Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

² “Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher; “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.”

¹² I, the Preacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem. ¹³ I applied my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom concerning all that is done under the sky. It is a heavy burden that God^[a] has given to the sons of men to be afflicted with. ¹⁴ I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and behold, all is vanity and a chasing after wind.

¹⁸ I hated all my labor in which I labored under the sun, because I must leave it to the man who comes after me. ¹⁹ Who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will have rule over all of my labor in which I have labored, and in which I have shown myself wise under the sun. This also is vanity.

²⁰ Therefore I began to cause my heart to despair concerning all the labor in which I had labored under the sun. ²¹ For there is a man whose labor is with wisdom, with knowledge, and with skillfulness; yet he shall leave it for his portion to a man who has not labored for it. This also is vanity and a great evil. ²² For what does a man have of all his labor and of the striving of his heart, in which he labors under the sun? ²³ For all his days are sorrows, and his travail is grief; yes, even in the night his heart takes no rest. This also is vanity.

For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by the sons of Korah.

3 If then you were raised together with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated on the right hand of God. ² Set your mind on the things that are above, not on the things that are on the earth. ³ For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. ⁴ When Christ, our life, is revealed, then you will also be revealed with him in glory.

⁵ Put to death therefore your members which are on the earth: sexual immorality, uncleanness, depraved passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. ⁶ For these things’ sake the wrath of God comes on the children of disobedience. ⁷ You also once walked in those, when you lived in them, ⁸ but now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and shameful speaking out of your mouth. ⁹ Don’t lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old man with his doings, ¹⁰ and have put on the new man, who is being renewed in knowledge after the image of his Creator, ¹¹ where there can’t be Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, bondservant, or free person; but Christ is all, and in all.

¹³ One of the multitude said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”

¹⁴ But he said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or an arbitrator over you?” ¹⁵ He said to them, “Beware! Keep yourselves from covetousness, for a man’s life doesn’t consist of the abundance of the things which he possesses.”

¹⁶ He spoke a parable to them, saying, “The ground of a certain rich man produced abundantly. ¹⁷ He reasoned within himself, saying, ‘What will I do, because I don’t have room to store my crops?’ ¹⁸ He said, ‘This is what I will do. I will pull down my barns, build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. ¹⁹ I will tell my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years. Take your ease, eat, drink, and be merry.”’

²⁰ “But God said to him, ‘You foolish one, tonight your soul is required of you. The things which you have prepared—whose will they be?’ ²¹ So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”