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It made the headlines when it was first released. Magazines and newspapers were raving about it. Reviewers were giving it high ratings and crowds of people everywhere were rushing to see it. We rushed to see it in Minneapolis - where we were living at the time.

And we went not just to any theater, but to the amazing new Cinerama Theater with a 180--degree wraparound screen. Yes, we donned our special 3D glasses and watched the spectacular film. It was Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Truly prophetic and ahead of its time, 2001: A Space Odyssey portrayed a space voyage on an advanced space craft controlled by a massive computer named "Hal" - a computer which could speak to humans and respond to spoken commands. So long was the space voyage, people were put in a semicomatose state in specially controlled compartments so as not to age on the long journey.

Utilizing known space technology as well as science fiction fantasies, Kubrick's film portrayed not only a space voyage, but also a voyage of humans into a strange dimension where each one was to be redeveloped as an embryo and fetus and on into another life. Somewhat predictive, Arthur Clarke's book, on which the movie was based, foresaw in the 1960s space voyages that we actually would be making in the '70s, '80s, and '90s. And 2001 seemed a distant future when such fantasies might well come true.

But voyages and odysseys and pilgrimages are not the sole property of science fiction writers. Biblical writers, as well as Homer, have had the idea of odyssey or voyage or pilgrimage at the heart of their work for hundreds of years. If Arthur Clarke and Stanley Kubrick take us through the billions of miles of dark space, the biblical writers take us through the human adventure on the face of the earth. If Clarke and Kubrick stretch our imaginations to far--off distant civilizations and life forms, the biblical writers focus inward on the soul's odyssey and outward upon God who contains all the universe within his being.

If Clarke and Kubrick imagine 2001 as a breakthrough year for space exploration, the biblical writers would emphasize 2001 as a goal for an enlightened and enhanced faith voyage. Space odysseys are important and exciting, but faith odysseys are at the center of it all, say the biblical writers. To take the body to the moon is indeed "one small step for man, but one giant step for mankind." But to take the soul to its intended destination is the ultimate voyage, an odyssey surpassing the fantasies of even an Arthur Clarke.

And that is what our scripture text is all about - the odyssey of the soul, or lack thereof. It is about a 2001 faith odyssey that did not happen. It is about a failed mission, about a soul's arrested development and about a grand illusion. And it serves as both warning and inspiration for those who wish to be a part of the "2001 Faith Odyssey."

I.

First, consider the warning. It is this: beware of covetousness.

The Bible is full of warnings about covetousness. The last of the Ten Commandments warns, "Thou shalt not covet" - not covet anything that is thy neighbor's - his wife, his property. The prophets warn repeatedly against amassing wealth at the expense of the poor and the cause of justice. Paul speaks against making an idol of ruthless greed and alerts Christians to the fallacy of placing one's ultimate hopes on anything so uncertain as money. To his disciples' amazement, Jesus commented that it was easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man or woman to go to heaven.

But covetousness gets high marks in the lives of many of us. As the young lady in the business suit and sneakers tells the C.E.O. of a big corporation, "Please, sir, I want it all, now!" Many of us want it all, now! Greed becomes compulsive in many of us. We acquire not only thing after thing, but experience after experience, often without thought of the soul. Determined to satisfy every sensory nerve ending, greed is as much at the root of today's sexual libertinism as are eros and lust. And then with sated and bored nerve endings, we turn more and more to violence to stimulate a weary body and vacant soul.

The rich man of our text, or rich fool as Jesus calls him, seems to be such a man. He has been richly blessed with abundant harvests, so much so he has to tear down his barns to build bigger ones. It then dawns upon him that he has enough to retire as a wealthy man. He doesn't have to work another day of his life. And so he says to himself, "I finally have it made. I can eat, drink, and be merry with no worry about tomorrow. The good life has arrived, let the good times begin."

