Brothers and sisters, grace and peace to you in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus. I encourage you to attend worship to receive the blessings of forgiveness and strengthened faith given through His Word and the administration of His Holy Supper. Let us imitate the early Church which members devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and prayer.
August 3 is the 8th Sunday after Pentecost. We will be following the Propers for 13C and the liturgy of Divine Service Setting Three beginning on page 184 of the Lutheran Service Book hymnal (LSB). Hymns chosen for the day are #794 The Lord My God Be Praised; #732 All Depends on Our Possessing; #623 Lord Jesus Christ, We Humbly Pray; and #842 Son of God, Eternal Savior.
Scripture readings assigned to the day by the Common Lectionary for 13C are Psalm 100, Ecclesiastes 1:2, 12-14, and 2:18-26; Colossians 3:1-11; and Luke 12:13-21.Each of these texts give instruction regarding a proper attitude toward possessions and material things. There are many indications Ecclesiastes was written by King Solomon, who the Scriptures report was the wisest man who ever lived. He warns that dedicating life to temporal earthly things is unhappy business and vanity (empty, void, vapor) and a striving after the wind that gives us no hope before God. Such things lead to frustration and sorrow. At the end of this life it all goes away.
In his letter to the Colossians, Chapter 3, St. Paul warns that the desire for things can be a breaking of the 9th and 10th commandment, ‘you shall not covet’, which is idolatry, considering something more important than God. Instead, if you have been raised with Christ, that is dead to sin and hidden in Him, seek heavenly treasure, setting your mind on “things above”. Jesus is offering you a glory far beyond anything that earth can offer.
In Luke’s gospel account, Jesus tells a parable to warn that true life does not consist in the abundance of possessions. Rather, He, Christ, our Redeemer and Savior from sin is the basis of life for a Christian. He provides an eternal inheritance that includes all the everlasting treasures of heaven. Therefore, our priority should not be laying up earthly treasure for ourselves, but rather being rich toward God. What that exactly means is not specified. But being rich toward God would include showing God the respect and thanks He deserves, believing that all blessings come from His hand, and to be a proper steward of those gifts. As Jesus points out, it is arrogant and foolish to believe God’s blessings are earned by our efforts and are therefore ours to do with as we want.
Collect: O Lord, grant us wisdom to recognize the treasures You have stored up for us in heaven, that we may never despair but always rejoice and be thankful for the riches of Your grace; through Jesus Christ who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Please let me know if you have any prayer requests or questions about Sunday’s Scripture lessons. God bless you. Pastor Boster
