7th after Trinity
Readings: Ecclesiastes 1v2&12-14 and 2v18-23; Psalm 49v1-12; Colossians 3v1-11; Luke 12v13-21.
Let us pray: May the words of my mouth and the thoughts and meditations of all our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our strength and our redeemer.
A Word: In the readings today we are challenged to consider our lives and prompted to take action to avoid living pointless lives and to live lives with purpose.
In the book Ecclesiastes, we hear all sorts of pessimistic thoughts about the way we humans live. We hear how pointless it is to pursue all of the things we spend so much time chasing after. For it is so easy to set our sights on gaining wealth, possessions and an expensive lifestyle. However, as the writer tells us, in the end all of the effort we put into getting and gathering proves to be futile, empty and meaningless. For whatever we gather and gain will one day belong to someone else. I believe that this reading is a clear warning that all of this pursuit of things is all quite pointless. This reading also offers us a challenge to question what we spend our lives doing and to avoid all that is empty and meaningless. For surely there must be something that gives point and purpose to our limited lives here on earth!
The pessimistic message of Ecclesiastes is echoed in the psalm. For it reminds us that there is nothing that we can give to pay God the ransom required to redeem our souls. A message that applies to all people: the rich and the poor, those low and high born, the foolish and the wise. For one day every person will die and only those with redeemed souls will go on to live forever. The psalm is a warning to us telling us that our souls need to be rescued. It also tells us quite clearly that there is nothing that we can do or give to redeem our souls. I believe that this plain and clear message is a challenge to look to God who is the only one who can rescue our souls. For, if we do, we will not only be looking beyond ourselves but also finding real meaning and purpose for our lives.
In Luke, we hear Jesus teaching the same message heard in Ecclesiastes and the psalm. For his parable shows us that we are wasting our lives if our only concern is to selfishly gather an abundance of what we need and want for ourselves. For, as the parable makes plain, no matter how hard we work in life, one day everything we have striven so hard to gather and possess will have to be given up on the day that we die. I believe that this parable is a warning to avoid being self-interested and greedy. For, as Jesus tells us, we are to store up treasure for ourselves in heaven.
In Colossians we hear an echo of Jesus’ teaching. For Paul says we are called to set our minds on things of heaven and to put to death all earthly things. Paul says this because we have a new life in Jesus and have been clothed with a new self. I believe that this teaching points us to the place where we can find the inspiration we need to find better ways of living. For, if we look to heaven, we can learn about Godly ways of living. Then, if we live our lives following Godly ways of living, then our lives will have purpose and meaning, I believe that this is what Jesus was telling us about when he taught that we are to store up treasure for ourselves in heaven.
So today, we are called to open our eyes and see our lives as God sees them. We are called to open our minds and take stock of how we have lived our lives so far. We are called to ask God to help us understand how we are using our lives. For it is only in doing all of this that we can adjust our lives by avoiding the temptation to run after a pointless life and choose to live with Godly purpose; and, in so doing, find ourselves redeemed by God and given a place in heaven.
Let us Pray: Lord of all power and might, whose son is the source of life; make us perfect in his love so we may share in his glory. Graft into our hearts the love of God and increase in us true worship, for the sake of Jesus who died for us. Amen
Thanks for joining us today.