Sermon for August 3, 2025:
“Rich in God – Life beyond the Breath of Wind”
or
“Why do I live at all?”
Bible texts:
Ecclesiastes 1:2; 2:21–23 → https://www.bibleserver.com/EU/Kohelet1
Luke 12:13–21 → https://www.bibleserver.com/EU/Lukas12
Colossians 3:1–5,9–11 → https://www.bibleserver.com/EU/Kolosser3
Dear friends of the Prayer Atelier,
1. Overview of the Bible text
The passage reads:
> “Vanity of vanities, says Qoheleth, vanity of vanities! All is vanity! Sometimes a person who has labored with wisdom, knowledge, and skill must leave what he has acquired to another who has not worked for it. This too is vanity and a great misfortune. What does a person gain from all the toil and anxiety of heart with which he has labored under the sun? All his days are sorrow and grief, and even at night his heart is not at rest. This too is vanity.”
2. What is being said here?
a) The transience and futility of human striving
Qoheleth (or “the Preacher”) reflects on the experience that all human efforts—even wisdom, success, and diligence—may be in vain. A person may work hard and accumulate wealth, only for someone else to inherit it who did not labor for it. This can evoke a sense of meaninglessness.
➡ Main message: Everything done “under the sun” (i.e., in this earthly life) remains incomplete, fleeting, and ultimately elusive. Possessions cannot offer lasting security.
b) The question of life’s meaning
The text raises a profound question: Why do we labor if what we build up will be taken or handed over to someone else? Qoheleth wants to challenge the reader: Is it wise to attach our hearts to perishable things?
➡ This passage invites us to reflect on the meaning and purpose of life—beyond material achievements.
c) A warning against excessive worry
Qoheleth describes how worry and frustration burden a person, robbing them even of sleep. Those who are solely concerned with material possessions will find no peace.
➡ The message urges us to let go internally and not become enslaved by anxiety.
3. What does “vanity” mean?
The Hebrew term is hebel (הֶבֶל). Depending on the translation, it is rendered as:
vanity, vapor, mist, breath, emptiness, meaninglessness, futility.
Meaning of the term:
👉 Literally: “Breath” or “vapor” refers to something insubstantial, fleeting, untouchable—something that vanishes like a puff of air or a breath on a cold morning.
👉 Figuratively: Everything earthly is fleeting, unstable, and often incomprehensible. The word expresses the instability of life and its possessions.
👉 Theologically: Qoheleth emphasizes that everything that matters only in this world is ultimately unreliable and cannot satisfy the human soul.
4. The overall message of Ecclesiastes
The book of Ecclesiastes repeatedly states:
All earthly things are perishable.
Human beings have no absolute control over life.
Wisdom, toil, and wealth are worthless unless directed toward God.
The purpose is not despair but humility: One should enjoy what is good while God gives it and remain aware that all is gift (cf. Ecclesiastes 2:24–26).
5. Practical relevance today
This text teaches humility: We should not cling too tightly to possessions.
It urges gratitude for what is given to us today.
It reminds us to seek deeper meaning not in material things but in our relationship with God and with others.
6. Summary of Ecclesiastes’ message
👉 Ecclesiastes 1:2; 2:21–23 teaches that all earthly striving is as fleeting as a breath of wind. Wealth, success, and accomplishments offer no lasting foundation. True fulfillment lies in accepting life as a gift from God and living with the awareness that all earthly things are temporary.
Next, I will explore Luke 12:13–21 in depth and show how it connects to Ecclesiastes 1:2; 2:21–23.
1. Summary of Luke 12:13–21
At that time, someone from the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, tell my brother to share the inheritance with me!”
Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me as judge or arbitrator between you?”
Then he said to them, “Beware! Guard against all greed, for life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”
Jesus told them a parable: A rich man had an abundant harvest. He thought to himself, “What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.” Then he said, “I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones. There I will store all my grain and goods. Then I’ll say to myself, ‘You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink, and be merry.’”
