August 3, 2025 "What's the Point?"

8th Sunday After Pentecost

Ecclesiastes 1:2, 12-14; 2:18-23

Psalm 49:1-12

Colossians 3:1-11

Luke 12:13-21

Dear fellow ministers of the gospel of Jesus Christ,

 grace and peace to you

from the one who is our life. Amen

There’s a colloquial saying

 that came to mind after reading through our texts for the day:

“There’s a reason you never see hearses pulling uhauls”

This of course refers to the reality

that when we die

 we leave behind our material possessions.

they are no longer of any benefit to us

no matter how much we might want to

we just can’t take our stuff with us.

This is the reality that the Teacher,

the writer of Ecclesiastes

 is pondering today,

 indeed throughout the whole book of Ecclesiastes,

it is a reality that has him asking

 “What’s the point?”

 or “What is the meaning of life?”  

this is something the psalmist ponders,

 and the community of the Colossians struggles with

 in between their old lives and their new life in Christ.

And it is something Jesus nudges the younger brother

 who approaches him in our gospel for today to consider

‘Even if you get what you are looking for,

More inheritance, more possessions

 it will not make your life worth living’ he warns

so what will?

what is the meaning of life?

Some, many people,

make meaning out of life

by acquiring things or even knowledge.

This is where the Teacher in Ecclesiastes starts,

 tradition has it that “The Teacher” is King Solomon

 known for vast wisdom and vast riches,

 and even if it isn’t Solomon

that is the position of the Teacher,

 someone who seemingly has it all

 and is now asking, what’s the point?

Because from what they have observed,

the things they were told make meaning out of life,

 don’t.

 Vanity of vanities!  All is vanity

Is the refrain throughout the book,

actually the Hebrew word translated as “vanity”

 is more akin to meaning a puff of air or steam,

there one moment and dissipating the next,

 my professor in Seminary, Dr. Ralph Klein of blessed memory,

 translated it as pouf of poufness,

all is poufness-

you can see why the publishers ultimately went with vanity…

but it’s that kind of impermanence

that the teacher is struggling with,

even the act of working has the teacher moaning

 “I hated all my toil in which I had toiled under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to my successor, and who knows whether he will be wise or foolish? Yet he will be master of all for which I toiled and used my wisdom under the sun.”

 or put another way

‘why should I work hard if someone else will benefit from it,

someone who might not even deserve it?’

The psalmist also makes the observation that

 “for we see that the wise die also; like the dull and stupid they perish and leave their wealth to those who come after them.”

Though for the psalmist this seems to be a comforting thought

 given that the psalmist is struggling with

 “the wickedness of those who put their trust in their own prowess, and boast of their great riches”

presumably using their power and riches to oppress the psalmist

who ultimately trusts in God,

 God who is far greater than momentary power and wealth,

 for greater than momentary suffering.

Finding meaning in life then

begins with a foundation of trusting in God

whose understanding is far greater than ours,

whose understanding encompasses the whole universe. 

Look to God for meaning,

this is where Jesus is trying to redirect the brother

 that appeals to him for an inheritance verdict.

An appeal that Jesus refuses to address

but uses to expose a deeper issue:

 the misplaced trust in wealth for security in the future,

 warning the brother that even if he were to get what he was looking for

 it would not make his life worth living

 “Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.”

Then Jesus goes on to tell the so-called parable of the Rich Fool,

who upon being faced with abundance

 decided to store it up and planned to relax and enjoy the proceeds

 for many years to come,

 only to have his life demanded of him

before he could do any enjoying.

“So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God.” Jesus concludes

Any security we have for the future lies with God,

 not with anything material.

But this does beg the question,

 how is one rich toward God?

If the purpose of life is to be rich toward God,

 how do we do that?

We find how to do that revealed in the life and ministry of Jesus Christ,

who reveals God’s heart to us,

 who lives life in service to others,

 especially those that need it the most,

service done for the sake of love

 rather than any potential reciprocal benefit.

Because that’s what greed does to relationships,

 turns people into things to be exploited

 rather than cared for

which is why Jesus ends his warning against greed with an invitation:

 love what matters most, people, not stuff (Moral Teachings, Gushee).

And yes this is extremely difficult

because it is not the way the world works,

 we are taught to save money for a secure future

and to use our wealth to wield power,

 power that categorizes and divides people

 labeling some as more useful

and therefore better than others.

This is not the way of God,

The way of God is abundant life for all

Life that is shared and created through self-sacrificial service to others,

this is the way that Jesus lived, died, and lived again,

 this is the way that Jesus joined us to in the waters of baptism,

putting the old ways to death and raising us up to new life,

As Paul concludes in Colossians “If you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on the things that are above, not on the things that are on earth, for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God”

God has the future secured for us,

now it is up to us to live into that truth,

a truth which sets us free from working for our own security,

a truth that means the old divisions of power, privilege and identity

don’t matter anymore because Christ is all and in all.

Christ is our life,

 Christ is the meaning of life,

so how are we to live?

We are to love God and love our neighbor.

 And this will take a different form for each of us,

God has given us gifts for the good of all,

that toil with which we toil under the sun as the Teacher laments

 is meaningful because it is done in service to others,

in Christ

whether we work to produce food

 or care for children,

 interpret the law, heal the sick,

even working simply for the sake of supporting our families,

our work, our being has meaning

because we need the gifts and work and of each other

to live abundant life now in community,

 and we share the fruits of our labors,

 putting it to good use now

both for loved ones and neighbors

 because we know that we can’t take it with us,

 nor do we need to,

our future in God is secure,

God who is our life,

 who calls us to share life with others. Amen