2022 July 31 - Youth Sunday sermon
Theme: “The wealth of a right relationship with God”
Psalm 49:1-12 “For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm.” 1 Hear this, all you peoples; listen, all who live in this world, 2 both low and high, rich and poor alike: 3 My mouth will speak words of wisdom; the meditation of my heart will give you understanding. 4 I will turn my ear to a proverb; with the harp I will expound my riddle: 5 Why should I fear when evil days come, when wicked deceivers surround me- 6 those who trust in their wealth and boast of their great riches? 7 No one can redeem the life of another or give to God a ransom for them- 8 the ransom for a life is costly, no payment is ever enough- 9 so that they should live on forever and not see decay. 10 For all can see that the wise die, that the foolish and the senseless also perish, leaving their wealth to others. 11 Their tombs will remain their houses forever, their dwellings for endless generations, though they had named lands after themselves. 12 People, despite their wealth, do not endure; they are like the beasts that perish.
Hosea 11:1-11 “God’s Love for Israel” 1 “When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. 2 But the more they were called, the more they went away from me. They sacrificed to the Baals and they burned incense to images. 3 It was I who taught Ephraim to walk, taking them by the arms; but they did not realize it was I who healed them. 4 I led them with cords of human kindness, with ties of love. To them I was like one who lifts a little child to the cheek, and I bent down to feed them. 5 “Will they not return to Egypt and will not Assyria rule over them because they refuse to repent? 6 A sword will flash in their cities; it will devour their false prophets and put an end to their plans. 7 My people are determined to turn from me. Even though they call me God Most High, I will by no means exalt them. 8 “How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel? How can I treat you like Admah? How can I make you like Zeboyim? My heart is changed within me; all my compassion is aroused. 9 I will not carry out my fierce anger, nor will I devastate Ephraim again. For I am God, and not a man- the Holy One among you. I will not come against their cities. 10 They will follow the Lord; he will roar like a lion. When he roars, his children will come trembling from the west. 11 They will come from Egypt, trembling like sparrows, from Assyria, fluttering like doves. I will settle them in their homes,” declares the Lord.
Luke 12:13-21 “The Parable of the Rich Fool” 13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” 14 Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” 15 Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.” 16 And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. 17 He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ 18 “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. 19 And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’ 20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ 21 “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”
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Good morning, let us pray. May the words of my mouth and the meditation of all our hearts be acceptable to you, O Christ, our Strength and our Redeemer, amen. In today’s theme, “The wealth of a right relationship with God” we will examine how the three scripture passages all point toward Christ the Saviour who, through his intercession, reconciles us with God the Father. We will also have a brief history lesson about Emancipation Day, which has a public holiday tomorrow.
Firstly, in Jewish tradition, Psalm 49 is attributed to the sons of Korah after recognizing their father's greed for wealth as the root of his downfall, and to teach that the purpose of one’s life on earth is to enhance one’s spiritual development and to prepare for the world to come.
In Psalm 49, there are four kinds of riches: There are riches in what you have, riches in what you do, riches in what you know, and riches in what you are - riches of character. The psalmist spoke of those who are only rich in the first way - the least important kind of wealth, which is material wealth. The psalmist immediately dismisses the great value that people place on material wealth by saying that no-one can redeem the soul except God.
The redemption of human souls is a spiritual work, accomplished only by God’s atoning sacrifice. This sacrifice began in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:21, when God killed an animal to make clothing for Adam and Eve), was practiced among the patriarchs (for example, Genesis 22:13-14, when Abraham made a burnt offering of a ram), and instituted in a sacrificial system (as recorded in Leviticus 1-7, when God instructed Moses how the Israelites should sacrifice livestock as burnt offerings). The concept of a substitute; of an atoning sacrifice was fulfilled and perfected by the work of Jesus at the cross (around seven hundred years before Christ was born, Isaiah prophesied the atoning crucifixion of Christ in Isaiah 53:10-11, and then Hebrews 10:12 and many others speak of Christ rising from death and sitting at the right hand of God). This spiritual work is what provides for the redemption of human souls. Christ is the only Redeemer.
Secondly, the reading from Hosea repeats how much God cares for the nation of Israel. Even when God draws his people, it is with gentle cords of love, not with harsh manipulation or coercion. God wants to win us over, but not with brute force. To give an example, in the ancient world, the empires of Persia and Greece fought bitter wars. There was said to be a great difference between their soldiers. In the Persian army, soldiers were like slaves and driven into battle with whips and threats. However, in the Greek army, soldiers were free men and patriots, and fought for Sparta and Greece out of love for country and a sense of duty. The smaller armies of Greece usually beat the larger armies of Persia. God calls us as an army of free people, grateful patriots of the kingdom of God.