Since money is a preoccupation for most of us, I like to look at Fortune Magazine's annual list of the 400 wealthiest people. Two of the world's wealthiest people are college dropouts - Bill Gates of Microsoft, and his one--time partner and Microsoft's largest single stockholder, Paul Allen. Gates, married with one child, is the world's richest man worth many billions, and Allen, single, is worth half as much. Starting with IBM and parlaying a $50,000 investment into a fortune, Gates is now seeking to dominate the Internet. And Paul Allen, when he is not strumming his guitar, tries to invest successfully in the technological vanguard.

Warren Buffet, Omaha's investment genius, now in his late sixties and separated from his wife for a number of years, parlayed a $100,000 investment partnership into his present multibillion net worth. Laurence Ellison, thrice--divorced head of Oracle Corporation, also a college dropout, is worth many billion dollars. These men do not need bigger barns for their fortunes, but bigger banks and businesses which return an even greater harvest of fortune.

What might Jesus say today to Bill Gates or Paul Allen, or to Warren Buffet or Laurence Ellison? Would he advise them to stop making money? Would he suggest they sell out and join a monastery? Would Jesus require them to liquidate and give everything to the poor? Would he suggest that money is filthy lucre and that they ought not to be involved in the business world at all? Would he advise them to convert their companies to a complete socialist system where all had equal amounts and equal authority?

Not necessarily. Jesus never advised poverty as the ideal. He never condemned honest and productive business practices. He did not even condemn the accumulation of money as such. But what he did warn against and condemn was covetousness - covetousness which is greed and selfishness, covetousness which becomes ruthless and compulsively acquisitive, covetousness which degenerates into a mere hedonism which can think of nothing better to do with its money than "to eat, drink, and be merry."

Alas, it is sad to say, but Bill Gates, in his forties, worth many billion, and Warren Buffet, in his sixties, worth billions, and Laurence Ellison, in his fifties, and worth billions - and others nearly as rich, far richer than the man in our biblical story - yes, it is sad to say, but alas, they all will die. "Whose then will their fortunes be?"

And lest those of us worth a mere million or two or three, a trifling hundred thousand or two think we are immune from death and the threat of covetousness, think again. Covetousness is not a condition of financial assets; it is a condition of the soul. And the strange truth is that a poor man can be just as covetous or more as a rich man. Greed comes in no fixed dollar amount. Lust and compulsive acquisitiveness can infect the beggar as well as the billionaire.

In the 2001 faith odyssey, this is Jesus' warning to all, rich and poor alike: beware of covetousness.

II.

If this story of the rich fool serves as a warning to us all, it also serves as an inspiration. We are not to lay up treasures for ourselves, without being rich toward God, says Jesus. That's the inspiration - to be rich toward God.

When Christianity first began in 30 A.D., it attracted mostly poor people - people who were not born to nobility and fortune and to social and political connections. In one of his earlier letters, Paul writes to the Corinthians noting that "not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth" and not many had wealth (1 Corinthians 1:26--29).

But near the end of his life Paul had to write differently in his First Letter to Timothy. He said, "As for the rich in this world, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on uncertain riches but on God who richly furnishes us with everything to enjoy." And then after the warning to the well--to--do Christians, Paul gives them the inspiration. He says, "They are to do good, to be rich in good deeds, liberal and generous, thus laying up for themselves a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of the life which is life indeed" (1 Timothy 6:17--19).

You might wish to inquire about the good deeds and liberality and generosity of some of the world's richest people. Bill Gates, as a youth, once earned a free dinner from his Congregational pastor for memorizing the Sermon on the Mount. However, until recently the public record did not show overwhelming philanthropy on the part of Bill Gates. His former partner, Paul Allen, is another story. He gives generously to AIDS research, to libraries, to museums and public causes, and employs his sister to oversee his charitable foundation. Do you suppose the fact that Paul Allen was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Disease (now in remission) has anything to do with laying up a good foundation for the future?

But laying up a good foundation for the future applies not only to the very wealthy, but to all of us. Just as Jesus warned against covetousness for the rich and not--so--rich alike, so he would inspire us all to do good works with our money, to send us strongly on our way in our faith odyssey beyond 2001.

