As the saying goes, "You can't take
it with you" though heaven knows how hard we try. What do take
with us? A bit too often we drag the baggage of our neglect or even ambivalence
toward God in our every- day living. Those of us privileged enough to have
options to build our barns and store up earthly materials,
often shield ourselves from our mortality by denying the ticking clock. It is
as if in unknowing what hour the chime will toll for us, we have the time to
acquire, accumulate more and more. I am reminded of the late comedian George
Carlin’s brilliant riff on Stuff [see YouTube, there’s even a censored
version], at once a hilarious and sobering look at our western sense of “need.”
Check out a local estate sale and see a
lifetime of collections, clothing, furniture, and just plain stuff that's left
behind, offered at a bargain to be collected by others and then left behind again.
Meanwhile all around us others cry out for basic treasures such as clean water,
enough food, clothing, shelter, and medical care. If you haven’t watched the
news lately Google the after-effects of hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes,
catastrophic floods, and deadly wild fires just to see how one can measure the
loss of possessions against the loss of life. And don’t avert your eyes
and ears to the cries of those, already desperate, suddenly caught indefinitely
in horrifyingly cruel conditions most of us cannot even imagine – babies and
children separated from parents, spouses separated from each other – in dreadfully
dangerous war-torn areas and along borders of "civilized countries."
The grandest home is
not permanent storage, nor is it even the grave – think about Egyptian tombs.
No matter how privileged or how honored in this mortal life, no one will live
forever and no thing will go along. How are you prepared this very day for
the next? And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?
THIS life is meant to be less about downsizing than upsizing – storing up
treasures of the soul. We are to be filled with kindness, selflessness,
benevolence, love. In taking on a new self, as Paul tells us, we
are no longer Greek and Jew, white and black, brown and yellow,
citizen and immigrant, one political party and another. Christ is all
and in all. Life is short and no amount of “stuff” or
money will make it last longer; what we do with what we have is what
matters. Whoever is wise will ponder these things...Set your
minds on things that are above... Even the honored cannot live forever
nor take their stuff with them. How are you storing your treasure?
LET
US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY
Leader: ~ Jesus, our Teacher, who is all and in all, free us from all
earthbound self-indulgent vanities and incline our minds to things above. Help
us to discard our old self for a new, renewed and rich toward God.
O
Christ, our Life
RESPONSE: We will set our
minds on You
~ Jesus, our Teacher, awaken
the souls of all who govern by merit or by force in the nations of this world
and locally, to remember that even the greatly honored cannot live forever.
Guide them to store up their treasure by good and sincere service to benefit
all Your children in this life, and themselves in the next. We pray especially
for: add your own petitions
O
Christ, our Life
We
will set our minds on You
~ Jesus, our Teacher, lift the spirits of those who languish in
the face of physical or emotional pain, in hunger for food or addictions, and
refresh the energy of all who try to help. We now join our hearts together to
pray aloud for those in need… add your own petitions
O
Christ, our Life
We
will set our minds on You
~ Jesus, our Teacher, liberate the hearts that grieve with the
joy that those we have sent ahead now rise to live again, revealed in the
newness and glory of Christ our Lord. We pray especially for… add your
own petitions
O
Christ, our Life
We
will set our minds on You
~ Jesus, our Teacher, we pause in this moment
to offer You our other heartfelt thanksgivings, intercessions, petitions, and
memorials, aloud or silently… add your
own petitions
O
Christ, our Life
We
will set our minds on You
~ Jesus, our Teacher, as we are constantly blessed by those You
have called to lead us in Your church, grant them Your continuing wisdom to
speak of ways that guide us all to You. We pray especially for: add your own petitions
O
Christ, our Life
We
will set our minds on You
The Celebrant adds: God of Wisdom and Understanding, open our hearts
to know and accept the brevity of this fragile life. Empower us to clothe
ourselves anew by choosing the divine abundance of eternal love through
selflessness, benevolence, and joy-filled obedience to Your transcendent truth.
We ask through Jesus, our constant Redeemer; and the Holy Spirit, our eternal
Advocate; who together with You are One God, now, always, and forever. Amen.
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