priority. This means shifting our focus from “I can do it myself” – that fiercely independent spirit – to “I trust in God and work in partnership with God.” Our real security isn’t in how big our barns are, but in how deep our relationship is with our Creator, the one who truly holds our future.

If God gives you more than you need, what then? That’s when it’s time to look outside yourself and share! When we’re blessed with abundance, whether it’s money, time, talent, or even just extra space, it’s not just for our own comfort and safety. It’s a chance, a responsibility even, to be a blessing to others. It’s about building a longer table for everyone to gather around, not a taller fence to keep others out. It’s about using our resources, our time, our talents, and yes, our “stuff,” to help God’s kingdom grow and to care for everyone around us, especially those who have less. It’s about living generously, reflecting God’s own generosity to us.

Friends, let’s not be like that rich fool, whose vision only went as far as his own comfort. Let’s instead be rich toward God! Let’s faithfully take care of what we’ve been given, using it wisely and generously, knowing that our real treasure isn’t tucked away in earthly vaults that moths and rust can destroy, but in a vibrant, growing relationship with the living God who promises us life, both today and tomorrow. Amen.