May 13, 2021

Our dear friend Paul Zahl is fond of saying that all of the things we are so desperately attached to in this life – cherished clothes, picture of your wedding party, your grandfather’s writing desk, your collection of first edition Faulkner novels, etc. – will all be sold by your children at a garage sale. Or now via eBay or Craigslist. All of it.

Jesus says, “Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions.” (Luke 12:15)

I love stuff. However, I love that our lives aren’t eternally bound to our stuff. You can’t take it with you, duh. And what is in store is where true riches are found.

“O God, the protector of all that who trust in you, without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy: Increase and multiply upon us your mercy; that, with you as our ruler and guide, we may so pass through things temporal, that we lose not the things eternal; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.” (Proper 12 – BCP p. 231)