Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

It Is Senseless To Be Wise

¹² I said these things when I lived in Jerusalem as king of Israel. ¹³ With all my wisdom I tried to understand everything that happens here on earth. And God has made this so hard for us humans to do. ¹⁴ I have seen it all, and everything is just as senseless as chasing the wind.^[a]

¹⁸ Suddenly I realized that others would someday get everything I had worked for so hard, then I started hating it all. ¹⁹ Who knows if those people will be sensible or stupid? Either way, they will own everything I have earned by hard work and wisdom. It doesn't make sense.

²⁰ I thought about all my hard work, and I felt depressed. ²¹ When we use our wisdom, knowledge, and skill to get what we own, why do we have to leave it to someone who didn't work for it? This is senseless and wrong. ²² What do we really gain from all of our hard work? ^23 (A) Our bodies ache during the day, and work is torture. Then at night our thoughts are troubled. It just doesn't make sense.

(A psalm by the clan of Korah and for the music leader.)

Don't Depend on Wealth

3 ^(A) You have been raised to life with Christ. Now set your heart on what is in heaven, where Christ rules at God's right side.^{[a] 2} Think about what is up there, not about what is here on earth. ³ You died, which means that your life is hidden with Christ, who sits beside God. ⁴ Christ gives meaning to your^[b] life, and when he appears, you will also appear with him in glory.

⁵ Don't be controlled by your body. Kill every desire for the wrong kind of sex. Don't be immoral or indecent or have evil thoughts. Don't be greedy, which is the same as worshiping idols. ⁶ God is angry with people who disobey him by doing^[c] these things. ⁷ And this is exactly what you did, when you lived among people who behaved in this way. ⁸ But now you must stop doing such things. You must quit being angry, hateful, and evil. You must no longer say insulting or cruel things about others. ^9 (B) And stop lying to each other. You have given up your old way of life with its habits.

^10 (C) Each of you is now a new person. You are becoming more and more like your Creator, and you will understand him better. ¹¹ It doesn't matter if you are a Greek or a Jew, or if you are circumcised or not. You may even be a barbarian or a Scythian,^[d] and you may be a slave or a free person. Yet Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us.

A Rich Fool

¹³ A man in a crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, tell my brother to give me my share of what our father left us when he died.”

¹⁴ Jesus answered, “Who gave me the right to settle arguments between you and your brother?”

¹⁵ Then he said to the crowd, “Don't be greedy! Owning a lot of things won't make your life safe.”

¹⁶ So Jesus told them this story:

A rich man's farm produced a big crop, ¹⁷ and he said to himself, “What can I do? I don't have a place large enough to store everything.”

¹⁸ Later, he said, “Now I know what I'll do. I'll tear down my barns and build bigger ones, where I can store all my grain and other goods. ^19 (A) Then I'll say to myself, ‘You have stored up enough good things to last for years to come. Live it up! Eat, drink, and enjoy yourself.’ ”

²⁰ But God said to him, “You fool! Tonight you will die. Then who will get what you have stored up?”

²¹ “This is what happens to people who store up everything for themselves, but are poor in the sight of God.”