Worship Helps for Pentecost 11

Artwork: Parable of the Rich Fool

Artist: Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn

Date: 1606-1669

 

Worship Theme: Earthly wealth is meaningless without God.  The meaning of life cannot be found in the abundance of earthly possessions but in the abundance of heavenly blessings. The believer recognizes that everything the world seeks and offers is meaningless. Rather, he sets his heart on the treasure found in the fullness of Christ.

 

Old Testament: Ecclesiastes 1:2; 2:18-26

"Meaningless! Meaningless!" says the Teacher. "Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless." … ¹⁸ I hated all the things I had toiled for under the sun, because I must leave them to the one who comes after me. ¹⁹ And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will have control over all the work into which I have poured my effort and skill under the sun. This too is meaningless. ²⁰ So my heart began to despair over all my toilsome labor under the sun. ²¹ For a man may do his work with wisdom, knowledge and skill, and then he must leave all he owns to someone who has not worked for it. This too is meaningless and a great misfortune. ²² What does a man get for all the toil and anxious striving with which he labors under the sun? ²³ All his days his work is pain and grief; even at night his mind does not rest. This too is meaningless. ²⁴ A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, ²⁵ for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment? ²⁶ To the man who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

 

1. What attitude does Solomon have about the things of this world?

 

2. Whom did Solomon recognize as the giver of all blessings, both worldly and eternal?

 

Epistle: James 5:1-11

Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon you. ² Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. ³ Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days. ⁴ Look! The wages you failed to pay the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. ⁵ You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter. ⁶ You have condemned and murdered innocent men, who were not opposing you. ⁷ Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord's coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains. ⁸ You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord's coming is near. ⁹ Don't grumble against each other, brothers, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door! ¹⁰ Brothers, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. ¹¹ As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job's perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.

 

3. The rich are tempted to rejoice in their riches. James says they should weep and wail. Why?

 

4. James is giving wealth a voice and putting words into its mouth. How will rotting and decaying wealth testify against the rich person?

 

5. James makes some very pointed statements. What is so ironic about the wealthy person hoarding wealth in the last days? (verse 3) A couple verses later, James makes an equally ironic statement, “You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter” (verse 5). What does he mean by this?

 

Gospel: Luke 12:13-21

Someone in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me." ¹⁴ Jesus replied, "Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?" ¹⁵ Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." ¹⁶ And he told them this parable: "The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. ¹⁷ He thought to himself, 'What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.' ¹⁸ "Then he said, 'This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. ¹⁹ And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry."' ²⁰ "But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?' ²¹ "This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God."

 

6. Jesus states that “a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” In what does it consist?

 

7. How does Jesus illustrate the truth of this principle?

 

 

Answers:

1. He calls them meaningless. Even though King Solomon was a very rich man, he understood how fleeting the things of this world really are.

 

2. He realized that everything was “from the hand of God, for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment?” In faith a Christian comes to realize that all of our riches are hidden with God.

 

3. James is looking into the future. What the rich are so happy about will someday rot and be eaten by moths. Even gold and silver will corrode and pass away. They should weep and wail when they see this happening, knowing they will be destroyed if they depend on these things for lasting happiness. They should find something lasting in which they can truly rejoice.

 

4. Rotting wealth will say, “You thought you could find lasting happiness in me. You rejected the lasting happiness God offered you in Christ. Now see who made the right choice. Now see who rejected God. You are rotting along with us because you chose us over God.”

 

5. A wealthy person is like a foolish old man who works and works, hoarding up wealth, only to die and have it go to others. The end is coming soon! Why hoard wealth now? You will live only long enough to see your pile of riches destroyed. We fatten cows and pigs just so we can butcher them. The rich are fattening themselves for the day when God will “butcher” them, that is, when he will judge them.

 

6. Real life – a Christian’s faith-life – consists in being “rich toward God” (verse 21). Earthly possessions are fleeting and transient, but the heavenly riches that the Lord has stored up for us will last forever (2 Timothy 4:8). For now those riches are hidden with God.

 

 

7. Jesus illustrates his point by telling the parable of the rich fool. The rich fool believes that after attaining earthly wealth he has nothing more to worry about or gain. Jesus calls him a fool because one day he will face death and all his worldly riches will become meaningless.

 

A reading from the Book of Concord for Pentecost 11

Although in this life the good works of believers are imperfect and impure because of sin in the flesh, nevertheless they are acceptable and well pleasing to God.  The Gospel teaches that our spiritual offerings are acceptable to God through faith for Christ’s sake.  In this way Christians are not under the Law, but under grace.  For by faith in Christ the persons are freed from the Law’s curse and condemnation.  They act not by coercion of the Law, but by the renewing of the Holy Spirit, voluntarily and spontaneously from their hearts.  However, they still have a constant struggle against the old Adam.

The old Adam is still a part of them.  It must be forced to obey Christ.  It not only requires the teaching, admonition, force, and threatening of the Law, but it also often needs the club of punishments and troubles.  This goes on until the body of sin is entirely put off and a person is perfectly renewed in the resurrection.  Then he will need neither the preaching of the Law nor its threats, just as he will no longer need the Gospel.  These belong to this imperfect life.  Just as people will see God face-to-face, so they will—through the power of God’s indwelling Spirit—do the will of God with unmingled joy, voluntarily, unconstrained, without any hindrance, and with entire purity and perfection.  They will rejoice in it eternally. – Formula of Concord, Solid Declaration, Article IV, The Third Use of God’s Law (paragraphs 22-25)