The Big Barn Syndrome

Last week, we looked at the vulnerability and weight of having unmet needs. This week, we are looking at the vulnerability and weight of having abundance. 

Our passage for this week is Luke 12:13-21. The passage begins with someone in the crowd asking Jesus to intervene in his dispute with his brother over an inheritance. Jesus responded with words of instruction and a parable. Both his words of instruction, which include a warning about greed, and the parable, which is about a man who had more than enough grain, provoke us to consider our relationship with abundance. 

In the parable, the farmer has a problem—an overabundance of grain. What to do with it? He can’t use it all. He can’t even store it all. So, he solved this “too much grain” problem by tearing down his old barns and building a bigger barn. In the end, the farmer in the story died, as all of us will, someday, leaving behind a barn stuffed with unused grain.

Remember all the toilet paper hoarding that happened during Covid? Most of us feel more secure and more comfortable when we have an abundance. After all, if we have an abundance, then we might escape the vulnerable position of having to ask for help like we talked about last week!

However, we struggle to have a good sense of what “enough” looks like. How much toilet paper is enough? How much retirement savings are enough? How much abundance is enough?

This issue of not knowing what enough looks like, sometimes makes us hold on tightly to our abundance.

Sometimes our abundance becomes a weighty thing. We feel the tension between our abundance and the needs around us. Sometimes it’s easier to disassociate from the needs around us, or blame the people who have needs, so that we don’t live with the vulnerability of that weight. 

This brings another kind of scarcity. It separates us from the richness of our interconnectedness. There is a richness, even a joy, in relating, connecting, sharing, giving. There is satisfaction in sharing some of that excess to build longer, more inclusive tables.

Jesus’ words are meant to provoke us. We, like the farmer, have to choose what we will do with our abundance. There are many forms of abundance. Time, talents, finances, possessions. What do you have in abundance? Where do you feel the weight and vulnerability of your own abundance? How do we live in “right relationship” with our abundance? 

Deep peace and blessing,
Anne

Rev. Anne Baxter Smith
Pastor, Southpoint Church

New to Southpoint?

At Southpoint, it all begins with God’s love. Just as a plant grows, it receives sunshine, so we grow as we receive God’s love. At Southpoint, we are growing in our capacity to love God, ourselves, one another, and Creation.

We seek to be a community of grace that is intentional yet organic, spacious yet authentic, grace-filled yet accountable. * We are fully welcoming. *

We encourage relationships rather than run programs, yet we recognize the importance of intentionality and structure as we nurture life together.

As a community, we seek to put our love in action. We value helping out on Sunday mornings, sharing food, and showing up in hard times. We keep our church life simple so folk have time to build relationships with family, friends, and neighbours. We encourage folk to serve in tangible ways within the wider community. We rent space rather than own a building, allowing us to do more with less, supporting missions at home and abroad.

Curious to know more?

These six slides express what motivates our ministry (best viewed on a monitor). Here’s the bio of our Pastor, Rev. Anne Baxter Smith.

If you’d like to really peek inside, sign up for our weekly Southpoint News (scroll to brown footer at bottom of page). The Southpoint News is a MailChimp distributed email—you can unsubscribe anytime and will not be added to our contacts list. Email us at office@southpoint.ca. Website: southpoint.ca.