Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

3 So if you were raised to life with the Messiah, search for the things that are above, where the Messiah is seated at God’s right hand! ² Think about the things that are above, not the things that belong on the earth. ³ Don’t you see: you died, and your life has been hidden with the Messiah, in God! ⁴ When the Messiah is revealed (and he is your life, remember), then you too will be revealed with him in glory.

Old clothes, new clothes

⁵ So, then, you must kill off the parts of you that belong on the earth: illicit sexual behavior, uncleanness, passion, evil desire and greed (which is a form of idolatry). ⁶ It’s because of these things that God’s wrath comes on the children of disobedience. ⁷ You too used to behave like that, once, when your life consisted of that sort of thing.

⁸ But now you must put away the lot of them: anger, rage, wickedness, blasphemy, dirty talk coming out of your mouth. ⁹ Don’t tell lies to each other! You have stripped off the old human nature, complete with its patterns of behavior, ¹⁰ and you have put on the new one—which is being renewed in the image of the creator, bringing you into possession of new knowledge. ¹¹ In this new humanity there is no question of “Greek and Jew,” or “circumcised and uncircumcised,” of “barbarian, Scythian,” or “slave and free.” The Messiah is everything and in everything!

The parable of the rich fool

¹³ Someone from the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me!”

¹⁴ “Tell me, my good man,” replied Jesus, “who appointed me as a judge or arbitrator over you?

¹⁵ “Watch out,” he said to them, “and beware of all greed! Your life doesn’t consist of the sum total of your possessions.”

¹⁶ He told them a parable. “There was a rich man whose land produced a fine harvest. ¹⁷ ‘What shall I do?’ he said to himself. ‘I don’t have enough room to store my crops!

¹⁸ “ ‘I know!’ he said. ‘I’ll pull down my barns—and I’ll build bigger ones! Then I’ll be able to store all the corn and all my belongings there. ¹⁹ And I shall say to my soul, Soul, you’ve got many good things stored up for many years. Take it easy! Eat, drink, have a good time!’

²⁰ “But God said to him, ‘Fool! This very night your life will be demanded of you! Now who’s going to have all the things you’ve got ready?’ ²¹ That’s how it is with someone who stores up things for himself and isn’t rich before God.