The reading from Hosea also has an unexpected prophecy fulfilled in the life of Jesus, who was born over seven hundred years later! Matthew 2:15 shows how the words, “out of Egypt I called my son” were fulfilled when the child Jesus returned from Egypt after escaping Herod’s massacre of the innocents. This goes to show that even the book of Hosea, one of the oldest books of the Hebrew Bible, prophesied the life of Christ (just like Isaiah did) placing Jesus as the true heart and core of the Bible itself. Everything in the Bible points towards Christ.
Thirdly, in the reading from the Gospel of Luke, there is the parable of the rich fool. Now, the man was a fool - not because he was rich, but because he lived without any awareness of and preparation for eternity. This reminds us of Psalm 49 which also warns its audience to reject materialism and focus on spiritual growth.
The rich man in the parable thought it was all for him. He said, my crops, my barns, my goods, my soul. Everything was about him, and nothing was about God. It was proved in the end that nothing was his - even his own soul was subject to God. He didn’t have any crops, any barns, any goods, and his soul was dead. The man’s problem was not in that he had treasure on earth; but that he was not rich toward God. We may become rich toward God by sacrificial giving to those in need (Luke 12:33, 18:22; 1 Timothy 6:17-19). Also, by trusting in Jesus for every necessary thing (Revelation 3:17-18).
Fourthly, let us meditate on Emancipation Day because it is impossible to enjoy either wealth or relationships unless we have freedom. Quoting the NALIS website: “The history of the New World since Columbus re-discovered it is one of conquest, pillage, exploitation and forced migration of a people. For more than three centuries, millions of people were forcibly transported from their homes in Africa, across the perilous Atlantic Ocean to the New World, where they were forced to labour on sugar plantations for the rest of their lives.
This enslavement of a people continued until events in Europe changed the fortunes of the West Indian and North American colonies. Humanitarians started questioning the validity of slavery, there was competition from beet sugar producers in Europe, and the advent of the Industrial Revolution spawned the rise of a new group of influential men in the British Parliament who believed that slavery was no longer economically viable.
In 1833, Thomas Buxton presented The Emancipation Bill in Parliament. The Act was passed and came into effect on 1 August 1834. On that day, thousands of slaves in the British West Indies became free men and women. One hundred and fifty one years later, on 1 August 1985 the government of Trinidad and Tobago declared Emancipation Day a national holiday to commemorate the abolition of slavery.”
Make no mistake that slavery is not just a form of control but also a means to generate material wealth. All three scripture passages happened during a time when owning slaves was a legal and well-established institution. It is a given that the three types of wealthy people mentioned in the readings - the high-class rich people mentioned in the psalm; the Assyrian rulers mentioned in Hosea; the rich fool in Luke’s Gospel - all owned slaves. For thousands of years, exploiting human beings in this manner was a social norm, but now we know better. As a more enlightened people, we bear the responsibility of eternal vigilance so that our society does not slide back into barbaric times. Fortunately, we have our great leader, Christ the Lord, who fully reveals God’s nature of love, service and sacrifice so that we are not led astray by a society that wants us to worship ourselves.
Finally, to illustrate today’s theme, I would like to tell you a story entitled “The King’s Highway.” Once a king had a great highway built for the members of his kingdom. After it was completed but before it was opened to the public, the king decided to have a contest. He invited as many as desired to participate. Their challenge was to see who could travel the highway the best.
On the day of the contest, the people came. Whether rich or poor, people traveled the highway all day, but each one, when he arrived at the end, complained to the king that there was a large pile of rocks and debris left on the road at one spot that got in their way and slowed them down.
At the end of the day, a lone traveler crossed the finish line wearily and walked over to the king. He was tired and dirty, but he addressed the king with great respect and handed him a bag of gold. He explained, "I stopped along the way to clear a pile of rocks and debris that was blocking the road. This bag of gold was under it all. I want you to return it to its rightful owner."
The king replied, "You are the rightful owner."
The traveler replied, "Oh no, this is not mine. I've never known such money."
"Oh yes," said the king, "you've earned this gold, for you won my contest. He who travels the road best is he who makes the road smoother for those who will follow."
Amen. Let us pray. Lord Jesus, we know your grace because though you were rich, yet for our sake you became poor, so that we through your poverty might become rich. Let us follow your example of love, service and sacrifice for others, not counting the cost, knowing that your kingdom awaits us. Amen.