The truth is, most of us are now benefitting from those in the past who invested in our future. How many of us attended college or university or graduate school at reduced cost because someone helped endow it? At one of my seminaries, I was the beneficiary of greatly reduced education costs because of a family foundation which gave very substantial endowments to the seminary. Not only did I benefit, every church I have ever served has benefitted. In a very real sense, that devoted family helped pay their costs and mine for ministerial education.

At a church's board meeting, a member suggested that endowment funds were not a high priority for her and for the church. But I pointed out that her children, when they go to college, will go at greatly reduced costs because most colleges have sizable endowment incomes to make education somewhat more affordable.

And now I have a challenge, an inspiration for you. I lately have been speaking with heads of development departments in seminaries. Dr. David Cassell, of Princeton Theological Seminary, told me of their successful program to endow a professorial chair in a given field. They have successfully raised sufficient monies so that many professors receive their total compensation from that specific endowment fund designated for that purpose.

They have a man who is leaving them enough in his estate to endow two professorships of preaching at Princeton. So much does this man believe in the importance of preaching, he wants to make sure it will be well--taught not only in the year 2001, but in perpetuity. And this same man has already set up a similar professorship at my alma mater, Union Theological Seminary in New York City. As a consequence, the overall operating costs of these seminaries are greatly reduced because of these designated endowments.

How about you? Would you be willing to donate sufficient monies to the church to endow the position of Senior Minister not only for the year 2001, but in perpetuity? A million dollars would do it! And the income from it, designated to fund the Senior Minister preaching position in perpetuity, would be an enormous financial boost to the church.

But the odyssey beyond 2001 is not just for those of us with considerable sums of money to invest in God's future work. The faith odyssey is for us all - for the widow giving her mite which was her all, giving at 100 percent. Or whether it means stepping up our annual pledge from one percent of income to two or three percent, or whether it means getting on board for a dollar a day to help us continue beyond 2001 healthy and well.

Some people believe they can just go buy their educational or religious experience when they want it. Possibly they can. But many times they can afford it only because somebody already helped them purchase their education or religion through endowments. And most of us are buying our religious experience in a building paid for by others and with a budget subsidized by others - previous generations who believed in the church and its future who wanted to share the costs with you and me.

Now it is up to you and me. Will we reach beyond 2001 in our faith odyssey? Will the church be strong and well when our children and grandchildren need it? It will be if we heed Jesus' warning against covetousness and his challenge toward generosity. We need to lay up treasure in heaven and so be rich toward God, because our faith odyssey is not only to the year 2001, but to eternity, where our soul, like that of the rich farmer, will meet its Maker.


Prayer

Almighty God, who within the restless, creative brooding of your mind and Spirit has brought the universe into being and set it in motion for the adventure of far--off fulfillment; and who, within the yearning of your heart of love has fashioned us in your image for the soul's pilgrimage in faith and hope and love, we bow before you in your majesty, and worship and adore you as source of all we are and can become.

We praise you and give you thanks for those who have preceded us in life and faith, parents and grandparents, who by steadfastness and persistence led exemplary lives and upheld values crucial for all generations. We are indebted to teachers and guides, mentors and ministers, counselors and contributors, seen and unseen, who have made our lives better and richer and easier. We thank you, O God, for these stalwarts of faith and hope and love who have blessed us more than we know.

But if we look to the past in grateful memory, we would look to the future in steadfast hope. If we are advanced in years, grant us good health and a vital faith. Enable us to meet the challenges of each new stage of life and to make life--altering decisions in a timely way.

If we are in our younger days, give us a new vision of your cause in the world and deepen our perspective on what is truly real and important. Help us in all our gaining and getting to develop spiritually most of all.

And if we are in our middle years, some in and some out of the mid--life crisis, some in the sandwich generation, squeezed between parents and children alike, save us from discouragement and give us a new hope beyond our current successes or failures. Lift our eyes to the new and distant horizons with minds and hearts devoted to you. Cause us always to remember we are pilgrims and exiles on the earth, sojourners to your everlasting kingdom. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.