Beyond Me, Myself, and Mine

Me: Orientation

Before entering ministry, I have always worked with older adults.

My career began at RehabCare Group, a publicly traded company that contracted rehabilitation services to over 1,200 nursing homes across the United States and Puerto Rico.

When Dennis and I moved to New York, I started to work for The Dale Association.

The Dale Association was a unique agency founded as a senior center but branched into behavioral health services across two clinics.

My time as the Executive Director at Hearts and Hands: Faith in Action placed me working with older adults who needed transportation to medical, wellness, and social appointments.

Part of my call to working with community-based organizations that focus on building community with older adults stems from an insecurity of mine...

...being a member of a marginalized group...

...not having children...

…not living in Texas, where 98% of the support network is.

...will I have support in my old age?

These community organizations, where I have spent the last 17 years working, provide security to those who find themselves socially isolated.

They provide a sense of chosen community and support for those socially isolated.

Working with older adults has also scared me because I have witnessed the deplorable environments many of our older adults who are socially isolated find themselves in...

The cost of care for our aging population is outrageous…

The median cost for assisted living in the United States for 2025 is $72,924, according to Senior Living.com.

During the last several months, I have transitioned from the public sector to the ministry.

A drastic shift...

Economically… relationally… emotionally…

I have often caught myself saying—Let’s get through the first full year before we decide on vacations or major purchases.

You’ll notice that this entire introduction has focused on me, myself, and I...

I’m certain, I can’t be alone in having those moments of me, myself, and I…

We have all faced similar conversations, asking our souls whether we have enough stored up...

...so we too can be comfortable enough to relax, eat, drink, and be merry.

We: Identification

Jesus says to the crowd: "Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of possessions."

As I read Jesus' warning to guard against ALL KINDS of greed, I wondered what the various types of greed are.

There is power greed—perhaps it’s keeping others down to keep yourself up.

Have you ever had a manager who seemed more about getting ahead than supporting their team?

Imagine that adventure-seeking uncle...

A man who always packed light and never stayed long.

He was fun at family gatherings, quick to laugh, and always had a new story—skydiving in Arizona, hiking the Andes, tasting wine in Tuscany.

People were drawn to his energy.

But over time, the family noticed something: no one knew him.

He was never around for birthdays, funerals, or family Sunday dinners.

One nephew finally asked, “Why do you always leave when things get real?”

The uncle replied, “Because there’s always something better beyond the horizon.”

Years later, the uncle looked around and realized that while he had collected experiences, he had never truly built a life.

The thrill had come at the cost of roots, family, community, and love.

We call this greed for experience or pleasure.

Another type of greed might be emotional greed… The manipulation of others to always be at the center of attention.

On a more sinister level, there is sexual greed.

Human trafficking of girls and boys who are exploited to satisfy the sexual greed of their abusers.

Recently, we’ve seen sexual and emotional greed intertwine—where partners threaten to share intimate photos with friends or family to manipulate someone into staying in a relationship.

Perhaps we have food greed—wasting food by overordering or overeating while ignoring the needs of the hungry...

Maybe you need constant validation, titles, awards, or public praise and are willing to do anything to maintain that status… Status Greed...

Jesus talks of the different types of greed...

Today, we hear a parable that reflects material greed...

The hoarding of money or things at the expense of others’ well-being.

Let us discover what Jesus has to say to us about greed...

God: Illumination

Jesus tells a parable, “The land of a rich man produced abundantly.”

For this person to produce such abundance that he wants to tear down existing infrastructure and build even larger barns and silos...

One must imagine that this is no mere plot of farm land.

I imagine this person controls a vast agricultural empire across an entire region.

This is someone who has power in an agrarian community, such as those whom Jesus is talking to....

There are real consequences to thinking only about oneself.

The man says that he will store HIS grain, HIS goods...

all so that HE can relax, eat, drink, be merry.

Now one can argue that the man is simply demonstrating sound business sense...

Why not increase storage capacity to eliminate waste?

Why not store the goods for when there is a drought?

But friends, if we read the gospel of Luke in its entirety, we see an underlying theological theme concerning economic prosperity.

Luke’s theological premise is that the rich become richer by exploiting the poor.

And indeed, in this parable...

Nowhere does the farmer demonstrate concern for community...

Nowhere in the parable does he offer thanksgiving to God for his abundance...

What if… if insatiable need to focus on me, myself, and mine...

...leads to price gouging during natural disasters… during pandemics…

It’s a violent cycle—this excess of abundance is turned into even more abundance by price gouging to the detriment of others.

Jesus reorients the crowd listening to him to say that those more concerned with storing excess riches than striving for God’s realm are fools.

It is God who says: “‘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 treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God.”

Jesus warns us to be on guard against all kinds of greed...

How do we put this into practice?

You: Application

Earlier in our service, we were invited into a call to worship.

What is a call to worship?

It’s an opportunity to gather as individuals and surrender ourselves.

We become more than ourselves;

We come together to make visible the Body of Christ.

We offer thanks to God for God’s steadfast love that lasts forever.

We acknowledge that God accompanies us in our distress.

We celebrate a God who initiates a relationship within us and calls us into a relationship with one another.

Being given this love freely, we receive gifts...

...and through our baptism we are asked to build up the Body of Christ....

...by sharing our gifts and reflecting the love of Jesus.

We gather in this worship with all we bring and carry them forth.

From worship and into our homes, our workplaces, our community...

To build up the Body, making the kingdom of God, the reign of God, present here and now.

Don’t let social media reels tell you about the latest beauty trends.

Don’t let the good lookin’ tall, dark, handsome, Greek God tell you what kind of car will get you arm candy...

Don’t allow the political pundits to tell you whose life is worth valuing and whose life is left to struggle...

Don’t allow that bully to make you feel small and worthless...

Don’t allow that insecurity in your head to keep you down...

Because you, my friends...

...you, my friends, are one in unity with Christ.

We: Inspiration

Each and every one of you has a gift.

Each and every one of you is valuable.

Each and every one of you is of sacred worth.

Each and every one of you is a beloved child of God.

A child of God made in the image of our Creator and of sacred value

to the person sitting next to you,

to the person sitting in a Latin American Country,

to the person asking for money at the intersection,

to the person seeking refuge from their abuser,

to the person looking to catch their next meal...

...and to be made in the image of God comes a responsibility.

A responsibility to share whatever gifts God has given you with others.

The act of giving is central to our journey of sanctification.

To be perfected in Christ’s love is to live like Christ.

To live like Christ is to be rich toward God and decadent toward others.

To live like Christ is to say hello to the lonely.

To live like Christ is to listen to the marginalized.

To live like Christ is to intercede in prayer for others.

To live like Christ is to clothe the naked.

To live like Christ is to feed the hungry.

To live like Christ is to be thankful for what we have to meet our needs sufficiently and give our excess to the community chest.

To live like Christ is to love God and neighbor.

And as our benediction calls us, my sibling in Christ, our worship never ends; it must be lived!

…because we witness to each other how beloved we are in God’s sight by caring for one another.

In the name of our Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer.