Uncertainty

Is what you have in life sufficient for you?

Someone in the crowd said to him, ‘Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.’ But he said to him, ‘Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?’ And he said to them, ‘Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.’ Then he told them a parable: ‘The land of a rich man produced abundantly. And he thought to himself, “What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?” Then he said, “I will do this: I will pull 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, “You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?” So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich towards God.’ He said to his disciples, ‘Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear.  For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? If then you are not able to do so small a thing as that, why do you worry about the rest? Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these.  But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you you of little faith! And do not keep striving for what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not keep worrying.  For it is the nations of the world that strive after all these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, strive for his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well. - Luke 12:13-31

We desire all sorts of things in life, and we worry about the future.  What will it bring?  Will I have needs?  Will my plans come to fruition?

There are no guarantees in life.  We may store up for the future, only to find the days are numbered and the future is not ours.

Depressing?  It could be.

The message in today's Gospel reading is to trust in God and stop worrying about what we need or desire.  That's not easy to do, is it?

It almost sounds irresponsible.  We need to care for ourselves and our families, don't we?  How do we know the future will bring what we need?

We don't know.  We go on faith.

The markets thrive on certainty, and yet, what do we know for certain?  Do we know what tomorrow will bring?  Of do we just want to live in confidence that we think we know?

There are no assurances and no guarantees in life.  We can simply trust that what we will come by what we need, even as we remain uncertain about the future.

Sure, we want to store up our grain to ensure that it is there when bad times come, but if we believe we will find a way, we might choose to share with those who need it now.

I am sure what Jesus said to his disciples went over their heads, and that's OK.  We will all come to our own realization of what is important and what is now.

So, we strike a balance, storing up what we can, and enjoying the rest.  And if there is some left over, perhaps we share.

More to come...