This Sunday’s texts offer instruction and encouragement for all who are occasionally overwhelmed by the “unhappy business” of life. “All is vanity and a chasing after wind,” says Ecclesiastes, yet we chase wealth like it will last forever, forgetting that we ourselves will one day die and that everything we have stored up here will be useless to us. In the gospel, Jesus tells the parable of the rich fool, who, despite his great wealth, is poor in every other way: eating alone and even dying alone. Jesus urges us to take care and be on guard against all kinds of greed. Paul reminds the Colossian Christians of their own unexpected deaths in the waters of baptism: “you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” In baptism we are joined to Christ’s death, and we are to be dead to all foolish chasing after more possessions. We who have died with Christ in holy baptism have also been raised with him and are encouraged to elevate our thinking, seeking the “things that are above.” To that end, guest preacher Deacon Brianna Morris-Brock reminds us that the sustenance we truly seek is found not in overflowing barns but rather in a sprinkle of baptismal water, a bit of bread and wine at the Lord’s supper, and in a single word from scripture.
Image: Two empty chairs outside. Copyright © Johner Images/Alamy Stock Photo. Used by permission.