While I was in seminary, I was one of the “IT support guys” that would be around campus. While there were a lot of things that we could do, one of the most important was giving timely reminders! So often, we’d have to say “did you try restarting it?” just to clear out an error, or perhaps reminding about anti-virus and many such things. Yet, one of the most important things that we would remind guys on a regular basis: back up your computer. Put all of your documents, photos, and anything of value on a different drive or media! The great reality of owning a computer- no matter how much you paid for it, and no matter what kind of hardware you had installed in it- there was going to come a day when that drive was going to fail- and you were going to lose absolutely everything that you didn’t have somewhere else.
In this life, we can tend to rely on a lot of different things, and perhaps a lot of different people. It doesn’t have to be electronics, per se. It can also be money, pride, having positions of importance, or even a feeling of control. In fact, in our day and age, it can seem that we are encouraged to embrace money, possessions, and what amounts to a temporal definition of “wealth.” Yet, in all of these different materials- no matter how many we have- do they amount to what makes us rich before God?
To start to answer this question, we should start with the book of Ecclesiastes. This book is sort of odd in character, because it tends to be a sort of biblical philosophy- answering life’s fundamental questions- but it isn’t necessarily in a positive light here. On the contrary, it is actually quite dark in the way that it deals with life as a whole. Take a look at the very first line of the reading: vanity of vanities! All things are vanity! Another way to hear what is being said: “Futility of futilities! All things are futile!” What does this mean? The author has come upon so many things that he deems worthless! Yet, what are these things?
In pursuing an answer, Ecclesiastes arrives at a comparison: between one who has labored, and one who has not. The one who has labored has accrued great things for themselves- and they have wisdom and knowledge and skill, as we are told. Yet, what happens? When his time comes and his number is called, the man who has everything all of a sudden must leave these things to someone who has not labored! One who doesn’t have everything they had! So, Ecclesiastes begins to break this down further- if profit comes to a man by his work and by his attention- yet he loses it eventually- what good is it? This can be thought to be the first issue that the man who works so diligently! The second comes from it: all of the days the man experiences are sorrow and grief! He seeks rest, and yet his mind doesn’t find it! Why is this man’s life so unhappy, and so short? Why does he pursue what he cannot have? This is the question that Ecclesiastes considers.
The second reading comes to us from Saint Paul’s letter to the Colossians. The beginning exhortation is very simple: if you were raised with Christ, seek what is above! He connects it to the fact that Christ is on high- that He exists above us. Yet, this isn’t just a presumption on the location and our proximity to heaven- but is rather an indication that Christ exists in a way that is far above us! The first part of this passage, then, is a reassurance that there is an end goal to be with Christ forever. The second part, though, is a bit more demanding, because it takes up all of the different things that must be done. “Put to death then the parts that are earthly. Immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire…” amongst many other things. The point to this is that Paul wants the Colossians to see that they must release the things that hold them down so that they can indeed rise with Christ to new life! It is not the case that they can hold on to earthly things, and still hold on to Christ, but it must be one or the other!
Finally, we arrive at the Gospel for this weekend. In the twelfth chapter of Luke, we are told about someone coming to Jesus with a simple request: “Teacher, tell my brother to share the inheritance with me!” Have him give me a share! However, Jesus answers the request in a very simple way: “who has appointed me as your judge and arbitrator?” It is a sort of refusal to enter into that dispute, but why? Jesus then takes the moment to go into a teaching on why he refuses to enter into such a case. “Take care to guard against all greed… one’s life does not consist of possessions!”
To further illustrate that point, Jesus goes on into a parable- we are told about a rich man who has an abundant harvest- which would seem like a good problem! Yet, he decides to hoard all of the riches that he has come to enjoy- so what is the end result? Unfortunately for this man, the time has come that he is going to be called from this life- that all of his temporal goods and the things that he has saved up for himself are going to be left to someone else! All of the good fortune that he has suddenly accrued will in an instant- in the blink of an eye- be taken away from him! Jesus ends this parable on a very shrill note: “Thus will it be for all who store up treasure for themselves, but are not rich in what matters to God.” What does this mean? That unfortunately- that man did not have any sort of plan when it came to the things that matter and the things of eternity. What are we to do?
First, we should take account of ourselves, and what occupies our time and headspace! We can focus on all sorts of things, and many are good, some are not so good. Yet, As we roam through Ecclesiastes, it reminds us that, all of this toil can be for naught in a split second! All of the skill and talent we used to amass all sorts of riches will amount to nothing in that very moment! Do we spend our time on the right things? There is a further point here- we should not set our worry and anxiety on temporal things that do not matter! Yet, just considering what has our attention- isn’t this still futility?
Christ is the one who gives us the appropriate answer in the Gospel. Yes, without Christ- all is futility! We must work for what we need, and we must go out and labor, but the problem is- what becomes of it when we encounter the brevity of life? What truly lasts and what endures? According to Jesus, in the Gospel- it is all about focusing on what makes us truly rich in God’s eyes- not what makes us rich in one another’s eyes, or makes us appear good, or large and in charge, or any such thing to that end. The things that seem impressive will certainly be left behind- and they will no longer belong to us!
That is where we arrive at the final point from Christ and from Paul for this weekend: seek what is above, and let go of the things that are not. This includes all of the sins that Paul listed, but what about material goods, possessions, or even money?
This is where we arrive at the question for us to consider for this week: where am I holding onto things that are not getting me closer to Christ? Where am I trying to build up an earthly city, and not a heavenly one? These are the places that we need to surrender over to God and focus more on what truly makes us rich in God’s eyes- living a good and virtuous life, and observing everything that makes us more like Christ, and further fills us with virtue and with faith.
At the beginning of the homily, I spoke about the need to back-up data, yet, this isn’t the same as a back-up plan! Rather, they are dealing with the inevitable- that one day, we will look God face-to-face and encounter him! This is much like every piece of technology we own: it is going to eventually fail, no matter how much we spent on it! That is why we must focus on what will bring us to heaven- we cannot just focus on the temporal things that we have now, but we must rather focus on what we will bring with us into eternity.
Perhaps so many things in this life are vanity- they are futile, and they are worthless when this life is over. Thus, may we focus, not on these temporary and passing things, but rather on the thing of heaven, and what will truly make us rich in God’s eyes forever.
