I wonder if you, like me, find it ironic that today’s readings, which all talk about material things:

• great possessions of herds and flocks,
• the wickedness of those who put their trust in their goods, and boast of their great riches,
• abundance of grains and crops, and
• all kinds of greed and idolatry are matched with a prayer for the Church?

Hear again our Collect for Today:

“Let your continual mercy, O Lord, cleanse and defend your Church; and, because it cannot continue in safety without your help, protect and govern it always by your goodness;”

I am all too eager to hear this prayer in relationship to “the other” – those in God’s Church who would exclude me and maybe you, because of whom God created us to be. If I am honest I have to admit that I want God to cleanse and defend God’s Church from them just as much as they want God to cleanse and defend the Church from me. I imagine that I am not alone with these thoughts. Maybe you wonder the same thing. What kind of greed and idolatry do you and I espouse when we think we hold the treasure; the right answers? How are we like the rich farmer, wanting to protect our position, bask in our righteousness and not share God’s treasures? And what do we do about it? I find help in our 2nd reading from Colossians:

“…....get rid of all such things – anger, wrath, malice, slander and abusive language from our [your] mouth…..As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe [y]ourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven us [you], so we [you] also must forgive. Above all, clothe [y]ourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in [y]our hearts, to which indeed we [you] were called in the one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in us [you] richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in [y]our hearts sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs to God. And whatever we [you] do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God.”

AMEN