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?”
Jesus concludes: “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”
2. What is being said here?
a) Warning against greed
Jesus declines to act as an arbitrator in a worldly dispute (cf. Elberfelder Study Bible, p. 1555). Instead, he uses the opportunity to issue a general warning against greed. Wealth can be deceptive if it draws people away from God.
➡ Core message: Life does not consist in the accumulation of possessions.
b) The folly of the rich man
The man is wealthy due to a bountiful harvest. But instead of being grateful or helping others, he thinks only of himself and securing his future. His motto—“Take life easy; eat, drink, be merry”—shows he places his security entirely in material things.
➡ Foolishness: He does not consider that life can end suddenly. Wealth offers no guarantee for tomorrow.
c) Being rich toward God
Jesus makes it clear: What matters is not amassing earthly treasures, but being “rich toward God”—which means living in relationship with God and with a heart open to others.
3. Connection to Ecclesiastes
The parallels are striking:
Ecclesiastes 1:2; 2:21–23 === Luke 12:13–21
→ Possessions are “vanity” because they fade or pass to others. Possessions offer no protection from death.
→ People labor, but the fruits of their labor often benefit someone else. The rich man accumulates but dies before enjoying it.
→ Anxiety and restlessness plague the owner. The rich man seeks rest through wealth—unsuccessfully.
➡ Both texts criticize reliance on wealth and call us to seek life’s meaning beyond material goods.
➡ Ecclesiastes emphasizes the futility of possessions; Jesus draws the consequence: What counts is being rich in God.
5. Summary of the message
👉 Ecclesiastes and Luke call us not to cling to possessions.
👉 People should remember: Possessions are fleeting. Life and the future are in God’s hands.
👉 What endures is the relationship with God, doing good, and trusting in His grace.
6. Practical application
Practice humility and develop gratitude for the present.
Don’t make wealth your life’s goal.
Be “rich toward God”: focus on the soul’s salvation and love for others.
Next, I will interpret Colossians 3:1–5, 9–11 in detail and show how it offers a divine response and alternative to the false attitudes presented in Ecclesiastes and Luke. These interpretations are based on reliable sources, listed at the end.
1. Summary of Colossians 3:1–5, 9–11
> “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Put to death, therefore, what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which is idolatry. … Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its Creator. Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all and in all.”
2. What is being said here?
a) The new life in Christ
Paul describes the Christian’s identity as one who has “died” and been “raised” with Christ through baptism. That means: The old life, which clings to earthly things, is over. The believer is inwardly renewed and belongs to Christ.
👉 True life is “hidden with Christ in God.” The meaning of life is found in what is above, not what is earthly.
b) Focus on what is “above”
“To seek what is above” means orienting one’s life toward God, the eternal, the things of lasting value. The text encourages believers: Look beyond the temporary and seek what truly fulfills.
👉 Instead of being ruled by possessions, passions, or greed, Christians should live with their sights set on divine goals.
c) Turning away from the old self
Paul names specific attitudes that must be abandoned: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desires—and especially greed, which he calls idolatry. This greed is precisely the attitude criticized by Qoheleth and Jesus in the parable of the rich man.
👉 The “new self” lives in relationship with God and recognizes the Creator in all people—beyond divisions and social boundaries.
3. Colossians as a divine response to Ecclesiastes and Luke
a) An alternative to vanity (Ecclesiastes)
Ecclesiastes laments: All is fleeting and vain.
Colossians offers the solution: Life gains lasting purpose in Christ. Those who seek what is “above” are no longer disappointed by transience but are oriented toward eternity.
👉 Divine alternative: Christ gives life lasting meaning—beyond breath and vanity.
b) An alternative to the folly of the rich man (Luke)
The rich man relies on his stores—and loses everything.
Colossians 3 calls us not to place our trust in earthly securities but to live as “new people” who are “rich toward God” (Luke 12:21).
