Saturday after the First Sunday after Trinity Sunday
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
Dr. Luther writes: “A god means that from which we are to expect all good and to which we are to take refuge in all distress, so that to have a God is nothing else than to trust and believe Him from the [whole] heart; as I have often said that the confidence and faith of the heart alone make both God and an idol” (Large Catechism, First Commandment).
Jesus warns against covetousness because it is tantamount to idolatry. The fool in Jesus’ parable expected that his amassed wealth would assure his ultimate success. But because it consumed his heart it led to his ultimate demise. It is not a sin to be wealthy in this life—God gives us different portions in this life according to His gracious providence. This sin is not in possessing wealth, but loving and trusting in it more than in God Himself. To store up treasure for yourself in this way proves you to be nothing but a brigand with no true love for the Lord. Instead, if a Christian is blessed with an abundance of goods, then he should use it to extend God’s kingdom on earth by supporting the Church and the Ministry of the Word, and to help one’s neighbor, showing charity to those who are less fortunate. Someone who does these things shows himself to be a child of God whose real treasure is stored up in heaven.
Prayer: 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. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
