Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost, Revised Common Lectionary, July 31, 2016
Ecclesiastes 1-2, Colossians 3:1-11, Psalm 49:1-12, Luke 12:13-21
Hope International Mission
By Young Kim
We are going to read the Bible lessons in a different way today. Let us hear from several wise men in the Bible regarding materialism.
Psalm 49
Hear this, all you nations. Listen, all you who live in this world.
C: Lord, we are listening
Listen, people, whether you are ordinary or important. Listen, people, whether you are rich or poor.
C: Lord, we are listening
My mouth will speak wise words. What I think about in my heart will give you understanding.
C: Lord we long for your understanding
Sinners trust in their wealth. They brag about how rich they are. No one can pay for the life of anyone else. No one can give God what that would cost. The price for a life is very high. No payment is ever enough. No one can pay enough to live forever and not rot in the grave.
C: But our Lord, Jesus Christ, had paid for our sins and gave us the eternal life.
Everyone can see that even wise people die. People who are foolish and who have no sense also pass away. All of them leave their wealth to others.
Don’t get too upset when other people become rich. Don’t be troubled when they become more and more wealthy. They won’t take anything with them when they die. Their riches won’t go down to the grave with them.
While they lived, they believed they were blessed. People praised them when things were going well for them. But they will die, like their people of long ago. They will never again see the light of life. People who have riches but don’t understand are like the animals. They die.
And all God’s people say
C: Amen.
Reflection
Let’s take a moment to think about the basic question. What do we live for? What is the purpose of our life? The writer calls all people to listen to his song. The writer is telling us that whether you are ordinary or important, rich or poor, each one of us is running towards the same goal with the same purpose. But many people forget about this final destination and focuses solely on the present, especially the materialistic things—things that we can collect and things that can entertain us. The rich people boast about their rich and ignore others who cannot possess as much as they do. And at the same time the poor people complain about their poor and become obsessed about money to have as much as others have. The writer of this psalm tells us that both the rich and the poor have their heart taken away by the materials and have become slaves of money. But no one can boast about anything, because we will all die at the end. And when we die, none of us can take our possessions or reputation. These things that we leave behind will eventually be taken away by the ones who have not worked hard to obtain them. Hearing this text, we may easily feel that life is so in vain, so meaningless. But the writer of this psalm also tells us that we are missing something very important. King Solomon who had all the rich, wisdom and fame said at the end of his year that all things are in vain in the Ecclesiastes. Let’s see what he said to figure out what it is that we are missing.
Ecclesiastes 1-2
“Meaningless! Everything is meaningless!” says the Teacher. “Everything is completely meaningless! Nothing has any meaning.”
What do people get for all their work? Why do they work so hard on this earth?
People come and people go. But the earth remains forever.
I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem. I decided to study things carefully. I used my wisdom to check everything out. I looked into everything that is done on earth. What a heavy load God has put on human beings! I’ve seen what is done on this earth. All of it is meaningless. It’s like chasing the wind.
Then I used my mind to understand what it really means to be wise. And I wanted to know what foolish pleasure is all about. But I found out that it’s also like chasing the wind.
I gave myself everything my eyes wanted. There wasn’t any pleasure that I refused to give myself. I took delight in everything I did. And that was what I got for all my work.
But then I looked over everything my hands had done. I saw what I had worked so hard to get.
And nothing had any meaning. It was like chasing the wind. Nothing was gained on this earth.
A person can’t do anything better than eat, drink and be satisfied with their work. I’m finally seeing that those things also come from the hand of God. Without his help, who can eat or find pleasure?
Reflection
This is what king Solomon confessed at the end of his life, but he was not the only one who felt such vanity and emptiness. We all carry inside of us certain emptiness and greed at the same time. Now then, let’s see what Jesus tells us about our life.
Luke 12:13-21
Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.” But he said to him, “Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?” And he said to them, “Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.” Then he told them a parable: “The land of a rich man produced abundantly. And he thought to himself, ‘What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?’ Then he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God.”
