WHEN IS ENOUGH ENOUGH?

A sermon by the Rev. Dr. James G. Kirk

Harundale Presbyterian Church

Glen Burnie, Maryland

June 17, 2001

Text: "Give me your vineyard!" (I Kings 21:2)

First Reading: Galatians 2:15-21

Second Reading: Luke 7:36-8:3

The other day I read the following illustration written by Bob Perks called I Wish You Enough. "Recently I overheard a father and daughter in their last moments together. They had announced her departure and standing near the security gate, they hugged and he said, ‘I love you. I wish you enough.’ She in turn said, ‘Daddy, our life together has been more than enough. Your love is all I ever needed. I wish you enough, too, Daddy.’ They kissed and she left. He walked over toward the window where I was seated.

"Standing there, I could see he wanted and needed to cry. I tried not to intrude on his privacy, but he welcomed me in by asking, ‘Did you ever say good-bye to someone knowing it would be forever?’ ‘Yes, I have,’ I replied. Saying that brought back memories I had of expressing my love and appreciation for all that my Dad had done for me. Recognizing that his days were limited, I took the time to tell him face to face how much he meant to me. So I knew what this man was experiencing.

"‘Forgive me for asking, but why is this a forever good-bye?’ I asked. ‘I am old and she lives much too far away. I have challenges ahead, and the reality is, the next trip back will be for my funeral,’ he said. ‘When you were saying good-bye I heard you say, ‘I wish you enough.’ May I ask what that means?’

"He began to smile. ‘That’s a wish that has been handed down from other generations. My parents used to say it to everyone.’ He paused for a moment and looking up as if trying to remember it in detail, he smiled even more. ‘When we said, I wish you enough, we were wanting the other person to have a life filled with just enough good things to sustain them,’ he continued and turning toward me he shared the following as if he were reciting it from memory.

"’I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright. I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun more. I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive. I wish you enough pain so that the smallest joys in life appear much bigger. I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting. I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess. I wish you enough ‘Hello’s’ to get you through the final ‘Good-bye.’ He then began to sob and walked away. I wish you enough!"

The problem with Ahab is he doesn’t know when enough is enough. When he looks out of the window of his palace he sees a vineyard that happens to belong to Naboth. He wants the vineyard so he can plant a vegetable garden. That way he won’t have to go so far for his vegetables. It doesn’t matter to him that the vineyard has been in Naboth’s family for years. Nor does it matter to Ahab that a vineyard, any vineyard is a sign of God’s goodness and mercy. It’s sort of an Old Testament reminder of the things to come when Jesus will set apart the wine and the bread as a sign of God’s abiding presence. It’s also a reminder to us each time we celebrate the sacrament of the Lord’s Table. Ahab doesn’t realize that his wanting the vineyard is tantamount to performing a sacrilege not only against Naboth, but also against God.

So, Ahab approaches Naboth, tells him what he wants and is taken aback when Naboth refuses to give it to him. The way that Naboth refuses to give it to him is also telling. "The Lord forbid that I should give you my ancestral inheritance." The vineyard is Naboth’s birthright. It is a gift from God and, therefore, not really his to give away. Again, people take for granted the gifts that God gives them. They think that they have a right to do with them whatever they please. They think that they can abuse them. They think that they can ignore them. They think that somehow they have control over them, that these gifts are their rights, when they’re not. They are gifts given by a gracious God to care for, to cultivate, and to use to God’s glory and honor.

As you know, this past week I was at the General Assembly meeting in Louisville. On Tuesday, I was fortunate enough to have a signing party at the Cokesbury Bookstore display in the convention hall. I sat beside Ann Weems and Barrie Shepherd, two of the most gifted and most famous writers in the denomination. We tease a lot with each other, but the one thing that they’re both very serious about is, they realize the gift of writing God has given them. They both have a sense that God has endowed them with this special talent and it’s theirs to use for the benefit of the church. Sure, they make some money from royalties and speaking engagements across they church, but those are side benefits. They are both very humble people who realize that they are blessed with a gift of which they are to be good stewards. That’s why Naboth couldn’t or wouldn’t even consider trading his vineyard for another one that Ahab offered him. That vineyard was his birthright, given by God, over which he was to be a good steward.

Again, Ahab takes a wrong turn. Instead of letting the matter drop, he goes home, lies on his bed, is sullen, and refuses to eat. This is more that Jezebel can stomach and she takes matters into her own hands. She goes behind his back in a way, since she sends out letters, forges his name, and puts his seal on them. Of course, she is going to plot Naboth’s demise so that Ahab can have his vineyard. Well, she, being a foreigner, had no real respect for the laws and the religion of Israel, so how would she know that in plotting Naboth’s demise, she is going up against none other than God.

That’s when Elijah gets involved. "Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying: ‘Go down to meet King Ahab of Israel, who rules in Samaria; he is now in the vineyard of Naboth, where he has gone to take possession. You shall say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord: Have you killed, and also taken possession?’ You shall say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord: in the place where dogs licked up the blood of Naboth, dogs will also lick up your blood.’" That’s a pretty severe judgment! The point being, of course, is you can’t flaunt God. What is God’s to give is also God’s to take away. Ahab had no right to Naboth’s vineyard, and even though it was Jezebel who had Naboth killed, Ahab only compounded the error when he went along with her little scheme.

All of us have been given countless blessings by a loving and compassionate God. God cares so much for us that most of the gifts we receive are tailor made. They are as though God took into consideration what our strengths are, what our weaknesses are, and then matched those strengths and weaknesses with specific abilities for us to hone and perfect according to our abilities. The worst thing we can do is to misuse, abuse, or otherwise waste those gifts God gives us. When Ahab looked out the window of his palace he should have enjoyed the view of Naboth’s vineyard rather than wanting to plant a vegetable garden in it. He should have rejoiced that Naboth had been so blessed by God and not gotten God so angry. When the father said "good-bye" to his daughter at the airport he knew that enough was enough. When Barrie Shepherd and Ann Weems signed books at the General Assembly they knew that enough was enough. Oh sure, they both wanted to sign some of my books as well, but I wouldn’t let them!

It’s time all of us took inventory of the gifts God has tailor made for us. Let us thank God for each one of them. Let’s not spend any time at all wishing we had someone else’s gift. God’s tailor made them as well. Then let us use all of our gifts for the common good, so that in the end God’s name shall be glorified. Then we can all wish each other "enough!"

Thanks be to God,

Amen