Last year, John Brown and I walked up the Mount of Temptations with the Palestinian young people only to be denied entry by a bolshy orthodox priest who wouldn’t let us in because some of us were Roman Catholics, protestants or, worst of all, Episcopalians

I was not happy to see that the walk was on the programme again… and argued against us doing it.

But Alex Hawwad (one of the Palestinian young people) had a cunning plan… whilst in Bethlehem he visited the local orthodox church, he attends an orthodox church in Jerusalem, and bought a great big flag So, we walked up the Mount behind this flag and, Lo and behold, we were granted entry. As it turned out, the flag wasn’t needed – it was a different priest who could not have been more kind and generous, but top marks to Alex for using his initiative in trying to ensure that the walk (more of a climb really!) wasn’t wasteful.

I didn’t take any photos from the top – I get dizzy! But, trust me, it’s quite a height and, in 39 degree midday sun, there’s quite a sense of achievement when the summit finally levels out.

May be it was because artists were poor that they added these cryptic clues to their paintings. Perhaps they recalled challenging verses from the Psalms that "People who trust in their wealth and boast of their great riches will have to leave their wealth to others when they die." Psalm 49 and the Gospel reading certainly challenge us. A man in the crowd asked Jesus to settle an argument between him and his brother about what belonged to each of them. Jesus told the man off. He said: "Don’t be greedy. Owning a lot of things won’t make your life safe." (Luke 12:15). The subsequent parable of the rich fool illustrates this perfectly.

He has a bumper harvest and barns which are too small to hold all his crops. Rather than thanking God and giving the surplus away, the fool comes up with the idea of tearing down his existing barns and building bigger ones in order to keep all of his harvest for himself. But that very night he will die having neither the benefit of his crops nor of God’s love, having ignored God during his life on earth.The parable is prompted because of the problem of greed and seeking life in earthly possessions. Greed is destructive. I’ve another painting to show you:-

Who’s heard of General John Sutter? His name is associated with the Californian Gold Rush. In 1848 a small yellow stone that appeared to be gold was found on his land. Sutter was elated, his heart filled with the ultimate happiness. Gold on his land! Pure, yellow nuggets that would make him the richest man on earth. He tried to keep his discovery a secret whilst at the same time, he set about buying as much land in the area as possible.

However, his workmen eventually let the cat out of the bag and before long telegraph wires hummed the news all across America. Soldiers deserted the army, fathers left their families, farmers left their farms, sailors jumped ship and descended on Stutter’s land digging and panning for gold. Stutter could only look on in a helpless rage as his land was ransacked, his barns torn down, his crops trampled, and his cattle slaughtered.

This sudden discovery of gold, and the greed of both himself and many others, had destroyed all his plans. He filed the biggest lawsuit in history against the government and campaigned for over 20 years for compensation. But where his land had once been was now the thriving city of San Francisco and thousands claimed squatters rights. He never saw the gold, but lost his sanity, dying alone and despised without a dollar to his name.

We see Scripture speaking into the context. How relevant is 1 Timothy 6:9-10 which says:"People who want to get rich fall into bad temptation and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs."

Greed – "I want it all, and I want it now" – is an excessive desire to possess wealth or goods. In Christianity it is a deadly sin. Someone once remarked to a preacher that the Bible was full of mistakes. "Yes," replied the preacher, "There’s the mistake of Adam, the mistake of Cain, the mistake of the rich fool. There are so many mistakes recorded in the Bible that you’ll find your mistake there too!"

The Bible records people’s mistakes to warn us that God doesn’t turn a blind eye to our sin. Jesus tells the crowd listening to Him that the same will happen to anyone who keeps their possessions to themselves, and doesn’t thank God or use their wealth for the good of others. This message still has a huge challenge for us. We face the same temptations and choices that the rich man faced. Will we keep what we have to ourselves, or will we thank God for what He gives us and use what we have to help others.

Imagine you’ve got a suitcase overflowing with clothes. What can be done about it? Well you don’t even think about donating some of them to a clothing charity, you go and get a bigger case. Then that one becomes full. So you get an even bigger case and so on…"they’re all mine and I’m keeping them."

Greed is very much a part of our world. Some of the greediest people are those like Imelda Marcos (with over 3,000 pairs of designer shoes) and disgraced tycoon’s like Conrad Black, or eccentric billionaires like Howard Hughes. But don’t think, "Well, I’m not that rich, so greed isn’t a problem." Judas wasn’t a millionaire, but his greed led him to betray Jesus. It’s a problem for all of us no matter where we fit in the tax bracket. How many times do you catch yourself fantasizing about winning the lottery, convincing yourself that more money will solve every problem and meet all your desires in life?