Reflection
In the middle of Jesus’ teaching, someone in the crowd interrupted Jesus by asking to take his side on the dispute to divide the family inheritance with his brother. In the middle of life- giving lesson from Jesus, this guy only focused on the earthly thing and was angry with his brother for not giving him his part of inheritance. People at that time used to go to rabbi to ask wisdom on legal issues, so he may have thought that he could use the authority of this famous rabbi and take back his right for what he was supposed to have from his brother.
Jesus instead gave another lesson and said, “Watch out! Be on your guard against wanting to have more and more things. Life is not made up of how much a person has.” It may have seemed like the man was only asking for his legal right, but Jesus saw the greed inside the man’s heart, for he didn’t even work hard for it and he simply tried to take advantage from his ancestors’ possessions for free.
But the sad thing here is that Jesus’ teaching about the need for full commitment and God’s care for us couldn’t penetrate his heart to inspire him. We admit that we may be just the same as this person. We read the Bible and we listen to so many sermons on God’s provision and Jesus’ redemption, but we always focus on our own life and put ourselves as the first priority. We pull Jesus into our desires and pray that God listen to our own will and needs.
Jesus says, “One’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.” Life is not defined by what you have, whether you have a lot or none. Jesus taught us again in the Lord’s Prayer, “Give us each day our daily bread” Jesus knew well enough that we have our essential physical needs, since he was once a human being, too. He was hungry, he was tired, he was cold… he felt everything that human suffers in this world. So Jesus taught us to pray for our daily bread. But why is it daily bread? His point is that we only need our daily bread, the minimum need to maintain our life. He doesn’t teach us to pile up our possessions, hoard material things, and deposit a lot of money in the bank to feel satisfied and secured. Instead, Jesus taught us that we believe in God who knows the need of the birds in the air and feeds them every day, and that this same God knows our daily needs and listens to our prayers. And by telling us to pray for our daily bread, Jesus is also implying that we should pray daily without ceasing every day.
But we have to know that Jesus didn’t degrade the importance of labor or receiving the compensation after the hard work. And it is a natural thing to feel satisfied and secured when we have enough in store. What Jesus is warning us here is that we have to be careful with all kinds of greed inside of us. But as I mentioned before, this greedy mind not only comes from abundance but also from lack of things.
So to teach us and this angry man, Jesus tells us a story regarding a foolish rich man. The land of a rich man produced abundantly. And it was a result after his hard work as it is the order of nature. But looking at the huge accumulations, the man thought to himself and started to worry and trouble about not having enough space to store all the grains. Finally, he made a decision to pull down his barns and build larger ones to store all of the crops. And then, he said to himself, “My soul, my soul, you have enough goods laid up for many years; therefore, relax, eat, drink, be merry.” It was his right to have all the crops and goods. It seemed fair that this rich man tried to enjoy his richness. But he was missing one thing. So Jesus told him, “You fool, this very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?” Why did Jesus call him a fool? It is because all he has was from God. In Biblical sense, the great result from his land was God’s provision of good weather including enough rain. Without God’s help, he would not have been able to reap any crops. But he never gave thanks to God. Also, God gave him his life and soul, but he didn’t acknowledge that his life and his soul belonged to God not him.
What do you see in this story? Did you find any similarities with your own life story? Are you trying to store up treasures for yourself here in this world? Are you only paying attention on how to live well and what to do to feel satisfied? Is your soul rich or poor to God? Do you consider God as your priority and is God the center of your life? I want you to think seriously about this matter.
Feeling satisfied for something means that there also is a sense of longingness and desire for that something. Let us look back to ourselves to see what we are longing for and what we desire. Are we longing to know about who God is? Do we desire to know what God wants from us? Like I said, it takes a lot of effort to become rich. It is the order of nature. And this rule works the same way in our spiritual world. In order to be rich toward God, we need to put a lot of effort to it. We need the desire and effort to study God’s Word to know more about God, desire and effort to pray to God to seek His will, and the desire and effort to concentrate on the worship to meet with God who comes to be present with us. This letter from the Apostle Paul to the church in Colossians will help us to reflect on how much effort we put on God compared to how much we put our effort to survive in this world.
