Collect
of the Week (Proper 13-C)
O Lord,
grant us wisdom to recognize the treasures You have stored up for us in heaven,
that we may never despair but always rejoice and be thankful for the riches of
Your grace; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with
You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Ecclesiastes
1:12-14 (From the OT Reading for Proper 12-C)
12 I the Preacher have been king over Israel in
Jerusalem. 13 And I applied
my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under
heaven. It is an unhappy business that God has given to the children of man to
be busy with. 14 I have seen
everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a striving
after wind.
Devotion
In the name of T Jesus.
When talking about the many aspects of life that confuse
or confound, my dad used to say to me, “I’ve spent my whole life trying to
figure it out.” Of course, the implied
meaning wasn’t lost on me, even at a young age.
In fact, my father’s statement wasn’t true at all—it was a figure of
speech. And it was meant to help me
understand that it is okay not to
have an answer for everything.
In the passages above from Ecclesiastes, we hear the
frustration of one who needed to learn this lesson. He had applied his heart, and been diligent
in searching out answers to everything on earth. And when answers eluded him, he concluded
that life must be meaningless, that “all is vanity and a striving after wind.”
But mankind isn’t supposed to know everything, or have
answers to every question. Political and
human affairs can be complex, and if not having all the answers makes life
meaningless, then what good are the promises of God?
And that’s the point.
Forgetting the promises of God will make life appear to be
meaningless. But with the promises of
God, given to us in Christ, life is full and rich no matter what questions are
left unanswered. God knows all; we don’t. And the sooner we learn this, the better.
When we are given knowledge and understanding, we can
give thanks, for we know from where it comes.
When answers elude us, we can give thanks, for we know who has the
answers. In this way, by faith, and as
Luther said, “Let us deal with everything else as it comes into our hands,
leaving to Him the concern about its outcome” (AE 15:25).
In the name of T Jesus. Amen.
Prayer
O God of all mercies, You have begun Your good work in
us. Continue, we pray, to fill us with all dimensions of wisdom and knowledge.
Grant that the devil would have no power over us, but that our hearts and minds
might be directed to the blessed hope of the coming of our Savior Jesus Christ.
Amen (TLSB, p.
1051).
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