August 5, 2007

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Tenth Sunday after Pentecost

Read Luke 12:13-21 and Colossians 3:1-11

Read also Hosea 11:1-11 and Psalm 107:1-9, 43

"Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed;

for one's life does not consist in the abundance of possessions."

                                                       -Jesus of Nazareth     -- Luke 12:15

Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.

                                                              -- Colossians 3:2

      All Kinds of Greed    .

It comes in all shapes and sizes.

There is bank account greed

and stock market greed

and inheritance greed

and mall greed

and casino greed

and beautiful big house greed

and Lexus or Mercedes greed

and Caribbean cruise greed

and gadgetry greed

and a modest

   wanting-to-be

       -just-a-little-bit-better

-than-you greed

Poring over the text,

frustrated by the task,

not knowing which way to go,

or what tack to take,

there came the sudden awareness

that my inability to articulate

the core of the message

has something to do

with my own spiritual state

   --my own greediness.

So I am driven back to the words,

the word, the Word before me:

"Take care!” the Master said

“Take Care! Be on your guard

against all kinds of greed;

for one's life does not consist

in the abundance of possessions."

And as this slowly sinks in

in spite of my resistance,

I hear also another word,

an apostolic, epistolary note: 

“If you have been raised with Christ,

seek the things that are above,…

Set your minds on things that are above,

not on things that are on earth,

for you have died,

and your life is hidden

with Christ in God.”

Lord, strike your lethal blow,

putting to death in me all that is selfish and greedy.

Cleanse me of my dependence on mere things,

     my desire to accumulate

         more and more of this or that.

Help me to die to my need for things

that I may come alive to my need for You.  Amen!

*** D I S C L A I M E R ***

The Weekly Lessons are based on the lectionary texts for the week – usually the Gospel lesson. They are not designed as a formal commentary.  Rather, they are the personal reflections and original compositions of The Relay Online editor, Rev. Robin Van Cleef, and offer a jumping off point, using the scriptures as triggers to thought, imagination, and (we hope) empowerment.  As you read them, let your own imagination play, and let the Spirit speak to you, leading you where it will.  The Gospel Lessons reflected on this site may not be copied, reproduced or otherwise manipulated elsewhere on the internet without the expressed consent of the author.

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