Eighth Sunday after Pentecost
A Service of the Word
July 31, 2022 ª 10am
OPENING WORDS:
We open our hearts to the presence of God and worship together.
PRELUDE: Excerpts from the Pastoral Symphony (Beethoven)
*CHORAL INTROIT:
We are here this day to share God's love;
We have come with burdens and cares,
For within this place, we are bound as one
In this fellowship we share.
*CALL TO WORSHIP:
Listen, all who are fleeing from the Holy One.
God is calling us; God has called us together.
O give thanks to God, for God is good.
God’s steadfast love endures forever.
God is eager to put loving arms around us.
God is waiting to satisfy our hunger and thirst.
God fills the hungry with good things.
Our thirsting souls are filled to overflowing.
Set your minds on things that are above.
Put to death your earthly disobedience.
God leads us to a new identity, to new life.
We seek renewal in the image of our Creator.
*HYMN: There’s a Wideness in God’s Mercy
PRAYER OF INVOCATION
Loving God, in whose arms we have found our identity, come among us to direct our faltering steps in the ways you would have us go. Teach us to walk with Christ through the distractions that beckon us in other directions. Turn our vain striving into meaningful service, our foolish greed to the fulfillment of sharing, our confusion to clarity of vision, that we might worship you truly this hour.
A TIME OF PRAYER:
Pastoral Prayer
Compassionate God, whose riches have been poured out among us in unrecognized abundance, help us today to reexamine our stewardship over the things and the relationships you have entrusted to us. Confront our greed, lest it destroy us and rob our sisters and brothers of the good you intend for them. Bless us as your people, and bless our world in need…
Silent Prayer
Lord's Prayer:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily
bread and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. Lead us not into
temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power,
and the glory, now and forever. Amen.
SCRIPTURE LESSONS:
- Hosea 11.1-4, 9-12
- Psalm 107.1-9, 17-22
- Colossians 3.1-11
- Luke 12.13-21
SERMON: “Treasures”
Given the news of late, and especially seeing that we just had our yard sale, the focus on treasure is certainly timely.
I'm regularly amazed to see how much stuff we manage to amass here in between sales. And that happens in spite of having a Thrift Shop open three times a week. There are some things, I think, that have got to be bound for the dumpster, but lo and behold people buy them. And then I wonder, how many of those things will find their way back here? But often, we just hold on to it and find the room.
We have a lot of stuff in our world. People have a lot of stuff in their homes. And that includes many of us. And the thing is, we like our stuff, at least most of it. That which we don't end up here.
As I see the pictures of the floods in Kentucky and of fires ripping through the west, my heart goes out to those who've lost so much. I'm sure there are more than a few treasures swept away or burnt. Yet it's the lives and the hurt that really matters.
Of course, we know, as the Bible teaches us, that life is not to be valued or measured in terms of wealth or possessions. But that's not particularly realistic. We've long lived in a world where adages such as whoever lives in the biggest house...or whoever has the most toys...wins.
Fancy homes, flashy cars, big boats, expensive jewelry and ritzy clothes, are all things that get our attention. Money, and lots of it, is the aim. Fame and fortune have long been the goals. It didn't take a genius know that a billion-dollar-plus lottery would generate lots of sales and lots of attention. And the fun question that many were asking was, "So, what would you do if you win?"
As we contemplate that, let's cast an eye on the rich man of our Gospel. Perhaps you noticed that the rich man's thinking was solely based on self: I will, I will, I will... my crops, my barns, my grain, my goods, my soul.
The man has shut out everyone else from his thoughts and life. There is no one else in the story, just the man and his possessions, until God speaks to him.
It is the picture of a man who lays up treasure for himself but is not rich in God's favor. Another gem of the Bible is the wisdom saying of "Where your treasure is, there shall your heart be also." The question is always, where is your heart?
As we dissect the reading, let's consider what's the folly, the trouble, of such thought? What are things we do well to avoid or correct?
First off, there's a preoccupation with possessions. Things own the man rather than man owning things. I did read an odd account of one man who lost everything in a disaster in his area. His reaction was surprising, as his response was "finally, I'm free."
We also see that's there's security taken in self-sufficiency: no family or friends are mentioned at all. It's all about him. A life alone is not real life. People, friends and family, fill our life for us; they are what enrich our hearts.
Another important reminder of our lesson is that the grasp of greed is often the antithesis of generosity. It's curious that the thought of what he can do to alleviate the suffering of others never comes to him. It's all about him, and him alone. Greed eats away compassion.
There's also a hollowness of hedonism that's portrayed. The greatest good that imagined is only maximizing his own pleasure. That leads to the bigger question of "what is it that gives life meaning?"
Akin to finding meaning, is the role of God in one's life. The story projects a practical atheism. the man lives as if there is no God. Even without a sudden windfall of riches, we're to consider, "what difference should our faith make in practical matters?"
Treasure. What are your real treasures? How to we work to preserve or protect them? How do we work on growing richer in God's eyes.
|Perhaps it's a wisdom that only comes with age, but we do know that we can survive, and even thrive, with very little. The things that really matter are not possessions but the connectedness we have. It's love of God and others that really fills our hearts, and really matters.
Having stuff isn't bad. We like our stuff. Yet our stuff should offer opportunity for thanksgiving: For homes, food, electricity, a phone, clothes. And most of all we should be mindful and thankful for the love that such can bring.
May our God bless your hearts and your minds for an appreciation of true treasure.
*HYMN: Some Glad Morning
*PASTORAL BENEDICTION
