Greed (Luke 12)

Greed (Luke 12)

It’s dragging you downward by the belly,

This insatiable gravity,

And now your eyes are too big for your stomach

But still too small to see the Son’s face

And too narrow to see the Father’s hand.

Your heart is too fevered to feel the Spirit’s cool wind.

You need to know

That greed is a burden for which there is only one real relief:

Sell your possessions and give to the poor.

Sure, the poor are all around you.

Flip a coin in their general direction.

It’s easy to hit one in the face.

There’s such pride in the tithe,

But the lust of the eyes is the coin’s other side.

Where’s the sacrifice?

You’ve heard it said:

There are all kinds of greed.

Look closer.

Who are your poor, really?

That depends.

To find them,

Look at what you’re harboring there in your absurdly big barn:

Heaps of the need for resolution, neat and tidy, no loose strings,

Piles of the striving to be always right, the best at whatever you’re doing,

Barrels full of the craving for deep pressure: movement, adventure, the mountaintops of life,

Buckets full of the demand for fairness‒or rather the lack of unfairness‒so that no one else ever has more,

Trunks full of the expectation of fulfillment in an instant when you rise up from your knees,

Crates full of the desire for complete understanding, always knowing, always known,

Jars full of the right to be cherished‒even worshiped‒when you stride into the room,

Baskets full of the wanting to be always on their radar, a ping, a blip, no matter if it means you’re a stumbling block.

Yes, your poor are all around you,

But they don’t need you to fling coins.

They just need a moment to breathe free from your expectations.

You’re like a tax collector,

Digging into their lack and heaping weight upon their backs

Simply to fuel your appetite

For your own peace.

Stop. Just look.

The raven lifted there on her sleek wing

Is not weighed down by greed

Because she will eat anything that nature offers.

That lovely bloom with her face tilted toward the sun

Is never wilted

Because the water that she drinks defies gravity.

And you, little barn builder,

Little nest-egg gatherer,

Are not a fool if you can see

That the opposite of greed

Is giving away everything you think you need.

And you do not lack faith if you believe

That to be rich toward God

Means to stand with open hands

In perfect peace.

‒erinrmsocha 5-14-2020