Festival of the Presentation of the Augsburg Confession
Posted on June 25, 2022 by under
Scripture: St. Luke 12:13-21 (NKJV)
12:13 Then one from the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”
14 But He said to him, “Man, who made Me a judge or an arbitrator over you?” 15 And He said to them, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.”
16 Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. 17 And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’ 18 So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.”’ 20 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’
21 “So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”
Devotion
Solomon tells us that it is good for a man to eat, drink, and be merry. But in Jesus’ parable of the rich fool, we see that riches are not to be the main focus of one’s life. And though many believe that Jesus will grant people the material desires of their hearts, Jesus plainly says in this parable that He is not the arbitrator of earthly possessions. Rather, He gives us warning about letting our lives become obsessed with riches and possessions.
From Jesus’ teaching we see that there are two kinds of riches and possessions. The first kind of possessions are earthly and temporal. Even in the best earthly, temporal sense, these possessions will only last for us until we die. Christians should not yearn for an abundance of these things. But the second kind of possessions lasts forever. These are the things that Christians desire. God gives us His holy name. And He gives us His holy Word in the holy Scriptures. He gives us His holy name and Word in the waters of holy Baptism, and in, with, and under the bread and wine in His holy Supper. God’s name and God’s Word are the eternal heavenly things that we treasure. These are the things that last forever.
Prayer: Almighty God, Who, through the preaching of Thy servants, the blessed Reformers, hast caused the light of the Gospel to shine forth: Grant, we beseech Thee, that, knowing its saving power, we may faithfully guard and defend it against all enemies, and joyfully proclaim it, to the salvation of souls and the glory of Thy holy Name; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord. Amen.
Collect for the First Sunday after Trinity Sunday
O God, the Strength of all them that put their trust in Thee: Mercifully accept our prayers; and because through the weakness of our mortal nature we can do no good thing without Thee, grant us the help of Thy grace, that in keeping Thy commandments we may please Thee, both in will and deed; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee, and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