We have to first of all be honest and admit this is true. Every day we’re bombarded with ads that prompt us to want more. I don’t know about you but MOST of my "snail mail" both at home and here at the church is advertisements for the latest "something or other". And sometimes I’m taken in by it. It’s a bit like a child looking through an Argos catalogue saying, "Wow this catalogue’s got a lot of toys I didn’t even know I wanted!"

We are insatiable creatures. Just like the greedy brother in the parable. Jesus points to the dangers of inappropriate reliance on possessions. Greed gives a false sense of security. It’s vanity to seek and trust in riches that perish. All is vanity, except to love God and serve Him alone.

All of God’s laws are WARNINGS because all of sin hurts us! I’m a rich person and you are rich people. We already have enough for ourselves don’t we? Often we don’t have to work very hard for the things we have. Our prosperity is a gift from God. Isn’t it fascinating that the passage starts off with a question concerning one’s inheritance and ends with a question of inheritance (because the rich man died):"Who will get all these things you have kept for yourself?"

When there’s no will, people will fight over it: "Teacher, tell my brother to divide with me the property our father left us." Greed deceives us. It tricks us into believing that if we get what we want we’ll be happy. It might gives us a brief thrill, but it never lasts. And the process begins all over again. Like a dog chasing its tail, greedy people never quite catch lasting joy.

This is why Ecclesiastes 1:8 says:"The eye is not satisfied with seeing…" – it’s the Christmas Toy catalogue all over again isn’t it? Jesus is effectively saying, "Stop looking for treasures to be happy, remove the desire for possessions, otherwise you’ll end up being poor to God with no eternal treasures in heaven." Remember Howard Hughes spent all his life coveting, desiring fame and building up his empire. However, despite his vast wealth, he ended up mentally unstable and so lonely that he talked on the phone for up to 15 hours a day. All he ever wanted was more…"The eye is not satisfied with seeing…" but he ended up poor.

Spiritual poverty caused by greed blinds us to what is really important in life. And the life we have today could be gone tomorrow (Js.4:14). I love art because I think there’s a real dialogue between it and theology. This picture, entitled "Spring" – by Edvard Munch, shows new life beginning outside, while the woman is dying inside.That’s the absurdity of greed. It doesn’t give us life – the fullness of which comes only from Jesus Christ who, when we’re dying inside, offers us new life – free from all that blinds and deceives our hearts:"I have come into the world as a light so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness." (Jn.12:46).

When we’re enlightened by the Gospel our attitude and behaviour changes. "There was once a wealthy man whose harvest one year was astounding. It was the talk of the town. He cut it down and brought one tenth of his crop into church because he wanted to thank God. Then he shared the harvest with others." How different from the rich man in Jesus’ story! But that’s the whole point. Moths and rust destroy everything. Our shiny new cars today will be rusted tomorrow, the clothes in our wardrobes will wear out, but greed leads us to doubt all of God’s promises. To break free of greed, Jesus says we need to change the way we think for our eternity depends upon it. Put your hope in God, not in wealth which perishes, He’s the one who richly furnishes us with everything to enjoy.

I end echoing the words of the Psalmist: "Earth has nothing I desire besides You Lord…You are the strength of my heart and my portion forever." (Ps.73:25).

Let us pray…

CONFESSION: Heavenly Father, we are sorry for the times when we are greedy. When we set our desires on things of the earth and not on things above. When we take for granted all that you give us, please forgive us. We are sorry for clinging on to all that you give us as if it is ours alone. Please forgive us for the times when we rely on our own strength and not yours. Please wash us and make us clean again. For Jesus’ sake, AMEN.

Whilst in Bethlehem, although staying at the Casa Nova, we’ve been meeting at the convent if the Sisters of Emmanuel (although, as nuns, I’m not sure it’s legal to be a bride of Christ AND a sister of Emmanuel!)

This Greek Catholic order have their convent in the shadow of the Separation Wall. There are only 3 nuns here now, offering help and support to local women with activities, education and prayer.

As for us, well, we had some newspaper left over from K4H… you can guess the rest!

As part of the encounter sessions, I asked each group to teach the other a phrase that would be useful should they ever visit the other country… there are now 9 German young women who know the Arabic for “get your hands off my ass”

Well… I’m taking an altogether different approach!

Again, sorry for the lack of blogging but deadlines are approaching.

In other news, for a bit of a distraction me and the wife saw Inception last week. Brilliant film. Loved everything abut it. Go see it at the cinema (unless you have a massive TV then you can wait for the DVD).

Now, back to work.

The table is set out with tee-shirts, name badges and bags… all we need now are dome young people!