Psalm 49:1-12 “For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm.” 1 Hear this, all you peoples; listen, all who live in this world, 2 both low and high, rich and poor alike: 3 My mouth will speak words of wisdom; the meditation of my heart will give you understanding. 4 I will turn my ear to a proverb; with the harp I will expound my riddle: 5 Why should I fear when evil days come, when wicked deceivers surround me- 6 those who trust in their wealth and boast of their great riches? 7 No one can redeem the life of another or give to God a ransom for them- 8 the ransom for a life is costly, no payment is ever enough- 9 so that they should live on forever and not see decay. 10 For all can see that the wise die, that the foolish and the senseless also perish, leaving their wealth to others. 11 Their tombs will remain their houses forever, their dwellings for endless generations, though they had named lands after themselves. 12 People, despite their wealth, do not endure; they are like the beasts that perish.
Hosea 11:1-11 “God’s Love for Israel” 1 “When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. 2 But the more they were called, the more they went away from me. They sacrificed to the Baals and they burned incense to images. 3 It was I who taught Ephraim to walk, taking them by the arms; but they did not realize it was I who healed them. 4 I led them with cords of human kindness, with ties of love. To them I was like one who lifts a little child to the cheek, and I bent down to feed them. 5 “Will they not return to Egypt and will not Assyria rule over them because they refuse to repent? 6 A sword will flash in their cities; it will devour their false prophets and put an end to their plans. 7 My people are determined to turn from me. Even though they call me God Most High, I will by no means exalt them. 8 “How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel? How can I treat you like Admah? How can I make you like Zeboyim? My heart is changed within me; all my compassion is aroused. 9 I will not carry out my fierce anger, nor will I devastate Ephraim again. For I am God, and not a man- the Holy One among you. I will not come against their cities. 10 They will follow the Lord; he will roar like a lion. When he roars, his children will come trembling from the west. 11 They will come from Egypt, trembling like sparrows, from Assyria, fluttering like doves. I will settle them in their homes,” declares the Lord.
Luke 12:13-21 “The Parable of the Rich Fool” 13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” 14 Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” 15 Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.” 16 And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. 17 He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ 18 “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. 19 And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’ 20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ 21 “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”
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Good morning, let us pray. May the words of my mouth and the meditation of all our hearts be acceptable to you, O Christ, our Strength and our Redeemer, amen. In today’s theme, “The wealth of a right relationship with God” we will examine how the three scripture passages all point toward Christ the Saviour who, through his intercession, reconciles us with God the Father. We will also have a brief history lesson about Emancipation Day, which has a public holiday tomorrow.
Firstly, in Jewish tradition, Psalm 49 is attributed to the sons of Korah after recognizing their father's greed for wealth as the root of his downfall, and to teach that the purpose of one’s life on earth is to enhance one’s spiritual development and to prepare for the world to come.
In Psalm 49, there are four kinds of riches: There are riches in what you have, riches in what you do, riches in what you know, and riches in what you are - riches of character. The psalmist spoke of those who are only rich in the first way - the least important kind of wealth, which is material wealth. The psalmist immediately dismisses the great value that people place on material wealth by saying that no-one can redeem the soul except God.
The redemption of human souls is a spiritual work, accomplished only by God’s atoning sacrifice. This sacrifice began in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:21, when God killed an animal to make clothing for Adam and Eve), was practiced among the patriarchs (for example, Genesis 22:13-14, when Abraham made a burnt offering of a ram), and instituted in a sacrificial system (as recorded in Leviticus 1-7, when God instructed Moses how the Israelites should sacrifice livestock as burnt offerings). The concept of a substitute; of an atoning sacrifice was fulfilled and perfected by the work of Jesus at the cross (around seven hundred years before Christ was born, Isaiah prophesied the atoning crucifixion of Christ in Isaiah 53:10-11, and then Hebrews 10:12 and many others speak of Christ rising from death and sitting at the right hand of God). This spiritual work is what provides for the redemption of human souls. Christ is the only Redeemer.
Secondly, the reading from Hosea repeats how much God cares for the nation of Israel. Even when God draws his people, it is with gentle cords of love, not with harsh manipulation or coercion. God wants to win us over, but not with brute force. To give an example, in the ancient world, the empires of Persia and Greece fought bitter wars. There was said to be a great difference between their soldiers. In the Persian army, soldiers were like slaves and driven into battle with whips and threats. However, in the Greek army, soldiers were free men and patriots, and fought for Sparta and Greece out of love for country and a sense of duty. The smaller armies of Greece usually beat the larger armies of Persia. God calls us as an army of free people, grateful patriots of the kingdom of God.
