Ninth Sunday in Pentecost
Ecclesiastes 1:2:12-14; 2:18-23
Psalm 49:1-11
Colossians 3:1-11
Luke 12:13-21
So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.
Everything is meaningless, so we hear in today’s Old Testament lesson. Vicki was with me as I was reading the scripture and I commented about the interesting perspective of the wise teacher in this passage. She asked, “If everything about this life is meaningless, then why are we here? Why do I have to go to school? Why do we bother?” We got into a long discussion about the passages and the meaning of life.
The point of this passage is not to be woeful about the meaninglessness of living in this world. There is a purpose for our earthly flesh, for God does not create worthless things. We have to look at the verse in light of the rest of the passage. The theme of this week’s scripture is not about life itself but about our focus in life, most particularly about greed. It is about stewardship of our time, our talents and our possessions.
It is interesting that the NIV translates the first word in this passage “meaningless.” We look at that and think like Vicki that we shouldn’t even bother. If this life is pointless, why does God make us live through it? Give us heaven and give it to us now. However, there is a reason and it is because there are many who have not yet discovered the peace of the Gospel or the love of Christ, and we are here to be witnesses so that they too will know Him and be saved.
The Message Bible says, “Smoke, nothing but smoke. [That's what the Quester says.] There's nothing to anything--it's all smoke.” Other versions of the Bible translate this first line, “Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher; vanity of vanities, all is vanity.” What is the meaning of this passage? What is vanity?
We look further into the reading and we see the teacher lamenting the fact that everything he has done in this life will be left behind to another when he passes into death. He does not know if our heirs will ever appreciate what they inherit or if they will even be good stewards of the gift. We do not know if they will be wise men or fools. When we die, all that we have worked hard to accumulate will be beyond our grasp.
A few days ago Zack and I were talking about some ancient religious practices, including the Egyptian practice of burying the pharaoh with a household of good things for his afterlife. Pets, servants, food and everything they would need were provided in their tomb for their journey. This practice was not limited to those with wealth, power and authority or only in Egypt. In many societies the common man was buried with important implements of their life. The farmer was given a plow, the doctor his tools. A grave of a Saxon warrior was unearthed in England while we lived there. He was buried with his horse and his sword.
These practices are meaningless. What good are a dead horse and a sword for a dead man? The food in the pharaoh’s tomb spoiled, his earthly goods were stolen by grave robbers. The lives of the servants and pets were wasted. None of these things are eternal and even if those of those other faiths have a possibility of eternal life beyond the grave, the perishable will never become imperishable. We don’t need worldly goods when we die, so why do we chase after them while we are alive?
The teacher in Ecclesiastes asks what we are working so hard to accomplish. “For all his days are but sorrows, and his travail is grief; yea, even in the night his heart taketh no rest. This also is vanity.” We worry and rush about doing many things that are nothing but vanity. Again we ask, what is vanity? It is self-centeredness. It is focusing on the wrong things. It is making sure that we have everything we want, everything we think we need. It is a rushing after many things, hoarding of our blessings. It is like the man who puts every penny in the bank so that he will have many pennies.
In today’s Gospel lesson, Jesus tells the story of such a man. He was approached by a man who wanted Jesus to act as judge in a cast between two brothers. He wanted a portion of his brother’s inheritance. Jesus answered, “Take heed, and keep yourselves from all covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.” Then He told a parable about a man who had such a prosperous harvest that he decided to build bigger barns to store it all. Another translation for the word for ‘store’ in this passage is ‘bestow.’ This word can mean several things. It can apply to this situation by meaning ‘to put in an appropriate place’ or ‘to provide with quarters.’ And yet, what good is grain that is hidden away in barn? The answer to the man’s query “What shall I do, because I have not where to bestow my fruits?” could just as easily been answered with the other meanings – to put to use or to convey as a gift. The extra harvest could easily have been used by those who are hungry, shared with his neighbors.
To add to his arrogance, the man in the parable said, “And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, be merry.” What good does it do for our souls to have such earthly possessions? Will extra grain save us from death? Of course not. Jesus finished the parable with an answer from God. “But God said unto him, Thou foolish one, this night is thy soul required of thee; and the things which thou hast prepared, whose shall they be?” It is meaningless to store up extra things in our barns because one day they will be given to another. We can’t take them with us into death.
So, why do we bother? What is the purpose of it all if it is meaningless? Why do my kids bother going to school to get an education? Why do we bother even getting out of bed in the morning to go to work again if it is all vanity? Jesus answers that question with the final verse of this passage. “So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.” It is about the focus of our hearts.
Our human nature is like that of the man in the parable. We tend to think of ourselves and what we can do to make our lives better. We work and save; we hoard our blessings and think that those things will save us. We look to our financial independence as our security and we put our leftovers in bank accounts for tomorrow. We are like the man who says, “And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, be merry.” It is about us.
Jesus calls us to be rich toward God. Our life is not meaningless, but our striving after things is vanity. God created us for a purpose, He has given us many gifts to use for His glory. We are a new creation in Christ and in Christ we are called to manifest His grace to the world. Paul writes in our epistle lesson for today, “Set your mind on the things that are above, not on the things that are upon the earth.”
When I was talking with Vicki yesterday, I asked her about all the gifts we have been given. She has been listening during church because she was familiar with the trinity of our offering – money, time and talent. We talked about our understanding of these gifts and how they relate to our message today. Our money, when used solely for ourselves, is meaningless and vanity. Yet, money itself is not bad. When we are rich toward God, we give the fruit of our labor to honor Him. The same is true of our time. We vainly run after busy schedules, fill every moment with work or play. We take our kids to every possible activity. It is all meaningless and vanity. Yet, time is a gift to be used for God’s glory. We aren’t being asked to sit around doing nothing. He calls us to live every moment for Him. Again, it is true of our talents. The abilities we have are gifts from God, gifts that have been given for a purpose. That purpose is to glorify God. “When Christ, who is our life, shall be manifested, then shall ye also with him be manifested in glory.” We are called to use our money, time and talent to bring the Gospel to the world, and when we do so we make Christ known. This is our purpose, the reason for our blessings.
Using our money, time and talent to glorify ourselves is meaningless. Using our money, time and talent to glorify God is not. In the end it we will share in His glory.
Paul lists a great many ways our self-centeredness manifests in this world and it is not a pretty sight. He encourages us to put those attitudes away, to be the new creation we are in Christ Jesus and live for Him. He reminds us that we are not alone in this, that all those who believe, no matter who they are, become part of Christ and will share in His glory. Paul writes, “…and have put on the new man, that is being renewed unto knowledge after the image of him that created him: where there cannot be Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, bondman, freeman; but Christ is all, and in all.” This is why we were created; this is our reason for life.
The Psalm for this day shows us that this is a question of salvation, but that chasing after these things will not do anything to benefit our soul. We certainly cannot save others. “They that trust in their wealth, And boast themselves in the multitude of their riches; None of them can by any means redeem his brother, Nor give to God a ransom for him; (For the redemption of their life is costly, And it faileth for ever;) That he should still live alway, That he should not see corruption. For he shall see it. Wise men die; The fool and the brutish alike perish, And leave their wealth to others.”
There is truth in the statement from Ecclesiastes. Everything is meaningless. Life is vanity when it is lived for the sake of perishable things. However, God has created us and saved us for something much greater. Life is not vanity when we glorify Him in all we do by using our money, time and talent to bring the hope of eternal life in Christ to those who continue to chase after the wind. Thanks be to God.
A WORD FOR TODAY
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