August 3, 2025 ☩ The Eighth Sunday after Pentecost
on
Hosea 11:1-11; Ps 107:1-9,43; Col. 3:1-11; & Luke 12:13-21
“Seek Christ”
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Modern wisdom encourages people to labor diligently and to save for retirement. To survive, this wisdom presses us into practical aspects of life – our work and careers. Today’s Gospel seems to argue against this prudent wisdom to prepare for the future. However, Luke calls out the excessive greed of the unnecessary obsession with storing earthly treasures.
In the Gospel, we are made aware of the fragility of life. Life is precious, sometimes seems fleeting – as though there just is not enough time with family or friends, or enough time to accomplish all it is we hope to do. Jesus is not arguing against prudent planning and being mindful of the future, but advocating to not forget about the present time AND TO cherish the moment in which we are.
It is true that unforeseen ailments or circumstances can conclude our time on this earth sooner than we planned. It is evidence that our planning for the future, is a future we envision but not necessarily the one that will be. It is even more so why, the present is more important than the future. What we do now impacts the future. What we do now can store up treasures on earth, or treasures in heaven.
The Parable of the Rich Fool in Luke’s Gospel is of a man who has such great wealth that he became obsessed for more. This man could not cherish the present moment and likely would not find he ever had enough – for he even tore down small barns to build larger ones [Luke 12:18]. This is a problematic and cyclical thought process that has no end. He would have likely never reached a point where he would find peace in his soul to finally acknowledge he had enough.
As a child, I could relate to the mindset of the rich man. I recall being brought shopping with my parents. Happening upon a penny or some other coin in the parking lot, encouraged me to keep my eyes fixed upon the ground in excitement to see if I could find more. In this pattern of wanting more, I missed everything else around me. As an adult, I find myself pausing each time I get out of my car. Instead of looking for coins, I look up and out to the sky to savor the wonder of God’s creation. The joy in those moments exceeds the excitement of finding a single coin. In looking out, I connect with God; in looking for coins, I seek something only for my own benefit.
The only recognizable goal of the rich man is for his own benefit. In this mindset, the rich man is working for the material world. He becomes a slave to things – things which may rot or deteriorate, and those things that do not produce treasure in God’s kingdom. Luke shares with us the practical wisdom, that what physical things we possess in this life will be left behind when our life is demanded of us.
Biblical commentator, Marion Soards, also notes that the demand of one’s life might also mean that one’s soul is claimed by the idolatry of greed. She explains that the things which the rich man has stored up already “own the man and… claim his life.”[1]
Several verses after our Gospel reading, Jesus tells us to “set [our] hearts on his kingdom.” [Luke 12:31] We are encouraged to shift our mindset of what we choose to store up in our lives. Sure, we can maintain prudence of planning for a possible future, but we should not omit the true living of the actual present. Of course, money and physical resources serve a purpose. We should use them for their purpose without becoming slaves to them. God also imbued us with purpose.
Saint Paul continues this message of redirecting our lives – of dying to our old selves which focus upon material possessions and cultural ways that are counter to God’s will AND living anew as one creation with all. Paul writes to the Colossians: “Since you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above.” [Colossians 3:1, RNJB] This was Paul’s way of telling the Colossians to forget about the trivial details of the physical life and keep their hearts and joy set upon serving God.
If Christ is our life, we would do well to cherish those things Christ strove to accomplish to value and restore true life. We know our physical bodies need air to survive, and we do not hold our breath to spite this wisdom. How much more do we know that we need Christ for our spiritual lives! To be one with Christ, to seek those things that are from above, is to live into what Jesus taught us about redemption, forgiveness, shedding of prejudices, welcoming the lost sheep, and restoration of human dignity.
May we set our minds on those treasures of God’s kingdom that build for us a wealth in heaven, while remembering our true purpose. Amen.
[1] Soards, Marion L. New Oxford Annotated Bible: NRSV. Fully Revised Fourth Edition. Oxford University Press. 2010. Pg 1854.
