Old Testament Lesson; Ecclesiastes 1:2-2:26
Epistle Lesson; Colossians 3:1-11
Gospel Lesson; Luke 12:13-21
Sermon Text; Ecclesiastes 1:2-2:26

Back in 1333, there was a young king who took the throne. It was his intention to rule for a long time. He had just become pharaoh, in Egypt. He was a powerful, young ruler. The people worshiped him. And yet, his rule came to an end, suddenly, 10 years later. Today, we know that king, or that pharaoh to be King Tutankhamun, (or abbreviated), we know him as King Tut.

It was that pharaoh, and the other pharaohs of that era, who wanted to preserve themselves and take their possessions with them, in the life to come. And so, pharaohs were wrapped up as mummies. And in their tombs there were placed things like, (this was in King Tut's tomb), his throne, food to eat, money, clothes, and even games to play. King Tut, and the pharaohs of his era, thought that they could take earthly possessions with them, when they passed away.

But, the scriptures remind us we are destined to die once, and after that to face the judgment (Hebrews 9:27). Today, as we look at our text, I want us to see things through the eyes of the author Solomon, and also to look at things through the author of the very first hymn we sang today,

All depends on our possessing,

God's abundant grace and blessing.

I. You Can’t Take It With You

One of the first things that we come to and realize is that we can't take anything with us when we die. In our hymn for today, there were two such phrases that said just that.

One said,

Though all earthly wealth depart.

And another said,

Earthly wealth is not abiding.

In our sermon text for today Solomon tells us, "I hated everything that I toiled for under the sun."
I have an assignment for you, today. During the course of this week, I encourage you to open up your Bibles to

I Kings 1-11.

In those chapters in scripture, you are going to see all that King Solomon had, even things that were not God pleasing. You are going to see that Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines. He had palaces and houses, gardens, orchards, and vineyards. He had 550 officials under his rule. People from the area were paying money to Solomon. And the food that was made in his presence was staggering. Think about what Solomon had there, for a moment. It appeared as if all of his dreams had come true.

Now, I can imagine, (and maybe you can, too), that we could pretty easily adjust to a lifestyle like that, couldn't we, with all of those possessions, and all of that food! And yet, Solomon was not happy.

Today we see the same thing in our day and age. As people strive for larger bank accounts, as they strive for luxurious vacations, extending credit limits, driving a bigger car (or today, we may say a more energy efficient car), wanting more things, possessions, and stuff. We selfishly and greedily want more.

We, too, can relate to Solomon. We hate all of the things that we toil for under the sun. After all, we are just going to be passing it down to someone else, and who knows if they are going to be using it wisely. Solomon, when he passed away, passed things down to his children. In just a short period of time, the things that he had striven for in life and gained were lost and handed over to others.

We may even find that going to work is ‘a drag.’ The only thing that keeps us going back to work, each and every day, and each and every week is the paycheck that we receive.

It was not too long ago, that a wealthy, corporate, American died. This news splashed the front pages of the newspapers. In a local coffee shop someone asked the question, "How much did he leave?"

The answer was, "All of it, because we can't take anything with us, when we die."

Sometimes in our lives, we strive for that greediness and selfishness, desiring more and more things for ourselves.

II. It Can’t Even Give You Peace on Earth

Well, Solomon, in our text for today goes one step beyond that, too. He said that not only can we not take anything with us when we die, but all of those things that we have in this life, those earthly possessions, they cannot bring peace and they cannot bring us happiness.

One of the verses that we sang in our first hymn this morning said just that.

Many spend their lives in fretting,

over trifles

and in getting things

that have no solid ground.

We shop. We purchase. We store up things in our homes. And a perfect example of what Solomon is talking about in our text for today is the attic that we have at home, or the garage that we have at home. Think about your garage for a moment. There you have a lawn mower. That is meaningful. (Thanks be to God for the rain that we had yesterday. Hopefully, we will be able to use those lawn mowers, again here soon. J) You have car. Maybe you can't even park that in the garage, though, because of all the things you have in there. But, now think of the other things that are in our garages. Those things we so desperately, at one point and time thought we needed, but now is just sitting on a shelf, or leaning against the corner. All of the stuff that we have accumulated cannot bring true peace and cannot bring true happiness.

Probably a hundred years ago, people who worked, their lives were shortened, because of the heavy, physical labor that they endured. Today, while it may be the case that the heavy labor isn't what it once was, we still have mental anguish and stress, because of the demands that are placed on us, at work.

Moses, many years ago, said just the same about our lives, when he said,

"The length of our days is seventy years, or eighty,

if we have the strength.

Our span is but trouble and sorrow,

and they quickly pass away."

(Psalm 90:10)

Or James who said,

"What is your life?

You are a mist

that appears for a little while

and then vanishes."

(James 4:14)

When we pass away, we will not be able to take anything with us. And while we have possessions here in this life, it is those possessions that cannot give us true happiness. It cannot give us lasting peace.

III. Only God Gives You Meaning in Life

How then, can we have true happiness? And how then can we have true peace? Let's look at Solomon, the author of our hymn, and other authors in scripture who wrote about finding true happiness. It is the Apostle Paul who wrote,

"Who will rescue me from this body of death?"

He answered his own question, by saying,

"Thanks be to God,

through Jesus Christ our Lord."

(Romans 7:24)

It is the author of our hymn who says,

All depends on our possessing

God's abundant grace and blessing.

And it is Solomon, who, at the very end of his book, wrote about the one shepherd who would come and bring true and lasting peace.

We have been rescued from a meaningless life. Jesus said,

"I have come that you may have life

and have it to the full."

Jesus has rescued you, and Jesus has rescued me from a meaningless life, by coming to this earth in perfection, and by going in death to the cross, that we may have life and have it to the full. We, therefore, do have a meaningful life.

Last weekend I was not here. I was with the high school youth from Holy Cross, at the Lutheran Youth Association Convention, up at Bethany Lutheran College, in Mankato, Minnesota. The theme for the convention was,

"Ceaseless Praise."

We were looking at Christian vocations. In my devotion, I asked this question. "Dear Youth, as you think about your future vocation, what may be the number one thing that you focus in on, as you look to what you will do in the future?"

A number of them raised their hands and said, "Probably, we think about how much money we can make in our future vocation."

I said, "You are probably right."

Then I said, "Think about it this way, and look at your vocation and your future, in this way. Ask yourself, 'How can I use the gifts and abilities that God has given me, to serve You, by serving others?'"

Let me say that again, "How can we use the gifts and abilities that God has given us, to serve You, to serve God, by serving others?"

Jesus is a wonderful example of Christian vocation. Jesus’ vocation, His purpose, was not to be self-serving, but rather to serve you, and to serve me. He wonderfully fulfilled His vocation and His purpose, as He went to the cross. There He suffered and died, so that we could have the one thing that we so desperately need, the forgiveness of our sins.

Jesus now gives to us a very meaningful life, so we don't have to say, as Solomon did, that life is meaningless.

A life in faith in Jesus,

as our Savior,

is meaningful.

And then, we truly can enjoy those blessings that God has given to us.

And, we can live by the theme,

All does depend upon our possessing

God's abundant grace and blessing.

Amen.