The reading from Hosea also has an unexpected prophecy fulfilled in the life of Jesus, who was born over seven hundred years later! Matthew 2:15 shows how the words, “out of Egypt I called my son” were fulfilled when the child Jesus returned from Egypt after escaping Herod’s massacre of the innocents. This goes to show that even the book of Hosea, one of the oldest books of the Hebrew Bible, prophesied the life of Christ (just like Isaiah did) placing Jesus as the true heart and core of the Bible itself. Everything in the Bible points towards Christ.
Thirdly, in the reading from the Gospel of Luke, there is the parable of the rich fool. Now, the man was a fool - not because he was rich, but because he lived without any awareness of and preparation for eternity. This reminds us of Psalm 49 which also warns its audience to reject materialism and focus on spiritual growth.
The rich man in the parable thought it was all for him. He said, my crops, my barns, my goods, my soul. Everything was about him, and nothing was about God. It was proved in the end that nothing was his - even his own soul was subject to God. He didn’t have any crops, any barns, any goods, and his soul was dead. The man’s problem was not in that he had treasure on earth; but that he was not rich toward God. We may become rich toward God by sacrificial giving to those in need (Luke 12:33, 18:22; 1 Timothy 6:17-19). Also, by trusting in Jesus for every necessary thing (Revelation 3:17-18).
Fourthly, let us meditate on Emancipation Day because it is impossible to enjoy either wealth or relationships unless we have freedom. Quoting the NALIS website: “The history of the New World since Columbus re-discovered it is one of conquest, pillage, exploitation and forced migration of a people. For more than three centuries, millions of people were forcibly transported from their homes in Africa, across the perilous Atlantic Ocean to the New World, where they were forced to labour on sugar plantations for the rest of their lives.
This enslavement of a people continued until events in Europe changed the fortunes of the West Indian and North American colonies. Humanitarians started questioning the validity of slavery, there was competition from beet sugar producers in Europe, and the advent of the Industrial Revolution spawned the rise of a new group of influential men in the British Parliament who believed that slavery was no longer economically viable.
In 1833, Thomas Buxton presented The Emancipation Bill in Parliament. The Act was passed and came into effect on 1 August 1834. On that day, thousands of slaves in the British West Indies became free men and women. One hundred and fifty one years later, on 1 August 1985 the government of Trinidad and Tobago declared Emancipation Day a national holiday to commemorate the abolition of slavery.”
Make no mistake that slavery is not just a form of control but also a means to generate material wealth. All three scripture passages happened during a time when owning slaves was a legal and well-established institution. It is a given that the three types of wealthy people mentioned in the readings - the high-class rich people mentioned in the psalm; the Assyrian rulers mentioned in Hosea; the rich fool in Luke’s Gospel - all owned slaves. For thousands of years, exploiting human beings in this manner was a social norm, but now we know better. As a more enlightened people, we bear the responsibility of eternal vigilance so that our society does not slide back into barbaric times. Fortunately, we have our great leader, Christ the Lord, who fully reveals God’s nature of love, service and sacrifice so that we are not led astray by a society that wants us to worship ourselves.
Finally, to illustrate today’s theme, I would like to tell you a story entitled “The King’s Highway.” Once a king had a great highway built for the members of his kingdom. After it was completed but before it was opened to the public, the king decided to have a contest. He invited as many as desired to participate. Their challenge was to see who could travel the highway the best.
On the day of the contest, the people came. Whether rich or poor, people traveled the highway all day, but each one, when he arrived at the end, complained to the king that there was a large pile of rocks and debris left on the road at one spot that got in their way and slowed them down.
At the end of the day, a lone traveler crossed the finish line wearily and walked over to the king. He was tired and dirty, but he addressed the king with great respect and handed him a bag of gold. He explained, "I stopped along the way to clear a pile of rocks and debris that was blocking the road. This bag of gold was under it all. I want you to return it to its rightful owner."
The king replied, "You are the rightful owner."
The traveler replied, "Oh no, this is not mine. I've never known such money."
"Oh yes," said the king, "you've earned this gold, for you won my contest. He who travels the road best is he who makes the road smoother for those who will follow."
Amen. Let us pray. Lord Jesus, we know your grace because though you were rich, yet for our sake you became poor, so that we through your poverty might become rich. Let us follow your example of love, service and sacrifice for others, not counting the cost, knowing that your kingdom awaits us. Amen.