Readings for Pentecost 10

Eccl. 1:2, 12-14; 2:18-26

Col. 3:1-11

Luke 12:13-21

Passage for Meditation: "But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?' Luke 12:20

Devotion:  Then Pastor Eric told them this parable.  “There was a rich man who lived in Detroit.  He had made his millions in the automobile industry.  He had his vast collection of fancy cars, fast boats and a handful of houses.  One day the rich man drove downtown and saw the living conditions.  He passed a dilapidated school, where kids were to get a quality education.  He passed by street corners where kids were hanging out causing trouble because there wasn’t a community rec center or park to find something constructive to do.  He saw drug deals go down on the next block, but no police presence because of budget cut backs.  He saw all of these places of need, places where a few extra dollars from his abundance of wealth might be put to some good for those in the community.  Yet he drove home, thinking to himself that at least he didn’t need to live like that.  That night the man died of a sudden heart attack.  When it came time to read his will and determine who his wealth should go to, the lawyer and all present were shocked to hear these words, ‘Bury it all with me.’   In life and in death, the rich man thought only of himself and never of his neighbor.”

While you and I may not be millionaires, we often struggle with the rich man’s dilemma; thinking we possess our possessions.  This is the way of the world, of Satan and our sinful nature, to see the material goods as our very own to keep and use for our own benefit, never to be shared with our neighbor.  When this happens, our possessions possess, trap and enslave us.

This should not be the case for the baptized!  In Christ, we are called to see things as they are.  The good things God has given are not possessions to possess, but to freely give to all those who need them.  The Lord provides for our every need and often supplies an abundance to be generously shared with our neighbors in need.  The body of Christ is the hand of God to provide for our neighbors.  For the son of God in His grace and mercy has shared with us all we need for body and soul.  His body broken and His blood shed for the forgiveness of our sin.  Through Christ and by the Holy Spirit, we are set free to live a life of generously giving out of the abundance of “possessions” He has given us.