Colossians 3
You have been raised up with Christ. So think about things that are in heaven. That is where Christ is. He is sitting at God’s right hand. Think about things that are in heaven. Don’t think about things that are only on earth. You died. Now your life is hidden with Christ in God. Christ is your life. When he appears again, you also will appear with him in heaven’s glory.
You are God’s chosen people. You are holy and dearly loved. So put on tender mercy and kindness as if they were your clothes. Don’t be proud. Be gentle and patient. Put up with one another. Forgive one another if you are holding something against someone. Forgive, just as the Lord forgave you. And over all these good things put on love. Love holds them all together perfectly as if they were one.
Let the peace that Christ gives rule in your hearts. As parts of one body, you were appointed to live in peace. And be thankful. Let the message about Christ live among you like a rich treasure. Teach and correct one another wisely. Teach one another by singing psalms and hymns and songs from the Spirit. Sing to God with thanks in your hearts. Do everything you say or do in the name of the Lord Jesus. Always give thanks to God the Father through Christ.
Reflection
Now Paul insists us to think about the things that are in heaven and not about the things that are only on earth. He gives us some good examples how to be rich in God. Since we are God’s chosen people, we have to live accordingly with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Just like Jesus taught us in the Lord's Prayer, forgive others just as the Lord forgave you. Let the peace of Christ rule in your heart and be thankful all the time. Let the message of Christ dwell in you and consider it as a rich treasure. And most importantly, always give thanks to God in your every circumstance and in every place. Because God loves you. God cares for you. You are God's beloved one. God never forgets you. God never forsakes you whenever you call on God's name. Put your trust only in God and not on earthly things since it will eventually decay and disappear. May God's abundant grace and mercy be upon each and every one of you today and always.
Amen.
Ecclesiastes 1-2, Colossians 3:1-11, Psalm 49:1-12, Luke 12:13-21
Hope International Mission
By Young Kim
We are going to read the Bible lessons in a different way today. Let us hear from several wise men in the Bible regarding materialism.
Psalm 49
Hear this, all you nations. Listen, all you who live in this world.
C: Lord, we are listening
Listen, people, whether you are ordinary or important. Listen, people, whether you are rich or poor.
C: Lord, we are listening
My mouth will speak wise words. What I think about in my heart will give you understanding.
C: Lord we long for your understanding
Sinners trust in their wealth. They brag about how rich they are. No one can pay for the life of anyone else. No one can give God what that would cost. The price for a life is very high. No payment is ever enough. No one can pay enough to live forever and not rot in the grave.
C: But our Lord, Jesus Christ, had paid for our sins and gave us the eternal life.
Everyone can see that even wise people die. People who are foolish and who have no sense also pass away. All of them leave their wealth to others.
Don’t get too upset when other people become rich. Don’t be troubled when they become more and more wealthy. They won’t take anything with them when they die. Their riches won’t go down to the grave with them.
While they lived, they believed they were blessed. People praised them when things were going well for them. But they will die, like their people of long ago. They will never again see the light of life. People who have riches but don’t understand are like the animals. They die.
And all God’s people say
C: Amen.
Reflection
Let’s take a moment to think about the basic question. What do we live for? What is the purpose of our life? The writer calls all people to listen to his song. The writer is telling us that whether you are ordinary or important, rich or poor, each one of us is running towards the same goal with the same purpose. But many people forget about this final destination and focuses solely on the present, especially the materialistic things—things that we can collect and things that can entertain us. The rich people boast about their rich and ignore others who cannot possess as much as they do. And at the same time the poor people complain about their poor and become obsessed about money to have as much as others have. The writer of this psalm tells us that both the rich and the poor have their heart taken away by the materials and have become slaves of money. But no one can boast about anything, because we will all die at the end. And when we die, none of us can take our possessions or reputation. These things that we leave behind will eventually be taken away by the ones who have not worked hard to obtain them. Hearing this text, we may easily feel that life is so in vain, so meaningless. But the writer of this psalm also tells us that we are missing something very important. King Solomon who had all the rich, wisdom and fame said at the end of his year that all things are in vain in the Ecclesiastes. Let’s see what he said to figure out what it is that we are missing.
