The true riches

 

1 Timothy 6: 6-19
New Ark United Church of Christ, Newark, DE
September 28, 2025

Photo taken from above of a large family gathering at an outdoor dinner table.

(Content warning: in a work of fiction, the death of a pet and suicide are briefly mentioned.)



First off, a little Bible study and context. There is scholarly debate as to whether this is a letter written by Paul or written in Paul’s name. It’s a significant question. Either this letter is written while Paul is in prison, before the gospels were put to papyrus, or it was composed in the late 1st or early 2nd century, long after Paul was executed by the Romans. Like many of Paul’s letters, was it written to prepare people for the imminent return of Christ or did it have another purpose—to help Gentile followers of Christ cope with his delayed return by preserving the status quo? I’m going with the latter view, that it was written in Paul’s name.



In that sense, this letter is written to all future generations of Christ followers, including us. What are we to do, or more like, how are we to be as we long for the downfall of empire, evil, and injustice? We do what we can to fight the good fight, to stand firm, but also to take hold of the life that is really life. In this world of astronomical wealth, preserving the status quo, what is good in life, is all about using money to do so. Whether it’s saving our way of life or our institutions, like the Church, we think the answer is to throw money at the problem, but not when it comes to saving people, liberating those who are suffering.



And so the author of this letter calls out those who are content to be self-sufficient and rely on their independence for their self-worth. Even as individualism reigns supreme, none of us are self-made or self-sufficient. Did we pave the roads, did we build our homes, did we educate ourselves, did we write the music we love, did we grow all our own food, did we heal ourselves? We came into this world with nothing and we will leave with nothing.



And so what really is life and what makes it worth living? Last week David and I saw the REP production of the one-man play “Every Brilliant Thing”. It begins with a man’ memory of being 7 years old, when his dog had to be put to sleep, and his mother attempted to take her life. He then begins a list of experiences, things that make life worth living, that have made an impact on his life, or that he hopes they will, and eventually the list continues through his adulthood until it reaches 1 million things.



I would like us to make our own list this morning, as one body, as a practice of gratitude for that which makes life worth living, the true riches, that even as we fight the good fight for change and liberation, these are things we want to hold on to, our non-negotiables. Minister Candace Simpson, who wrote our liturgy for this morning, reminds us, “Practicing gratitude and appreciation for small things we take for granted can make us more mindful of all the work it takes for things to go right.”



For instance, one of my all-time favorite things since I was a child and still enjoy to this day, is the sensation of my clean body in clean pajamas, in between clean sheets. But in order for that to happen, I need clean hot water, soap, and shampoo; pajamas and sheets that were made by someone else and laundered; a mattress and pillow that support my body; a roof over my head. All of the work it takes for things to go right.



What small things are you grateful for that make life worth living, the true riches?

Children's Time

• Grandma's spaghetti sauce
• The smell of a favorite pizza place
• Chocolate chip cookies baking in the oven
• Candy
• Birds chirping
• ASMR videos
• Popping bubble wrap
• The sound of the ocean
• The feeling of a soft sweater
• Holding a football
• The feeling of my blankie against my cheek
• And one little boy said...poop

Congregation's answers

• Crunching dry leaves on a walk
• Flipping a switch and the light comes on
• The smell of a fresh-baked apple pie
• Coming home after being away
• Watching my children sleep for a few minutes before tiptoeing out of the bedroom
• The sound of friends' laughter
• My mother's words and how they made me who I am today
• The feeling of the morning air in the fall
• Snuggles with puppies
• Sitting at home enjoying a cup of coffee
• Birds chirping in the woods
• Family get-togethers
• The smell of cinnamon rolls baking
• Books!
• Petting a purring cat
• Lying in a hammock
• Healthy meals with family
• The warmth of sunshine
• Hot water for a shower
• The smell of horse poop
• The warmth of a wood stove fire and snow falling outside
• Hugs

All of the work it takes for things to go right helps us understand how much more work it is, how exhausting it is for those who have little to nothing. These things we have listed can also unite us with those we are trying to help: we begin to understand how things have not only gone wrong for them but how we have structured our society so they only go right for those who have money and privilege, which only makes us cling to them all the more. As I have said again and again, the spiritual problem of our time is this: we want things to change but we want to keep what we have. At some point we will have to choose: either the change, the liberation matters so much to us that we will give what it takes or we will circle the wagons tight around what we have. Which is why Jesus said we cannot serve both God and wealth.



For we brought nothing into this world, so we can take nothing out of it. God does not meet us in what we own, what keeps us away from the suffering of others. God was never closer to us than when we first cried out and took our first breath. God was there to hear our borning cry and God will see us home. In between our coming in and our going out, God is to be found in the small things, in what we give away, in the faces of those who are looking for God in us. All we have are our actions. Amen.

Benediction – enfleshed.com

Beloveds, there is life to live
Life to live abundantly:
Abundant in connection
Abundant in awe
Abundant in meaning
Abundant in humanity,
precious to protect.
Resisting all that deadens and destroys,
let us go and live!