👉 Divine answer: Instead of filling earthly barns, we should seek “heavenly treasures” (cf. Matthew 6:20).
c) Divine perspective: Christ is all
Paul makes clear: Those who live in Christ are no longer defined by earthly categories (possessions, status, ethnicity). Christ is the center and the goal—the true treasure.
👉 No greed, no fear of loss, no futility: Life is secure in Christ.
5. Summary of the divine alternative – from Ecclesiastes through Luke to Colossians
👉 Ecclesiastes: Possession = breath → All earthly things perish.
👉 Luke: Possession = folly → Treasures without God vanish in death.
👉 Colossians: Possession in Christ = new life → Seek what is above. Here lies true purpose and human security.
6. Practical message
Set your heart on Christ, not on possessions.
See your life as hidden in God—carried by His love.
Live as a “new person” who has risen with Christ and draws dignity from God.
The connection: The divine answer
Ecclesiastes and the Gospel of Luke present the problem: The heart clings to earthly things—and is disappointed.
Colossians gives the answer: The heart becomes new when it clings to Christ. Possession becomes relative, for Christ is “all in all” (Col 3:11).
This is God’s invitation: “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things” (Col 3:2).
Voices from the Protestant tradition
Martin Luther wrote: “Whatever your heart clings to and relies upon, that is really your God.” (Large Catechism, explanation of the First Commandment).
And Dietrich Bonhoeffer warned: “The human heart cannot serve two masters. Whoever clings to Mammon, clings to the world and is lost to hell.” (Ethics, 1949).
6. Practical application
We are invited to realign our hearts:
Accept today with gratitude.
See possessions as God’s gift, not life’s purpose.
Become rich in God by fixing our eyes on Christ, doing good, and sharing with others.
7. Prayer (Intercessions)
Lord, we ask you:
1. Strengthen us to set our minds on the things above.
2. Help all who are burdened by anxiety over possessions.
3. Make us grateful for what you give us.
4. Give the wealthy wisdom to use their riches for the good of others.
5. Comfort those who despair due to loss of possessions.
6. Renew our hearts in Christ, the true treasure.
Sources of interpretation
I rely on the following sources:
Elberfelder Bibel mit Erklärungen (9th ed., 2023), commentary on Luke 12:13–21: highlights the difference between outward wealth and inner attitude; warns of false security through possessions.
Stuttgarter Erklärungsbibel (3rd ed., 2007), p. 1267: interprets the parable as a warning to prioritize relationship with God over possession.
Neue Jerusalemer Bibel (3rd ed., 1985), p. 1981: emphasizes the connection between Luke’s thinking and the wisdom literature (especially Ecclesiastes).
Benedict XVI (Jesus of Nazareth, Vol. 1): interprets Jesus’ warning in Luke 12 as part of his broader teaching on the proper use of earthly goods (cf. pp. 237–239).
Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC 2547): “The Lord laments the misery of the rich, for they have their consolation” (cf. Luke 6:24).
Elberfelder Bibel mit Erklärungen, 9th ed. 2023, commentary on Col 3:1–11: emphasizes the believer’s new identity and the need to abandon earthly thinking.
Stuttgarter Erklärungsbibel, 3rd ed. 2007, p. 1312: sees Colossians as an ethical call to sanctification—a contrast to the folly of the rich man and to the vanity in Ecclesiastes.
Neue Jerusalemer Bibel, 3rd ed. 1985, p. 2021: interprets the “new person” as the image of true creation, beyond the “breath” existence.
Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC 2547): “The Lord laments the misery of the rich, for they have their goods.”
Benedict XVI, Jesus of Nazareth, Vol. 1, p. 237ff: Christ as the ultimate purpose of life, surpassing all earthly securities.
Texts from Kevelaer
Prepared by Werner Th. Jung, Prayer Atelier Kevelaer
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