Ecclesiastes 1-2
“Meaningless! Everything is meaningless!” says the Teacher. “Everything is completely meaningless! Nothing has any meaning.”
What do people get for all their work? Why do they work so hard on this earth?
People come and people go. But the earth remains forever.
I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem. I decided to study things carefully. I used my wisdom to check everything out. I looked into everything that is done on earth. What a heavy load God has put on human beings! I’ve seen what is done on this earth. All of it is meaningless. It’s like chasing the wind.
Then I used my mind to understand what it really means to be wise. And I wanted to know what foolish pleasure is all about. But I found out that it’s also like chasing the wind.
I gave myself everything my eyes wanted. There wasn’t any pleasure that I refused to give myself. I took delight in everything I did. And that was what I got for all my work.
But then I looked over everything my hands had done. I saw what I had worked so hard to get.
And nothing had any meaning. It was like chasing the wind. Nothing was gained on this earth.
A person can’t do anything better than eat, drink and be satisfied with their work. I’m finally seeing that those things also come from the hand of God. Without his help, who can eat or find pleasure?
Reflection
This is what king Solomon confessed at the end of his life, but he was not the only one who felt such vanity and emptiness. We all carry inside of us certain emptiness and greed at the same time. Now then, let’s see what Jesus tells us about our life.
Luke 12:13-21
Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.” But he said to him, “Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?” And he said to them, “Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.” Then he told them a parable: “The land of a rich man produced abundantly. And he thought to himself, ‘What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?’ Then he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God.”
Reflection
In the middle of Jesus’ teaching, someone in the crowd interrupted Jesus by asking to take his side on the dispute to divide the family inheritance with his brother. In the middle of life- giving lesson from Jesus, this guy only focused on the earthly thing and was angry with his brother for not giving him his part of inheritance. People at that time used to go to rabbi to ask wisdom on legal issues, so he may have thought that he could use the authority of this famous rabbi and take back his right for what he was supposed to have from his brother.
Jesus instead gave another lesson and said, “Watch out! Be on your guard against wanting to have more and more things. Life is not made up of how much a person has.” It may have seemed like the man was only asking for his legal right, but Jesus saw the greed inside the man’s heart, for he didn’t even work hard for it and he simply tried to take advantage from his ancestors’ possessions for free.
But the sad thing here is that Jesus’ teaching about the need for full commitment and God’s care for us couldn’t penetrate his heart to inspire him. We admit that we may be just the same as this person. We read the Bible and we listen to so many sermons on God’s provision and Jesus’ redemption, but we always focus on our own life and put ourselves as the first priority. We pull Jesus into our desires and pray that God listen to our own will and needs.
Jesus says, “One’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.” Life is not defined by what you have, whether you have a lot or none. Jesus taught us again in the Lord’s Prayer, “Give us each day our daily bread” Jesus knew well enough that we have our essential physical needs, since he was once a human being, too. He was hungry, he was tired, he was cold… he felt everything that human suffers in this world. So Jesus taught us to pray for our daily bread. But why is it daily bread? His point is that we only need our daily bread, the minimum need to maintain our life. He doesn’t teach us to pile up our possessions, hoard material things, and deposit a lot of money in the bank to feel satisfied and secured. Instead, Jesus taught us that we believe in God who knows the need of the birds in the air and feeds them every day, and that this same God knows our daily needs and listens to our prayers. And by telling us to pray for our daily bread, Jesus is also implying that we should pray daily without ceasing every day.
But we have to know that Jesus didn’t degrade the importance of labor or receiving the compensation after the hard work. And it is a natural thing to feel satisfied and secured when we have enough in store. What Jesus is warning us here is that we have to be careful with all kinds of greed inside of us. But as I mentioned before, this greedy mind not only comes from abundance but also from lack of things.
So to teach us and this angry man, Jesus tells us a story regarding a foolish rich man. The land of a rich man produced abundantly. And it was a result after his hard work as it is the order of nature. But looking at the huge accumulations, the man thought to himself and started to worry and trouble about not having enough space to store all the grains. Finally, he made a decision to pull down his barns and build larger ones to store all of the crops. And then, he said to himself, “My soul, my soul, you have enough goods laid up for many years; therefore, relax, eat, drink, be merry.” It was his right to have all the crops and goods. It seemed fair that this rich man tried to enjoy his richness. But he was missing one thing. So Jesus told him, “You fool, this very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?” Why did Jesus call him a fool? It is because all he has was from God. In Biblical sense, the great result from his land was God’s provision of good weather including enough rain. Without God’s help, he would not have been able to reap any crops. But he never gave thanks to God. Also, God gave him his life and soul, but he didn’t acknowledge that his life and his soul belonged to God not him.
What do you see in this story? Did you find any similarities with your own life story? Are you trying to store up treasures for yourself here in this world? Are you only paying attention on how to live well and what to do to feel satisfied? Is your soul rich or poor to God? Do you consider God as your priority and is God the center of your life? I want you to think seriously about this matter.
Feeling satisfied for something means that there also is a sense of longingness and desire for that something. Let us look back to ourselves to see what we are longing for and what we desire. Are we longing to know about who God is? Do we desire to know what God wants from us? Like I said, it takes a lot of effort to become rich. It is the order of nature. And this rule works the same way in our spiritual world. In order to be rich toward God, we need to put a lot of effort to it. We need the desire and effort to study God’s Word to know more about God, desire and effort to pray to God to seek His will, and the desire and effort to concentrate on the worship to meet with God who comes to be present with us. This letter from the Apostle Paul to the church in Colossians will help us to reflect on how much effort we put on God compared to how much we put our effort to survive in this world.
Colossians 3
You have been raised up with Christ. So think about things that are in heaven. That is where Christ is. He is sitting at God’s right hand. Think about things that are in heaven. Don’t think about things that are only on earth. You died. Now your life is hidden with Christ in God. Christ is your life. When he appears again, you also will appear with him in heaven’s glory.
You are God’s chosen people. You are holy and dearly loved. So put on tender mercy and kindness as if they were your clothes. Don’t be proud. Be gentle and patient. Put up with one another. Forgive one another if you are holding something against someone. Forgive, just as the Lord forgave you. And over all these good things put on love. Love holds them all together perfectly as if they were one.
Let the peace that Christ gives rule in your hearts. As parts of one body, you were appointed to live in peace. And be thankful. Let the message about Christ live among you like a rich treasure. Teach and correct one another wisely. Teach one another by singing psalms and hymns and songs from the Spirit. Sing to God with thanks in your hearts. Do everything you say or do in the name of the Lord Jesus. Always give thanks to God the Father through Christ.
Reflection
Now Paul insists us to think about the things that are in heaven and not about the things that are only on earth. He gives us some good examples how to be rich in God. Since we are God’s chosen people, we have to live accordingly with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Just like Jesus taught us in the Lord's Prayer, forgive others just as the Lord forgave you. Let the peace of Christ rule in your heart and be thankful all the time. Let the message of Christ dwell in you and consider it as a rich treasure. And most importantly, always give thanks to God in your every circumstance and in every place. Because God loves you. God cares for you. You are God's beloved one. God never forgets you. God never forsakes you whenever you call on God's name. Put your trust only in God and not on earthly things since it will eventually decay and disappear. May God's abundant grace and mercy be upon each and every one of you today and always.
Amen.